{"id":66050,"date":"2024-03-25T09:49:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T13:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=66050"},"modified":"2024-03-25T09:49:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T13:49:51","slug":"doug-ford-has-adopted-red-greens-approach-to-fixing-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/25\/doug-ford-has-adopted-red-greens-approach-to-fixing-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Doug Ford has adopted Red Green\u2019s approach to fixing problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>At the conclusion of the March Break, my team noted an uptick in the number of comments and enquiries about the woes of Ontario\u2019s education system. Regular readers may recall that I recently wrote a column on the matter. The problem, of course, is a shortage of teachers, education assistants and early childhood educators. The long-term effects of this shortage are proving to be more than a challenge for school boards, principals and teachers. Ontario needs the government to implement thoughtful, effective, significant changes immediately. Otherwise, the effects on our children will be profound and long-term.<\/p>\n

However, what Ontarians may not understand is why such a shortage exists.<\/p>\n

What started out as a growing concern was actually predicted back in the 90s. The Economic Policy Institute published a report called \u201cThe teacher shortage is real, large and growing, and worse than we thought\u201d \u00a0in 2019. They cited a study that examined a list of indicators that \u201care critical signals. They [the indicators] help analysts detect when there are not enough qualified teachers to fill staffing needs in a labour market that does not operate like other labour markets.\u201d The shortage became a problem under the previous Liberal government. However, since the Conservative government came to power, the mismanagement of the education system escalated a problem into an urgent crisis.<\/p>\n

An article published in\u00a0 EdCan Network on October 3, 2023, announced that teachers are burning out at an alarming rate. They said a survey of teachers across Canada found that 85 percent of them report a work-life imbalance. It also noted that 30 percent of new teachers leave the profession in under 5 years. The workload, stress and violence experienced in teaching today is not something they can see themselves continuing as a lifetime career. The bottom line is that the workloads and demands have become unbearable.<\/p>\n

The people of Ontario must understand that the classrooms we knew growing up are not the same learning environment that our children and youth experience today. Teachers and education assistants are leaving the profession altogether because the job has become mentally and physically overwhelming. Worse is the fact that when young people are contemplating getting their degrees to become a licensed teacher, once they talk to someone already in the trenches, they are soon dissuaded because the REAL job description and working conditions they hear scare them away. Such reasons include:<\/p>\n