It’s funny – I’ve received so many emails, comments, and pokes on social media praising my writing skills, yet now, when I need them most, words fail me.
Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who has taken time from their busy lives and families to send me an email. Your stories of similar circumstances are heart-wrenching and I’m grateful you felt you could share them with me. I hope you find a way to share them with others too – your voices should be heard along with mine.
Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog. I can barely imagine what a crowd of 120,000+ people looks like, never mind comprehend that many people taking time out of their lives to visit one tiny website. You’ve totally blown my mind with your interest in this topic. I hope you continue to read material from all sides in this issue.
Thank you to the close to one thousand people who have commented on my blog post. Not only have many of you taken the time to say positive things, but a number of you are asking some seriously tough questions in those threads. I applaud everyone for opening themselves up to public criticism – it’s not easy.
I want to particularly thank those people who continue to debate elements of the dispute in strong, yet respectful, ways. I am impressed with the amount of time, forethought, and diligence that is going into these discussions. You’ve expressed yourselves so eloquently–and in many cases, so openly–and I can’t help but applaud your efforts. I hope you will continue to engage in constructive debate, if not here then elsewhere, because it is the sharing of ideas (and the examining of others’ ideas) that leads to change. Thank you.
I owe the world of Facebook and the Twitterverse a huge debt of gratitude for spreading word of my letter far and wide. Sometimes it seems as though the Internet is so vast, and so many people are talking all the time, that there’s no way one message could possibly get through. Without you, my letter would never have received the attention it has. My goal was to have the letter read in the legislature so it could become part of the public record, but every tweet, share, like, and comment has ensured it will be far more than a simple addendum to the debate.
Thank you to the various media outlets who invited me to speak with them. I know the teachers’ dispute is a contentious issue, yet every single one of you treated me with decency and dealt with me honestly. I was (and still am) terrified of putting myself into the spotlight–albeit briefly–but everyone (producers, hosts, make-up artists, photographers, reporters, camera operators, and many more whose jobs I can’t name) has treated me as a fellow human being. For this, I am deeply grateful.
Thank you to my friends and family. Your support means so much to me. Knowing you’re cheering me on gives me the strength to face my fears and continue to speak out.
Thank you also to my colleagues. You’ve stood behind me from the moment my letter started to spread, and I know I can count on you for anything.
A special thank-you needs to go out to someone who is both a friend and a colleague: for holding my hand when the visits to my blog started to sky-rocket, for helping me find the courage to speak to the media, and for getting up before the crack of dawn and taking me all the way into Vancouver for an early morning television interview. You’re an amazing person and I count myself lucky to not only work with you, but to count you among my friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you also to my loyal blog readers – yes, all thirteen of you. This is first and foremost my personal blog. Many of you have been with me since my first tentative posts in 2010, and you’ve let me take this quiet little corner of the Internet and throw it into the public spotlight. It was not my intent to make a splash with my letter, but all actions have unintended consequences, and you’ve accepted the sudden shift in topic with aplomb.
I promise it won’t last forever.
I’m awed and humbled by the reaction to my letter, and I know this will disappoint a number of people who have asked/demanded answers, but I’m afraid I don’t have any. All I know with any certainty is what my experiences are and how they make me feel. I love that many people disagree and aren’t afraid to speak up. I love that many people are asking tough questions that those in positions of power should also be asking if the issue is to be resolved. I love that I have created an environment where there is no black and white, no right or wrong answer.
This is part of what I do in the classroom. I encourage question and debate. I freely admit I don’t have all the answers. I ask questions that don’t have easy answers. I encourage my students to examine issues from more than one angle. Hopefully one day my students will take these skills and participate in similar discussions about issues that matter to them. Hopefully they will use these skills to make a difference.
Please don’t think I am trying to end the discussion. I couldn’t if I tried, and I wouldn’t even if I could,
I’m not sure I have much else to say–nor am I sure I want to perpetuate the attention–but if I do, you can be sure I will find a way to say it. I wrote this post because I wanted to thank everyone who has had an impact on my life over the past several days before my “fifteen minutes of fame” are over and this blog and I return to obscurity.
Thank you. You’ve changed my life.
I can only hope my words will one day have a similar impact.
Cheryl.
I posted your original post to my Facebook page and found out that the teachers here in New Brunswick are in the same boat. The fight that is being waged in British Columbia will have repercussions across this country. Our children deserve better and you and the other teachers fighting for them are true heroes. My granddaughter starts kindergarden this year. I compare my education to that of my children and now to what awaits her. I am terrified for her future and ours as a country if things do not change. Thank you for sharing your voice and fighting this fight.
Hugs. And thank YOU, colleague.
just for good measure i’ll share it all again this morning!! people should also tweet to their politicians and reps!
Thank you for standing up and saying what needs to be said. That takes a lot of courage.
No, the thanks all go to you Cheryl. Loved your letter!
How can our system be in such a “horrific” state and still be ranked 6th in the world? How can you have 19 special needs when the percentage of special needs is only 3.2% of the population? Oh jeez I have SO many more questions…but my battery is dying on my phone, I’ll start with that though…thank-you
Questions, I don’t know where you get the 3.2% of the population, unless you are referring only to students who have an I.Q. of less than 70 and are referred to as Developmentally delayed or mentally handicapped.
There are many types of special needs students. Students who have emotional/behavioral disorders are probably the students that cause the most problems and disruption in classrooms. These students are often violent to others and even self destructive. You also have students with various degrees of learning disabilities, as well as students who have A.D.H.D or A.D.D. You even have students at the other end of the intelligence range… gifted students. There are many types of students with special needs, physical disabilities such as blind or deaf, or those with medical or mental disabilities, including students with F.A.S. (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Effects.) The range of special needs is huge and diverse. Don’t forget there are also all levels of E.S.L students, as well as refugee students who may have never been to school, let a lone seen a toilet. I am sure that you know that one in eight of B.C.’s children live in poverty. Many of these children come to school hungry and do not have proper winter clothing,
There are also the gray area students who fall in the low average range, and find it very difficult to cope with the prescribed curriculum. A “normal” classroom is a very dynamic place, not just populated with average intelligence students with no learning problems that are there eager to be taught and to learn.
Also I would like to point out that the new schools have very small classrooms in which it is a challenge to fit in 30 students, let a lone textbooks and students supplies. They are very noisy places as students are packed into a too small space.
I would add that each classroom doesn’t necessarily represent BC society as a whole.
Poorer areas, where students may be undernourished or under-parented, often have a much higher percentage of “special needs” children.
Absolutely agree with Beenthere about what “special needs” entails.
For all we know, Cheryl could teach on a reserve. If our country’s “rankings” were based on the state of some of the Native American reservations (check some of the news stories out there) or the “slums” of our cities, we would be considered third-world.
Thanks Cheryl for standing up and speaking out! It is courageous people like you who make the world a better place to live. It’s good to know that you will keep on keeping on, even if this ends up being only 15 mins of fame, lol. I think any kids who find you as their teacher will feel the same. Happy to have “met” you
My local paper has had some interesting letters to the editor regarding the issue of how we teachers are indoctrinating the children to only see our selfish and radical union ideals. I gave my students a balanced (I thought) discussion about the issues between our employers and ourselves, just before the 3 day strike. As an assignment, to be discussed when we got back, I asked the grade 5/6 class to think of ways that two groups of people could solve a disagreement when both firmly believe they are right and others support both groups. I was disappointed and yet comforted that they could be open with me, too. Most did not do the task, 7 thought a teacher should help solve the problem and 3 said,”The teachers should go back to work and do as they’re told”. The amusing part was that the 3 are actually part of my behaviourally challenged group. Hmmm? I can only guess at the conversations that were going on in their homes.