Wicket Witches

Dear Friends,

As I was clearing the living room floor and putting back what my granddaughters had deemed worthy of their attention, I picked up a button that reads, Respect Teachers, Respect Collective Bargaining. Every morning, I take out this button and contemplate wearing it, but then I put it back as if it were my grandmother’s antic diamond and ruby brooch. 

I don’t wear my grandmother’s brooch because I’m afraid of losing it. I don’t advertise my job because I’m afraid - period.

I know I’m not alone. The day we went to vote, we enthusiastically grabbed these buttons and pinned them on, but at the end of the day, we discretely took them off and “Houdinied” them in our bags and pockets. We didn’t want to provoke altercations or confrontations in “public.” We were anxious, felt threatened, afraid of being who we are.

With teachers making the front page of the Toronto Star, again and again, to say this is a challenging year for Ontario teachers, is a huge understatement.

Bill 115, media propaganda, public's hostility and the seesawing between the union and the board, have reduced us to fleeing shadows, just like ghosts. So much pressure, struggle, animosity! Has it dawned on anyone yet that we are made of flesh and nerves too? 
Why doesn't the government give us back our rights and put students first? Why don't parents go to Queen's Park and advocate for teachers, putting their children first? It's not really about the children, is it? It's about power and control! And somehow, it has been decided that it's ok for us to give them up.

There was a time when the westerners working in developing countries, received a separate allowance called “savagery dues” in Farsi. Since the air we breathe is poisonous and the words we hear menacing, we should demand "abuse-allowance."  

There sure is a which-hunt going on in Ontario. And, I am one of the wicket witches! With all these monsters and goblins on my already hunched back, it’s going to be a tedious Halloween! Accepted and filed! What have you accepted and filed today?