Why is my teacher on strike? What does that mean? Kids are going to be asking the questions and it's good to be prepared.
How can you explain the complexities of the strike to your school-aged children?Tina O'Connor, a speaker, author and publisher on the topic of communication between parents and children has some great ideas on how to handle this conversation. Her first comment is to be honest about the facts.
She says, "You may need to do a little research first before discussing this issue with your kids so that you know why this is happening. Try to keep your own opinion about it to yourself, or at least try to remain positive about the facts you are presenting to them (keep any negativity tucked away). For example, the teachers want to focus more attention on each student, so they want the class sizes to be smaller, and they would like to have some additional help in the class for those students who require more attention."
How you're going to talk to the kids depends on their age. What is a union and what is the point of a strike? For your young elementary school child you can simply explain that the teachers are in a group and they work together to make sure that the hours they work, the number of kids in a classroom and their vacation time is fair. On the other hand, the government says it does not have extra money in its budget to pay for all those things.
With older kids you can talk more about unions. Of course, if you belong to a union you can include your work situation. You may want to include information about the employee benefits that we now take for granted are a result of previous union actions.
Kids understand the concept of conflict. They know that sometimes they argue with their friends about what games to play or what the rules should be. You can explain that it's the same with this situation. There are two sides, the teachers and the government, and they are having trouble agreeing on the rules.
Union members go on strike when they can't convince the employer to negotiate to make the rules fair for all the workers.
So the strike is the teachers' way of pressuring the government to work with them to talk about salaries and class size.
It's essential to have a plan in place in case there is a work stoppage at school. Whether it's a one-day strike or an ongoing one, you are going to need to develop a child-care plan. Work this out privately. In other words, don't let the kids get involved in your angst about finding alternate care. They may feel guilty that they are the cause of your concern or they may become angry with their teachers.
If you have questions about final exams, how to register your kindergarten child or how you can find out what's happening, do the research so you can let your kids know what to expect. If it's all up in the air, be honest with the kids but also be positive and let them know it's going to be all right and that you will get the information when it's available. As long as they know that you are handling things, they will be OK.
This is not going to last forever. So be very careful not to speak negatively about their teachers. They will be going back to school and these same teachers. You don't want them to be hostile and angry in the classroom.
Teachers' strikes are difficult for the teachers and the government as well as students and parents. It's important that everyone work to make the situation as painless as possible.You can only influence how it will impact you and your children. A plan and a positive attitude will go a long way toward making it acceptable.
Kathy Lynn is a professional speaker and author. To read more, sign up for her informational newsletter at parentingtoday.ca.
