language skills. However, 32 students work- ing collaboratively to practice these skills in a confined space is loud. The sheer volume meant my students with anxiety often need- ed to leave the class. Gym class with 32 students meant we


couldn’t play many team sports such as floor hockey, badminton or basketball unless we did it in rotations, meaning each student might only get eight minutes of active play in our 40-minute period. Even supervising them in the hallway on the way to the gym was an impossible task because I couldn’t ac- tually see the end of the line. Worst of all, there were days when I


didn’t even get to have a conversation with some of my students. The foundation of good teaching, in my opinion, has always been relationships. How will my students feel valued if I don’t even get to talk to them, individually, as people, and not simply as a member of the giant unit that is my class? The junior and intermediate students in my school were dealing with anxiety, depres- sion, suicidal ideation, OCD and learning disabilities. One student witnessed domes- tic abuse. Another lost a parent in a tragic accident. Dozens more were ESL learners from refugee camps or war zones. Many students came to school without food. Any teacher can tell you stories that will


make you weep. I was fortunate to have a class of students with relatively few high needs compared to some of my colleagues. I only had a half dozen students who ac-


16 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2019


tively need my individual attention. Some of my colleagues had twenty. How can we serve them in overcrowded classrooms? It is embarrassing to admit how many times an anxious student left the class unnoticed, or did not return from a washroom break in a timely way. Remember, my class was generally working well. It is not as though students slipped out amidst a cacophony – they could simply vanish in the busyness that 32 students moving from the carpet to their desks can create. Students need more support, not less.


They need more adults in the schools. The students who will be most impacted by any increase in class size are those who are most vulnerable, those who live in poverty, who have learning disabilities or who have men- tal health issues. They are already struggling and we will become a system that fails them.


INVESTING IN EDUCATION IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO


The increase in class size at the high school level, that may now be delayed until the 2020-2021 year, takes all the above prob- lems and compounds them. If my class can have 32 within the current average of 23.8, what will an average of 28 actu- ally look like? I don’t think my high school colleagues are exaggerating when they pic- ture classes with 36 to 40 or more students. These students already faced a massive cutback in course selections for this school year before the August announcement that


delayed class size increases for grades 9 to 12 until next year. I am not complaining. I love teaching. I


teach not because, as some politicians may suggest, I want my “three months of holi- days,” but because I genuinely care about my students. Otherwise, I wouldn’t coach sports or organize school-wide events, spend my lunch breaks talking to students or meet continuously with parents to come up with plans to better support their chil- dren. I have never considered myself a par- ticularly political person, but I cannot sit back and watch these children be steam- rolled by poor policy decisions. Investing in education is the right thing to do. I will work tirelessly to make that happen. I wrote a letter to then-Minister of Edu-


cation Lisa Thompson last spring urging her to consider the damage she will cause to thousands of young Ontarians if the pro- posed changes to class size go through. We teachers will continue to do our best, but we cannot support the needs of 30 to 40 or more students at once. I refuse to believe it is the will of the people. Alongside us, edu- cators, parents and community partners have been writing and making their voices heard too, letting the Ministry know just how we feel. It is crucial to continue to fight for the right of every young Ontarian to re- ceive the first-class public education we are claiming to provide.n


Kimberly Veneziale is a member of the Lakehead Teacher Local.


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