“
provide, or purchase from another board, special education programs and services for their exceptional children.” Te current provincial funding shortfall,
EACH OF US HAS OUR OWN STORY ABOUT WHY WE CHOSE TO BECOME TEACHERS, BUT ONE THING WE ALL SHARE IS A COMMITMENT TO STUDENTS AND THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES THEY DESERVE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACROSS ONTARIO.”
however, forces boards to ration resources, rather than meeting student needs through sufficient and appropriate staffing, place- ments, supports, services and resources. To assert that a fully inclusive model is best and then fail to provide the necessary supports in schools is ableism cloaked as kindness. Educators will continue to work hard to
provide the best learning experiences we can, but what we see in our schools is the reality: special education funding is failing our students.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
It is never too late to learn about inclusive ed- ucational practices and conditions. Just be- cause I learned at a young age doesn’t mean it’s too late for our policymakers to under- stand these concepts as adults. Te second recommendation in Promises Unfulfilled is to convene a special education committee that includes education stakeholders (including affiliates). I would wholeheartedly dedicate time to building shared vision, values and ac- tions on a committee like that, and so would many others.
32 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2025
Te government is the gatekeeper of ma-
jor funding decisions – it decides who to in- clude and how to include. Tis has a direct correlation to how students are taught, what is valued and who is valued. I hope that our work as ETFO members,
including the recent release of Promises Un- fulfilled, helps us all continue pushing for the support and resources children in Ontario public schools – and their families – deserve. Each of us has our own story about why
we chose to become teachers, but one thing we all share is a commitment to students and the positive outcomes they deserve in public schools across Ontario. May we continue to share our stories so
that hopefully, in time, they can be rewritten. So that it becomes the norm that students have the strategies and resources they need, can be seen for who they are, can have a voice and agency in how they learn, and have ac- cessible spaces to make learning and positive outcomes possible. Everyone deserves a pub- lic education system that provides them with the true story of who they are: worthy and valued learners. n
Jennifer Pinder is a member of the Waterloo Teacher Local.
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