致卑詩華裔學生家長們的一封公開信

（作者/空因http://kongyin99.blogspot.ca）

 

親愛的家長們，

我是空因，溫哥華的一名華裔詩人。素來，我對政治是避而遠之的，但是現在，在良心和道義的驅使下，我想就最近的教師罷工一事，跟大家說上幾句心裡話。

 

首先，我完全理解你們作為父母們的痛苦心理 --- 孩子們有學不能去，有課不能上，大好的求知時光，就這麼被白白地辜負了。誰說這不是一件讓人痛心疾首的事呢？更不用說那些陪讀國際學生的家長們了。這麼多年來，含辛茹苦，省吃儉用，終於給自己的寶貝掙來了一個渴盼已久的留學機會，怎知到了這個異國他鄉，卻牽着孩子的手望學校門而興嘆！

 

所以，大家的不滿和激憤情緒，是完全可以理解的。孩子，就是我們的未來，我們的希望，我們辛勤付出的所有補償。誰能怪我們太愛他們？太在乎他們？太關注他們的前途和幸福呢？從這個角度來看問題，我百分之百地站在你們一邊，我的心無比同情你們， 也無比同情那些暫時失學的孩子們！

 

到底有什麼辦法能夠幫助解決這個燃眉之急呢？現在政府與工會的矛盾似乎已經到了最尖銳的地步，外人幾乎沒有能力去干涉什麼、影響什麼。可是，真的是這樣嗎？我們作為加拿大社會的廣大一簇，我們這些拳拳之心的父母們，真的毫無能力去為我們的孩子們做些什麼嗎？

 

我覺得答案應該是肯定的： 我們的確可以通過我們的態度和行動去影響罷工，爭取它的早日結束。

 

說來容易做來難，我們這些罷工的直接受害者們，到底該如何去幫助解開這個死結呢？我個人的看法是：如果我們希望罷工 儘快結束，孩子們早日回到課堂，我們一定要給卑詩省政府施加壓力，而儘量對教師工會表示同情與支持。為什麼我這樣說呢？

 

大家若冷靜地回顧一下這兩個月來的談判進展，就不難發現其實真正不願意學生立即複課的是政府，而不是老師。大家想一想：到底誰是罷工的受益者呢？顯然不是老師，或是孩子，或是老師們。老師們罷工，政府每天可以節省上千萬塊錢，而那些可憐的老師們，不但沒有任何工資可拿，連工會現在也窮得一分錢也發不出來救濟他們。我就認識好幾個老師儘管面臨着斷炊之險，依然每天開一個多小時的車去罷工。大家想想：如果是我們自己，我們願意付出這麼大的犧牲嗎？

 

政府總是對外強調：老師們太過於貪婪，要求漲的工資超過其它工會。事實真是這樣嗎？至少連續五年，卑詩省老師的工資沒有漲過一文。如果我們自己也是這樣，我們會怎麼想？跟加拿大其它省份比較，卑詩省老師的工資幾乎是最低的， 連農業省薩省的教師工資都比這裡高出不少。我們可以比較一下：卑詩省的生活水平比薩省的又要高出多少？他們的房子要便宜多少？

 

教師們真的貪婪嗎？早在九十年代，卑詩省教師們就在跟政府協商時候在工資方面做出了不少讓步，而要求政府將班級規模和班級組成（class size and class composition） 列入教師合同的一部分。而BC政府卻在2002年將已確立的協議撕毀。工會不服，將此訴諸法庭，法庭先後兩次裁定政府觸犯教師的合法談判權,勒令他們恢復以前的協議和合同，可是省政府卻毫不理會法院的判決並對此上訴。所以，這樁訴訟最後的輸贏，仍有待法庭最後裁決。

 

如果大家緊密跟蹤最近工會與政府之間的談判，而不是專注於政府的官方宣傳，就不難發現教師們並沒有將加工資的要求放在首位，他們強調的還是另外兩項：班級規模和班級組成。事實上，幾乎所有的老師們都認同這一點：政府所答應的工資漲幅和老師們所要求的已經非常接近，雙方對此已經沒有什麼爭論了。而他們的異議主要體現在另外兩項：班級規模和班級組成。

 

一個星期前超過99%的工會成員投票擁護有約束力的仲裁（binding arbitration）。工會明確表示：老師們願意放棄對薪水、福利等條件的堅持，而將此交由仲裁人來決定。即仲裁人決定是多少就是多少，老師會完全服從。至於其它兩項：班級規模和班級組成則留給法庭他日再定。這個提議聽起來非常合情合理，然而，教育廳卻對此依然拒絕。

 

如此看來，政府說教師們的要求不合理甚至認為他們貪婪的說法是完全不成立的。如果我們非要相信他們是不合理甚至貪婪的，那麼，他們的不合理和貪婪也是無私的不合理，無私的貪婪，因為他們所要求的並不是為了他們自己，而是為了維護千千萬萬卑詩省的孩子們的切身利益。再說，就算老師們要求增加教育經費，合理加薪也只會吸引更多優秀的人才來獻身於教育，而足夠的教育資金也只會對孩子們的學習有利無弊。這樣的要求到底有什麼過分呢？

 

親愛的家長們，我們可以問自己幾個問題：我們願意自己的孩子在一個擠得滿滿的教室里上課嗎？我們願意自己的孩子讓一個忙得無暇分身的老師來教導他們嗎？在一個有一大半孩子需要特殊照顧和輔導的班級里，我們孩子們的能力會得到最大的發掘嗎？我們真的希望公立學校里沒有音樂、美術、圖書館、體育，甚至很少有心理輔導嗎？

 

親愛的家長們，在質問工會之前，請大家用客觀的眼光來看看這些老師們。如果老師們這麼多年來都沒有加薪，他們仍然大度地願意接受仲裁人來決定他們的工資。這不是已經做出很大的讓步了嗎？那麼，他們依然還苦苦堅持罷工，到底是為了什麼？在一個有40個學生的班級里教書和在一個有25個學生的班級里教書的他們，難道得到的工資不是一樣的嗎？如果他們在乎的不是教學質量，他們還會徘徊在學校大門的外面嗎？

 

親愛的家長們，如果我們真的渴望孩子們早日回到學校，難道我們要督促的不是卑詩政府嗎？試問：作為老師的僱傭者和與工會的直接談判者，政府到目前為止到底做出了什麼讓步？如果他們真的有心讓工會結束罷工，為什麼他們不敢答應有約束力的仲裁（binding arbitration）？教師罷工為政府所省下來的錢，用來支付老師欲漲的工資已綽綽有餘。那麼，政府到底在害怕什麼？

 

說來說去，還是政府希望工會放棄這兩項讓他們懼怕的要求：班級規模和班級組成。因為他們心虛：如果在協議中加入這兩項，他們就得調整財政預算，就得致力於發展卑詩省的教育，而不是將其它非重要的項目放在首位, 如撥款修建體育館屋頂或者給大型企業減稅。我們應該問問政府：有什麼比投資教育更加有意義有回報呢？如果今天在這上面省一點可憐巴巴的小錢，那麼明天我們又得在這方面付出怎樣慘痛的代價？

 

政府極力遊說：如果工會最終勝利了，那麼這些錢都得來自於卑詩納稅人的錢包，我們都得負擔額外的稅收了。我們應該反問政府：工會的勝利真的就意味着加稅嗎？政府難道不可以調整其它非核心項目來保證收支平衡？難道政府的領導們不可以坐下來好好思考一下該如何在不削減教育經費的同時改革一些相關體系？這難道不是他們應盡的職責嗎？

 

另外，話說回來，就算加一點稅，為了孩子們，難道不是值得的嗎？事實上，調查報告已經表明：多數卑詩人願意為了滿足本省孩子們的需要而多付一點稅。我就曾親眼看到好多朋友們毫無顧慮地表示：“加吧，加吧，只要是為了孩子們，一切都是值得的。”

 

我認識一個公立學校的老師，她每天六點鐘就去上班，到傍晚七點鐘左右才回。她的班裡，單是需要特別照顧的孩子們就有一半，其中一個連自己上廁所都不會，需要有人陪着幫他擦屁股。這位老師曾經有過幾個助手幫忙，但現在，卻被政府砍得只剩下一個。

 

還有一個老師，好多次他帶了午餐去學校，卻發現有幾個學生們因為貧困，家裡沒有給他們準備任何吃的。於是，他常常捨棄自己的午餐，把它分給了那些飢餓的孩子們。而這個罷課的老師，如今生活如此拮据，只能靠從銀行借貸度日……

 

親愛的父母們，作為孩子們的家長們，我們實在應該體諒這些教師們的一片苦心呵。我們怎能在他們最失落最需要扶持的時候去苛求甚至責難他們？所謂的“我們支持老師，不支持工會”，的這種說法是行不通的。因為工會就是教師權益的代表，我們若支持教師們，就必然得支持工會。試想：如果現在在老師和家長之間製造出不必要的鴻溝，將來又如何去跟他們溝通，去建立心與心之間的聯繫和感情呢？

 

中國素來就有尊師重教的傳統。孟母為了自己的孩子有一個良好的學習環境，一連搬遷了三次。博學的孔子去拜訪老子時，也一再跪地叩拜。漢明帝去拜訪他的恩師時，也一定讓車子在街口停下，步行到老師的門前，以示尊敬和謙卑。中國人素來尊老師們為“靈魂的工程師”，甚至還有“師恩似海”，“一日為師，終身為父”的俗語。我們到了國外，應該將這些美德和傳統發揚光大才是啊。

 

當政府奚落老師們，嘲笑他們“貪婪”和“不合作”時，我們應該起來質問他們：作為一省之主，作為一個有修養有教育的人，以這樣的口吻在大庭廣眾之下貶低老師，合適嗎？當孩子們看到領導們、家長們這樣不尊重老師，這對他們有良好的影響嗎？“良師出高徒”的道理，在世界任何地方都是成立的呀。試問：一個不受社會尊重的教師，能夠教育出高徒們嗎？一個鬱鬱寡歡的教師，能夠給孩子們帶來快樂和希望嗎？

 

殫竭心力終為子，可憐天下父母心！親愛的父母們，如果我們衷心希望自己的孩子將來成為一個有用人才，首先，我們得大力支持他們的老師，體察他們的苦情，跟他們站在同一條陣線上，讓孩子們從我們的身上和他們的老師們的身上，看到人性、知識、智慧和民主的光輝，以大局為重,以前途為重，去為教育搖旗吶喊、擂鼓助威。在加拿大美麗遼闊的天空下，讓我們和孩子們都滿懷信心地微笑着：啊，我們移民加拿大是值得的！看！那美好的未來，正一步步向我們邁來……

 

（空因，2014年9月14日於溫哥華）

 

An Open Letter to All Chinese Parents in BC Province

(by Kongyinhttp://kongyin99.blogspot.ca)

 

Dear Parents,

My name is Kongyin, a poet originally from China now living in Vancouver. Normally, I shun politics, but today, driven by my conscience, watching the ongoing dispute between the teachers and the government, I feel the need to chat a bit with you from the bottom of my heart.

First of all, I am fully empathetic with you – the parents of the children who have been suffering due to the strike. The schools are beckoning but no classes are taught; so much precious time has flown away when the children should be in school, quenching their thirst for knowledge.

Who said this is not a bitter thing? Even more so for those parents who came here to help their children who are international students. Over many years, these parents had lived frugally, and struggled extremely hard in order to earn this valuable opportunity for their children to be educated in Canada. Now the long-dreamed dream finally came to reality except that after they came to this foreign country, all they can do now is hold their child's hand and linger outside the school!

So, I fully understand you, and your grievances, and frustration.  Children are our future, our hope, the compensation for all our hard work. Who can blame us for loving our children so much? For caring about them so much? For worrying about their future and prospects so much?  From this perspective, I stand one hundred percent on your side; my heart feels for you, as well as for the children who are temporarily out of schools.

What on earth can we do to help solve this crisis, when the conflict between the government and the Union seems to have reached such a point, that few outsiders have any power to do anything? But is it really so? We are a large group in Canadian society, who care sincerely for our children’s future; do we really have no say in this?

The answer is that we are not powerless, and through our attitude and actions, we can indeed do things to help end the strike as soon as possible.

However, this is easier said than done. How are we, the direct victims of this labour dispute, to help unravel this seemingly deadly knot? My personal view is this: If we want to end the strike as soon as possible, and promptly send the children back to their classrooms, we must pressure the BC government to achieve this goal, while expressing sympathy and support for the Union. Why do I say that?

Through calm retrospect of the progress of the negotiations over the past months, it is obvious that the ones prolonging the strike are in fact the government, not the teachers. Think about it: who are the beneficiaries of the strike? Obviously, not the parents, the children or the teachers. During the strike, the government saves tens of millions of dollars per day, while the teachers don’t receive their wages, and the Union is too poor to pay them even a penny. Personally, I know quite a few teachers who, despite having limited money to buy food, drive more than two hours a day to school to get to the picket line. If we were them, would we be willing to sacrifice so dearly?

The BC government always stresses that the teachers are too greedy, and they demand much more than other unions. Is this really so? The teachers have put up with more than five years without a pay increase. Have you received a pay increase over these last five years? The BC teachers’ wages have been almost the lowest compared to the other provinces in Canada; even in Saskatchewan they pay a much higher salary. Ask yourself: in terms of the cost of living, how much higher is BC than Saskatchewan? And how much cheaper the houses there compared to here?

Are teachers really greedy? Back in the nineties, BC teachers gave numerous concessions in terms of wages and other benefits to secure limits to class size and class composition, but in 2002, the BC government flatly tore up this agreement so the Union had to go court to appeal this. And twice, the courts ordered the government to restore the previous agreements and contracts, but the government has turned a deaf ear to this. This matter is in front of the court today to be ruled on in the near future.

If you closely follow the recent negotiations between the Union and the government, and not government propaganda, you will find that the highest priority from the teachers is not any wage increase but the emphasis on these two issues: class size and class composition. In fact, almost all teachers would agree that the negotiations are very close, in terms of wage increase, between what the government’s proposes and what the Union requests. On this point, they are hardly arguing anymore; their main divergence is reflected in class size and class composition.

A week ago more than ninety nine percent of union members voted to end the strike through binding arbitration which clearly states: teachers are willing to give up their salary and benefit demands, and accept the arbitration of a neutral third party; whatever this third party decides, the teachers will agree to it. As for the other two issues, class size and class composition, these will be left to the judgement of the courts. This proposal sounds quite reasonable; however, the government still rejected it.

Hence, it seems it is quite puzzling that the government is trying to paint the teachers as unreasonable and greedy. If we do believe they are unreasonable and greedy, then we have to believe that their unreasonableness and greediness is on the children’s behalf, for what they are fighting for is not for themselves, but for the immediate concern and vital interests of BC children. A reasonable pay increase will bring brighter minds into education, and sufficient funding will only benefit your children’s school experience.

Dear Parents, please ask yourself these questions: Do you really want your children to be crammed in a tight classroom struggling to learn? Are you willing to let an overburdened teacher teach your children?  In a class full of coded students, students who are coded for learning issues or behaviour problems, do you really think your children’s potential will be tapped to its maximum? No music, art, library, sports, and little counselling; is this really what you envision for public education?

Dear Parents, before you start to question the Union, I beg you to take a look at them with objective eyes. The teachers have survived five years with no pay increases and are willing to settle money issues through arbitration, so why are they so obstinate? They will get the same salary teaching a class of forty or a class of twenty five students. If they didn’t care for the quality of education, they would not still be picketing outside the schools.

 Dear Parents, if you really want the kids back to school as soon as possible, you have to urge the BC government to do something about it. The government, as the direct employers of the teachers as well as the negotiators with the Union, has done little so far. And if they really meant to end the strike, why are they afraid to agree to binding arbitration? The money not paid to teachers during the strike will easily pay for any wage increase. What are they scared of if they have a clear conscience?

Yes, these two things are the sticking points for the government: class size and class composition. They are afraid that if the courts order them to reinstate these two, the government would have to adjust their budget, and become committed to the development of education for all students in British Columbia, rather than focusing on other non-priority projects like stadium roofs, or money in tax breaks for big businesses. We should ask the government: what is more meaningful and rewarding than investing in children? And if we save a little petty cash today, what terrible price will we have to pay tomorrow in this regard?

The BC government is strongly lobbying against education, saying that if the Union wins, the BC taxpayers' wallets will be depleted, for we will have to bear additional taxes. Nevertheless, does the victory of the Union absolutely predict added tax? Can’t the BC government adjust other non-core projects to ensure a balanced budget? Can’t the government leaders at least try to discover how to reform their spending habits by not axing education funding first? Isn’t this their duty, their job?

After having said that, even if we have to pay a little added tax for the benefit of our children, is it not worthwhile? In fact, according to surveys, the majority of BC people have acknowledged that they are willing to bear additional tax for the future of the BC children. Many of my friends said without hesitation, "Bring the tax; for our children, we will bear it, we will bear everything."

A friend of mine, who teaches in a public school, normally goes to work at six o'clock every morning, and doesn’t return home until about seven o'clock in the evening. She told me that in her class alone, half of her children were coded and needed special care; one of them can’t go to toilet on his own, and has to have someone accompany him and help him clean. This teacher used to have several assistants in her classroom, but all but one of these have been cut.

Another teacher friend of mine regularly shared his lunch with those hungry students whose families were too poor to provide them adequate food. Now this same teacher is so poor himself that during the strike he has had to borrow money from the bank to feed his own family.

Dear parents, we really should try to be sympathetic with what these teachers have been through to benefit the children of BC. How can we even think to give them a kick when they need kindness and support?  Some of us claim: "We support teachers, not the Union," but we have to know that this argument shows only ignorance of the situation. The Union is the epitome of the teachers and the byword of the teachers’ interests. If we support the teachers, inevitably, we have to support the Union. Just think about this: If we try to dig a ditch between the teachers and us, how can we easily communicate with them and establish a heart to heart relationship in the future?

We came from China, which has always had a tradition of respecting teachers. Mencius’ mother moved three times in order for her son to have a sound learning environment;  Confucius, the learned man, went to visit the sage Lao Tsu, and repeatedly bowed down to him on his knees. When Emperor Han Ming went to call on his mentor, he would have his carriage stop at the corner of the street, and then walk to his teacher’s door, as he thought this would be the best way to show his humility and respect. In China, we always respect teachers and call them the "engineers of souls", and we even have idioms like "the affection for my teacher is as deep as the sea", or "One day being my teacher, all my life being my father". Now that we are abroad, we should let these virtues and traditions blossom, rather than watch them wither.

When the government ridicules the teachers, labelling them as "greedy" and "uncooperative", we should dare to stand up and question the government: “as the leaders of the province, and as an educated and civilized person, who does it benefit to use such a demeaning tone towards our teachers?” And when children see government leaders and parents belittling their teachers, what influence will this have on them and their education?

We have a saying in China: “A great master brings out great disciples”, and this proverb is universally applicable. How can we expect a society that disrespects teachers will produce promising and capable people? How can we expect an unhappy teacher to bring joy and hope to our children?

If we sincerely want our children to be accomplished, first and foremost, we have to support their teachers, be empathetic to their pains, and stand on the same line with them. This way, from us and their teachers, children will see the gleam of humanity, knowledge, wisdom and democracy. Therefore they will always look at the big picture and become strong advocates for their education and future. 

After all, is not great parental love focused on children? While standing under the vast beautiful Canadian sky, let us, as well as our children, all smile with confidence: ah, our choice of relocating to Canada was such a great move! Look! How bright the future, striding to us, step by step...

 

(Kongyin, September 14, 2014 in Vancouver)