Its back to work on Tuesday for students and teachers as the school bell rings for the first time to mark the beginning of the 2019-20 school year.
Saskatchewan Teachers Federation president Patrick Maze said things can change for teachers on a day-by-day basis that they have to be ready for.
Social media pressures, changing dynamics in demographics such as students who don’t speak English as a first language and bullying are some of the obstacles educators face in their profession.
Being a teacher today may be a lot tougher in some circumstances than other years because of things like social media and bullying.
Some students have a difficult time getting on the same page as their teachers for whatever reason, which begs the question whether or not teachers are respected today.
Maze believes they deserve that respect and suggests it may take some time.
“Most students who have an issue with a teacher in the end look back and realize ‘oh that teacher actually had my best interests at heart’,” said Maze.
Hours of prepping, meetings and hard work go into their work day; not to mention the extra time that is expected outside of the classroom for extra curricular activities and planning.
Maze thinks teaching is a unique profession and that they should be recognized for the job they do. “It’s an occupation where you go into it and you actually care about making a difference.”
There are 13,500 teachers in Saskatchewan.
