Work-to-rule ends but parents' questions linger
Parents are taking their children to school today without any idea what the suspension of the work-to-rule job action will mean for their kids.
Many have been left wondering if the additional programming offered by teachers, like extra academic help or coaching sports, will resume immediately.
Sally Kemp of Wellington is the mother of two teenage daughters — one 16 the other 13. She said there has been little information available about what will happen today.
"I try and check the website, my kids do seem to be a better resource because they'll hear things at school that I haven't even heard from watching the news or trying to check it out online," she said.
"A little more information would have been great."
On Friday, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union announced they would suspend their work-to-rule campaign after they reached a tentative contract agreement with the provincial government. The work-to-rule campaign started Dec. 5 and saw teachers only doing work specifically outlined in their contract — which halted all extracurricular activity.
'We have to have a new normal'
Kemp's oldest daughter is heading into exams this week and needs extra help in math.
"I'm hoping she can get right in if her teacher's not too overwhelmed and get some extra help before her math exam on Thursday. Really, I don't know if extra help is going to be available right away," said Kemp.
"I don't know for sure."
In Cole Harbour, parent Angie O'Connell hopes the end of work-to-rule doesn't mean a return to the status quo. She has two children with special needs and wants teachers to hold out for a contract with better classroom support for students like her children.
"It means the problems are still going to be there. With any problems coming to light, change needs to happen," said O'Connell. "We have to have a new normal."
Coming out of work-to-rule
As teachers make the transition out of work-to-rule, different programs and activities will restart at different times, said Liette Doucet, president of the teachers union.
"There will be some things that happen immediately and some that will transition over the next several weeks and several months," she said.
However, teachers' attitudes around those duties may have changed. Teachers spend a huge amount of time at school often working at night and on weekends doing both academic work and running extracurricular programs, said Doucet.
"I think teachers have realized that they have discovered a new work-life balance and they will be very careful to preserve some of that."
Teachers will vote on the tentative agreement on Feb 8. Teachers have voted down the last two tentative deals.
