There was considerable chatter on the media concerning the recent High School teacher’s localized strikes or job action if that is the PC term. When the government was considering back-to-work legislation, a number of commentators began referring to teaching as an ‘essential service’ – a service which the country must have in order to function as a modern state. There were dissenting voices and even a suggestion that only at the Grade 12 level (in Ontario) should the teaching be considered ‘essential’.
I suppose the premise was that we need a grade 12 education before heading into the work force or off to higher education in the hope of landing a better (higher paying?) job. I am unsure what this would mean to someone who does not complete Grade 12 – someone who stopped schooling at an earlier grade for some reason. I guess they are not essential to the country’s well-being.
There is no question that an educated populace is desirable for any enlightened country. It would follow that a state sponsored education system was essential and so we have people who work for the state as teachers, administrators, and support staff – all paid from the public purse. Other examples of essential services would include the Armed Forces and their retinue; the Justice system with Judges, prosecutors and police; a Health system including hospitals and Food and Drug guardians. We might include Firefighters for protection of persons and property; social workers to attend to some of the needs of the poor and disadvantaged; tax collectors and their ilk, and the list goes on and on. At one time we considered the postal service as ‘essential’ but it is slowly morphing into a ‘desirable’ service, not essential.
As we change into an urban society how about making water and sanitation essential services? Or electricity? How about communications? Elevator service? Highways and their maintenance? What would we ever do without the truckers who bring us our food? Darned essential at our house! The more people we have to serve in large centres, the more ‘essential’ services we need.
Attendant to these essential services is the bureaucracy needed to organize and run the various departments, branches and divisions. It is amazing that the whole system works as well as it does. Oh, there are glitches and incompetence here and there; arguments about the value of the service provided; questions about the efficiency and even honesty. Occasionally questions arise about whether the Government needs an essential service like the LCBO or a Marketing Board for really, the government should only step into a ‘business’ when it becomes an essential service.
Theoretically a bureaucracy is a system where a minimum number of people can attend to the needs of the overall population. The problem with bureaucracies is that they tend, after a while, to forget why they are there and who is paying them. Trouble begins when those within the walls exist at the expense of those whom they are supposedly serving. When administrative convenience replaces customer service, as appears to have happened at Hydro One according to the Auditor, then things need to change.
Is education an essential service? Those hoping for an answer by way of the Government ordering the teachers back to work will have to wait for another day. What we did discover through this work stoppage was that although the teacher’s union assured us they were concerned about the children, they were not so concerned with breaking the law and holding an illegal strike. We also learned that the bureaucracy that is the Education System in Ontario is broken, and like Hydro One, needs a major overhaul. We need one secular system that is essential for the Province, Kindergarten to Grade 12. Essential: No strikes.
