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Tomorrow the educators’ strike in Newton will continue. I want to share with you my experiences with my 3rd grade teacher, Mark Canner, who passed away about six years ago. I spoke extemporaneously at his memorial service on behalf of the literally countless students in the Newton Public Schools whose lives he touched.
Mr. Canner, perhaps still the most influential person in my life so far, was an incredibly talented educator and a remarkable human being who worked tirelessly to help every student achieve their maximum potential, even if that was beyond the potential anyone in their lives had ever told them or expected they could achieve. He was especially noted for his ability to work with what we would today call neurodivergent students, those with ADHD or autism for example, whether they were yet formally diagnosed with an IEP or not yet diagnosed.
Parents always commented to each other that he had a unique ability to speak to (and understand the needs of) every child in his class like they were the only child in the universe. Children always knew he spoke to them like a full human being, not a baby. He always took the time to try to find out what was going on if you were having trouble academically or emotionally.
I remember one time when I was profoundly upset about something and could hardly find the words, he had an aide take charge of the class so that he could sit me down outside the building in a quiet spot and tell me straight up “You can be angry or upset, but you have to respect me enough as a human being, just like you, to take a moment to be calm and find a way to tell me what is upsetting you this much.” I’ve never forgotten that moment. And every student I ever knew who had Mr. Canner has told me some similar story about him.
Third grade was the best year of my childhood and the most engaging year of school I ever had, even if at home we were dealing with incredibly stressful situations with terminally declining health of elder family members who had been living with us. Some of my best friends even now were in that class with me.
Who our educators strive to be for their students
My continued love of learning to this day is intact because of Mark Canner. I know so many other Newton Public Schools graduates had some teacher like him who made every difference in the world to their lives and their childhoods. These alumni have begun emailing City officials, from all over the country, this afternoon to share their NPS educator stories. I also know that just about any educator in the Newton Teachers Association dreams of being able to teach that way, with safe and humane school buildings, sufficient support staff and aides, and realistic class sizes.
They have been crying out for this kind of support for years now, as things have worsened following the 2020-2021 school closures, and they are not being heard. They couldn’t even get in the room with the School Committee without walking off the job, and if they go back now without a contract, I would imagine that the talks will doubtless stall again. These educators and their students are being sacrificed on the altar of some fiscal control whitepapers written when I was still in high school, more than a decade and a half ago, as if the pandemic never happened and changed the situation on the ground.
Mr. Canner always challenged us to do better and be more engaged in the material, if we tried to phone it in or found it boring and below our level. We were expected (and helped) to learn how to read at or above grade level (and to love reading), to spell complex words far beyond the usual 3rd grade level, to memorize every country in the world (except perhaps for some of the new ones that had only just appeared on the map in the 1990s and were still resolving their borders), and most importantly to always stand up for what we believe and be respectful of others because they are humans not because they happen to hold authority.
I remain firm in my convictions
I am one of two Newton City Councilors who refused to sign a letter against the NTA and the strike last week. I have received negative feedback from multiple other City Councilors, some of whom I have known for many years professionally or privately. All Councilors are being further urged to support the position of the School Committee in the current talks. A member of the Council has today demanded that I specifically stop “undermining the negotiating position of the School Committee” (which is perhaps a telling accusation) and to stop “encouraging the teachers to break the law.”
Fortunately, the City Council does not vote on NTA contract matters thereby relieving me of any legal conflict of interest, Mr. Canner taught me better than to back down on saying the right thing here, and my mother and her activism in the Mass Nurses Association union certainly back-stop that belief.
Additionally, I would point simply to the Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley's Sunday sermon at Myrtle Baptist Church in West Newton this morning: "Just last week, all of you all were packed up in one room celebrating MLK Day, and the City of Newton and the Mayor celebrated King. Now they want to claim that this [teacher] strike is illegal. They must have forgotten that Martin Luther King Jr. believed in the importance of breaking unjust laws. It's what King called Civil Disobedience. The true King argued that individuals have a moral responsibility to resist unjust laws and unethical policies..."
I might be alone on the City Council, but I am not alone on the picket lines outside our schools.
A message from Progressive Newton
The general membership of Progressive Newton, a chapter (that I chair) of Progressive Massachusetts, voted today to endorse the four following points as an organization, and we call on other Newton residents and organizations to endorse them as well:
1. We support the NTA in their demands for a fair contract for teachers and aides alike and for safe staffing in the buildings, which will require both raises and additional allocation for new hires.
2. We support the NTA's decision to go out on and remain on strike until they win a new contract.
3. We support S.1217/H.1845 proposed in the current Massachusetts legislature: "An Act uplifting families and securing the right to strike for certain public employees," sponsored by State Sen. Rebecca Rausch and State Reps. Mike Connolly and Erika Uyterhoeven. This bill would restore the right of Massachusetts unions representing non-public safety employees of the government, including municipalities, to legally protected strike actions after 6 months of mediation.
4. We believe any teachers' union has an absolute right to strike regardless of the law.
See you tomorrow morning.
If you are interested in donating to support the NTA strike fund, that link is here.