Former Sask. teacher describes class conditions, calls for more funding

As Saskatchewan teachers prepare for a second single-day strike on Monday, one of their former colleagues is speaking out about conditions in classrooms around the province.

Kathleen Germs said she left her career as a teacher in the province so she could focus on filling a gap in the school system by improving reading skills for kids.

While teaching is still her passion, Germs said a lack of resources provided by the provincial government led to a drop in her mental health and added stress.

“There’s so many issues happening in the school system. When I started in 2011, if I had a student with intensive needs I would have an EA for that child. If I had students not speaking English, I’d have support. If there was a child who needed mental health supports, there was a counsellor available,” Germs explained on The Evan Bray Show Friday.

“But as the years progressed and there was less and less money being put into education, those supports were eventually stripped away. I couldn’t keep up with the demands for my classroom.”

Germs said other teachers she knows personally are also struggling in the same way.

“Pretty much every single teacher that I’ve spoken to or know is really struggling with their mental health,” Germs said. “There’s no resources, there’s no supports, and seeing them struggle day in and day out is exhausting and heartbreaking.”

Germs said a lot of her teacher friends are looking for other jobs as a result.

“Pretty much every teacher I know is actively looking for another job at all times, because we aren’t teaching anymore. We’re managing behavior. We’re acting as education assistants for intensive-needs students because there are no educational assistants,” she said.

“It’s just an overwhelming job. These children struggling with reading or math, there’s no support anymore and everything has been cut. Teachers can’t keep up with it.”

When she was teaching, Germs said she’d occasionally have to dip into her own bank account to help students who were having trouble with reading.

“We can’t keep using our on paychecks to buy things for the classrooms just so kids have the proper supports for reading,” she said.

Germs said the province needs to give teachers the proper support in order to keep their workloads – and mental health – manageable.

“The government needs to start funding properly so classroom sizes are smaller. The government needs to listen to teachers and help the children,” she said.

“They don’t have a voice right now. They matter, and they’re our future.”