To the Editor

I am writing in response to the latest editorial “Volun-told.”

I am one of the teachers who has taken her Grade 3 class to the water festival for the last five years and thank the wonderful volunteers for all the hard work and dedication they have put into making this event a huge success year after year.  I was disappointed to know that we were not going to the water festival this year and am sorry for the impact that this decision had on others.

With that in mind I want to address the topic of volunteering that was the focus of the editorial. Yes teachers do volunteer their time for extracurricular activities and field trips. Many of those same teachers continue to volunteer during evenings and weekends in a variety of community activities and events.  We the teachers are volunteering at school and in the community because we want to make our school and community an even better place than it already is.

Teachers and the entire school staff are always very upset when job action requires volunteer service to be withdrawn in order to take a stand. Most teachers are parents as well and know first-hand how upset their sons and daughters are when field trips and extracurricular activities do not occur.

The bottom line however is quality education. The temporary withdrawal of volunteer service is less harmful than the long-term changes proposed for classrooms. Appropriate class sizes for all grades and adequate preparation time go a long way to ensuring quality education for our next generation of adults.

Laurie Marks-O’Sullivan