It is almost the end of the year and we have been talking for a while.
After my recent conversation with you, I got several emails and messages. Some colleagues posted their comments below the blog and others wrote to me. Some called while others mentioned their feedback when they passed me in school buildings. I also received one very important question “I want to write for ETFO also. Where do I begin?
Where I Began
When I was growing up in Goa, a beautiful state on the western coast of India, I always liked receiving the magazines to which my father subscribed- for himself, my mother and me. In addition, we also received one from our community called The Kanara Saraswat. I used to wait eagerly to receive the publications and would pore over them when they arrived.
The magazines were written in English, Marathi and Hindi. My parents wanted me to be able to read and write in many languages because they knew that as I went through schooling and university, I would be immersed in English. As wise visionaries, they wanted me to retain my rich multilingual literacy and I have. I can read, write, think in Hindi, Marathi, Konkani and English and I am very thankful for that. In those magazines, I would love to read a particular author or series by the same person.
One day, I think in Grade 5 (or 5th standard as we said in India) I tried to write a school essay along the same lines as one of my favourite writers and …. my Amma, a high school English teacher caught on. She used to read over my writing because she liked to and she saw that this piece didn’t sound quite like me.
So Amma said “ Write like yourself. You’ll see you have a lot to say and you have your own style and strengths. Find them and sharpen them.” While that entire conversation was carried out in our mother tongue, I’m translating it here to accommodate for our monolingual readers and non-Konkani colleagues 
.
Receiving the Voice
I have not outgrown my love for reading what others write. Over the years I’ve enjoyed receiving the Voice in the mailbox. I read Sharla Falodi’s article and thought deeply about the importance of claiming space. I also read Sangeeta McAuley’s words written long before CRRP was part of a job title in schools and school boards. This piece helped me reflect deeply and make many connections to my practice with students and their families: just because I was a landed immigrant in 2002 didn’t make me an expert on others’ lived realities was my take away. This was 2018.
There are so many inspiring pieces to be found in Archive | ETFO Voice that if you browse these issues, you’ll remember the ones that connected with you over the years.
Timing is Important
When I read the work of writers whose ideas connected with the lived realities of the work that members do in schools, or something new that I had not yet tried, I experienced a faint stirring, a tingle in my fingertips that made me think that this was possible for me too perhaps. So I asked around about where to begin and with a lead, I wrote to the editor. Although I shared a few ideas, I didn’t write for the Voice yet.
It wasn’t until I’d written and submitted my doctoral dissertation in 2021 that I decided to write for ETFO. I sent in my piece “Mothers and Teachers: Two Sides of the Same Coin” in which I spoke of the blended standpoint based on two decades of living here and on my ten years of graduate work.
(In this article when I say “If this were my child, what would I do, wish for and fight for.” I do not mean biological children alone. I speak of the relationship with all the children in our extended families and in our friendship circles. I speak of the special care we extend to the the young people in our personal lives).
If you are considering writing for the Voice, here is some important information to review.
Writing for the Heart and Art of Teaching Blog
I have been a member of my ETFO local since 2004 when I started working as a permanent full time teacher. It wasn’t until 2012 when I had an unpleasant experience at work and I stood up for what’s right that I contacted someone at the local office to seek guidance on how to get formal support to engage in courageous conversations. These things weren’t happening to me yet, but I wanted to speak up when things happened to others around me.
I haven’t looked back since that evening. I served on the Political Action Committee that year and the Social Justice Committee the next time. I served with both these committees once more over the years, once during the pandemic.
Then this year I thought I’d serve through the New Members’ Committee at our local because as time moves on, one plans to leave behind some memorable steps that can lead to a better working environment for colleagues who come after us.
Also because I wanted to connect the dots between my interest in writing with ETFO Provincial and this work with my local, I saw the opportunity to contribute to the conversations through a writing role with ETFO’s Heart and Art of Teaching & Learning and applied. Here is some information if you want to learn more about this blog.
It Takes Time
It took me 9 years (from 2012 to 2021) to get from that first phone call to the local to this point of having regular conversations with all of you. For many who are used to having things happen quickly, perhaps this seemingly meandering process is frustrating. But it isn’t a waste of time.
During this waiting, one becomes more aware of oneself and our working conditions with every passing day. The professional and personal become more seasoned, the struggles become more relatable and the solidarity becomes more real as time moves forward. One has to want something with deep dedication in order to not give up.
One also has to stop caring what other people will think.
Those of us who’ve done things differently and who have made our mark off the beaten track have always been asked “Who do you think you are?” And we don’t bother to respond to that question, do we?
We walk strong. We strengthen others.
That is The Work that goes beyond the job.
Many Paths
There are different ways to make a difference. We don’t all have to be active in ETFO’s provincial or local formal networks. We don’t have to be elected to office though that’s wonderful too if that’s what calls to you.
An institution like ETFO (yes, a union is an institution also) has provincial initiatives like the AGM and locals have their own events planned by the social committee, the goodwill and awards committee or the professional learning committee
But this much I know: no matter how many things are done at the provincial and local level, it is only when everyday working conditions are truly equitable and respectful for each and every member in the schools where we do this important work, that we can say that we are in solidarity, 100% there for one another.
So reach out to ETFO Locals , if not for yourself, to make someone else’s life easier.
With You, In Solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
