Once again, my fellow travellers I am speaking with you through the analogy of gardening. Nature and seasonal changes are comforting in their reliable predictability, after all.
Fall planting is key for all those who garden in this part of the world or elsewhere. Gardeners and farmers plant bulbs including garlic now so that there is a harvest later when warm weather comes.
It’s been some weeks since we went back to school, you and I. Amid all the precarities and poli-tricks, the necessary work is being done by all of us in various roles as strive for student achievement and well being.
The Cost of Everything
One reality that stands out at this time is that everything is expensive and some or many families in all our schools are also experiencing the rising costs of prices for everyday items that their children need on a daily basis.
The Unrelenting Pace of Work and Taking Time to Pause
Everywhere, ETFO members are experiencing the relentless pace of work. We don’t slow down. Instead, you and I tend to keep going to get through whatever needs to get done because the next day brings another wave of tasks.
This is more than ever, a time to pause and ponder. I promise myself everyday, I shall not crumble under the demands that these times are placing on me, and neither will you. We will stand together and we will move forward. But for that to happen, for us to stay strong while we need to take care of ourselves and one another. We have to reach out to one another, because sometimes, we feel wobbly.
My Work Is More Than My Job Title
I am a Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT) in my school district. That said, my everyday work is more than my job title. One part of my job is to collaborate with colleagues who teach exceptional students and will report their achievement. I coordinate IEPs* by curating the curriculum expectations, accommodations, instructional strategies and resources that the team of educators supporting that student have shared. I also offer strategies and resources for consideration. Notice that I didn’t say “I write IEPs” as it is a collaborative process.
Member to Member Communication
Now, here’s the important point: as an ETFO member I am mindful of not directing the work of colleagues. Therefore, I don’t pick their subject expectations and accommodations for them. If they’re reporting on a subject area then it’s their professional judgement that is directing what is included in that program page. We do have collaborative conversations and we work together. The key aspect of my role is not just my job knowledge and expertise but the navigation of delicate passages through the colleagueship landscape.
Deadlines and Deliverables: IEPS Go Home Within 30 Working Days
When IEPs go home is a key deadline in Ontario and a legally mandated one. As someone who has been a SERT for 20 years and a teacher for more, I am able to pivot quickly and manage my time. This often comes with much reduction of other activities including self care. During these days and evenings, I withdraw from many things as the job demands this of me. Like your labour, mine too is largely invisible.
And Then I Got Mail
On October 20th, 2026, IEPs went home and I came to the mailroom where my mailbox is my work hub. I saw an interoffice courier envelope. I opened it and I felt a warm surge of joy! It was a note from a dear friend who was a consultant in the Student Services department with me. She was checking in to see how things were going. It was a joyful moment for me.
That evening, the commute from work was longer than I expected, with much traffic and many twists and turns for errands I’d put off until the IEP deadline was met. I finally reached home and messaged my friend with a thank you. She sent me an IG post with a quote that spoke about planting gardens instead of dying on hills as a metaphor for what one does to stand by an unwavering belief.
I have the note beside my couch and I pick it up on some days, just before the sunrise peeks through the almost bare branches in the distance.
Let us plant seeds in the Fall, so we have flowers in June. This term 1 IEP will be that Fall Planting.
With You, In Solidarity
Rashmee Karnad-Jani
P.S:
*I understand that not all Ontario school boards work with IEPs this way. This is my reality
Please review ETFO’s guidelines, The Individual Education Plan: Advice to Members for more information about IEPs.
