I am a graduate student at the University of Northern British Columbia. I hold a graduate entrance scholarship from UNBC and a national graduate scholarship through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. I also have ADHD. How did this happen? How did someone who struggled to sit still for more than ten minutes, had difficulty reading, and failed at completing the most basic daily tasks manage to excel academically? The truth is that I had the incredibly good fortune of having many amazing instructors and the help of a fabulous support staff. Their dedication fostered an environment in which I could excel.
With this experience in mind, the current impasse between UNBC administration and faculty makes me incredibly sad. UNBC faculty drive student engagement and excellence, and, without them, I know that I would not be where I am now, either academically or geographically.
Society spends a lot of time commenting on student disengagement. We hear worry that the next generation will be apathetic and unmotivated. Sometimes teachers are blamed, citing disinterest or incompetence. But are they going about this all wrong? The first step towards fostering engagement is to respect teachers. Do you expect students to engage in education when society devalues instructors, telling them that they do not deserve a salary that is on par with other professionals?
The perpetual counter-argument is that since they work in an area that is publicly funded, we cannot afford to pay them more. But by that logic, should we be asking doctors to take pay cuts when the budgets are tight? What about politicians?
While UNBC is currently a focal point for concerns about the loss of academic talent because of a lack of parity with comparable institutions, this problem is endemic on a much larger scale. With the current pattern of educational job action across Canada, we are quickly reaching a point in which the talented and passionate will take the advice they have been given and choose another career path. These are the people you want in research and the classroom; driving them away will create far more problems than it solves.
We have an opportunity to stand up and demand respect for a faculty that has demonstrated their ability to prompt student engagement. We can show future students why they should care. Let's seize this day and support future students.
Meghan Sterling
Prince George
