Dear Editor:
I would like to set the Record straight regarding a recklessly misleading headline that, intentionally or not, maligns the New Westminster School District and our teachers. The New Westminster School District takes great pride in the passion and commitment our teaching staff provides to their students and their profession.
Our teachers contribute to B.C.’s historical standing as one of the best education systems in the world. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has identified B.C. students as top performers at math, science and reading. In a recent PISA study, 15-year-old B..C students were found to perform in a range above leading jurisdictions such as Finland, Germany and Australia.
Yet the New Westminster Record, in its Nov. 16 story on several three-day remedial training courses for teachers at the Justice Institute of British Columbia, published a headline: “Where do we send B.C. teachers when they screw up? New Westminster.”
I believe this headline is not only disingenuous, but also offensive and insulting to the teachers of New Westminster. The fact that the Justice Institute of B.C. is located in New Westminster is the only local angle to this story. As described in the article, since 2016, the JIBC’s three courses - on professional boundaries, creating a positive learning environment, and managing conflict - have served a total of 32 teachers from across the province required to take the courses by the Teacher Regulation Branch. That's 32 of the approximately 70,000 professionals in B.C. who hold teaching certificates.
It is hard not to believe the Record’s cavalier approach to headline writing was intended as clickbait at the expense of the professionalism of the more than 400 teachers dedicated to the students in this community. It is somewhat ironic that a day after the Record published its story, world- renowned Finnish educator Dr. Pasi Sahlberg was a keynote speaker in Vancouver at the B..C School Superintendents Association fall conference - where he congratulated educators here on their “world-class work,” and “inspiring leadership.” In reference to the outstanding quality and equity found within the B.C. education system, Dr. Sahlberg repeatedly stated "the world needs more B.C."
The teachers who serve the New Westminster School District are professionals who share their expertise and passion with our students every day. I believe the New Westminster Record owes the teachers of New Westminster School District an apology.
Respectfully,
Pat Duncan, superintendent of schools, New Westminster School District
Editor’s note: The headline does not say that the teachers requiring retraining are going to teach in the New Westminster School District. And, of course, neither does the story. (As an aside, we’ve shown this headline to non-teachers and they have not read it as, apparently, some teachers have.)
As an editor I have seen time and time again that one person may read something into a headline, a quote, or, for that matter an entire story, that another simply doesn’t. This is completely understandable given people’s different viewpoints and life experiences.
However, we cannot apologize for how people have misinterpreted a headline.
- Pat Tracy, editor
