N.S. teachers, union cite rising school violence, burnout as challenges

An empty classroom at at an elementary school in Toronto on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. (Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

After more than 20 years as a teacher, Sarah Tutty says the education system in Nova Scotia is becoming more complicated and unsustainable. According to Tutty, many of her colleagues openly discuss leaving the profession due to concerns over burnout, violence, and a lack of resources.

“It’s definitely been in our thoughts and conversations,” said Tutty, who teaches in Liverpool. “I haven’t been a victim of school violence, but we have teachers going to school wearing protective gear to try to mitigate the damage done.”

The Nova Scotia Teachers Union recently conducted a survey with more than 3,519 members that found 84 per cent of teachers in the province have considered walking away from the job or relocating to a different province or country in the last five years.

“I was a little surprised by how high the number was but it reinforces what I’m hearing from teachers,” said Ryan Lutes, president of the union. “They’re giving everything they’ve got but there are students who need more from the systems.

“This is a canary in the coalmine. We can’t afford to lose one teacher.”

In an email, Krista Higdon with the Nova Scotia government said Becky Druhan, minister of education and early childhood learning, regularly meets with teachers and the union to discuss issues and challenges.

“There’s no doubt that the past five years, which included a global pandemic, have been tough on people across all professions,” Higdon said. “Teachers are passionate about their profession and their students, sharing our genuine commitment to bettering our education system for staff and students and eager to work together to that end.”

The survey noted the top reasons teachers gave for potentially quitting include burnout, high workloads, lack of resources to support students, lack of employer support, lack of respect from the employer or government, and rising levels of school violence.

“Violence is increasing and increasing,” Lutes said. “Last year was the highest level of school violence that’s ever been (in Nova Scotia). It’s disheartening and disgusting that the situation is like this.”

Lutes said the union is calling on the province to make “concrete changes” to address burnout and violence problems, such as smaller classrooms, better wages for substitute teachers, and more mental health supports for students.

“I’d love to see more teachers hired for more needs,” he said. “We need more humans in our schools. This government has been making creative solutions on the recruiting side but we can’t just focus on that. We need government to focus on the people working in the classrooms now.”

Higdon said the provincial government is implementing several ideas for this school year, including:

• hiring more term substitute teachers
• creating elementary math specialists
• assigning youth and child-care practitioners to specific classrooms
• expanding programs to promote healthy masculinity
• reinstating the provincial attendance policy

“The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has also formed a leadership table with representation from the Nova Scotia Teachers Union and the Public School Administrators Association of Nova Scotia, which meets regularly regarding matters related to safe and inclusive schools,” Higdon said.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.