The union representing B.C. teachers is facing a slap on its refusal to fund a program focused on massacre and Anti-Semitism educate.
A group of teachers formed a educate Last year, the province announced that Holocaust education would become a mandatory part of the Grade 10 curriculum.
“They came together to form this association not only to help with Holocaust education, but also to be a resource and advocate for combating anti-Semitism in schools,” explained Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. “This association creates a space for teachers to educate teachers, for teachers to raise awareness among teachers, and for colleagues to raise awareness among colleagues.”
But in order to host union-funded professional development courses, HAEA first needs to be recognized by the BC Teachers' Federation as a provincial professional association (PSA).
On Wednesday, the association received a notice from the Council of Professional and Specialist Associations, a branch of the union, that its application had been rejected.
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“Despite this decision, PSAC remains steadfast in its desire to find ways to help the association’s members feel valued and included, and to support Holocaust education and the fight against anti-Semitism in K-12 schools,” the committee said in an email to the association.
“They passed a motion to solicit and encourage collaboration between your associations and volunteer PSAs within the council to support the creation and dissemination of your timely and important resources.”
Shanken said the school made the decision without any explanation, which was upsetting to teachers he spoke with.
“(One teacher) said, in education, we call each other colleagues, but it feels like my colleagues hate me,” he said.
The BCTF did not make a spokesperson available for an interview.
The move comes despite the association having support from the Vancouver Centre for Holocaust Education, which is the primary stakeholder in developing the new curriculum in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
“This has to be reversed,” Shanken said. “There’s no doubt about it. This is clearly a miscalculation by the BCTF.”
Meanwhile, the provincial government has made it clear that the new curriculum will proceed as planned and will be launched in the fall of 2025.
“Teachers have the right to decide how a course or a lesson is taught. They do not have the right to decide whether it is taught,” Gov. David Eby said. “It will be taught.”
Education Minister Rachna Singh added that HAEA's decision was an internal union matter and beyond the province's control.
But Singh said consultations with stakeholders of the course were nearly complete.
“We are in the process of integrating Holocaust education into our system,” she said. “It’s happening now and the timeline has not changed.”
The province released its high school Holocaust education plan in October, and Eby noted a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in the province.
He added that the Jewish community has been calling for mandatory Holocaust education “for decades.”
