Report from Strike Response Meeting

A group of about 20 SFU education students met on September 5, 2014. The meeting included student teachers from the following modules: French, Secondary, IPTEM, and SEEDS. Students from Life Works sent regrets and provided feedback before the meeting. We will continue to reach out to all modules, including modules that just started (the Sept-Aug program).

At the meeting we discussed and reached a consensus on the statement of principles and expectations, initial strategy, and next step in terms of what to request from the SFU Faculty of Education. We also decided to hold off on sending a media release, opting for direct communication with the SFU Faculty of Education at this time.

The draft statement of principles was modified and then adopted in its current form to emphasize that student teachers are requesting that a process of communication and consultation happen before decisions are reached by the SFU Faculty of Education. We also modified the draft to make it clear that students are seeking equitable outcomes through the requested consultation process (equitable in terms of how practicum, graduation, and certification are conducted by the university).

During the discussion about the statement of principles and expectations it was agreed that our first priority and main focus is to open up a free, open, fair, and transparent process for communication and consultation with students.

Rather than try to develop a set of proposals that the committee would present to the administration, our first priority is to get the administration to involve all student teachers in an open forum and an open and fair process of consultation. This will allow for the many needs and points of view to be expressed by as many student teachers as possible. While our first priority is that the university's response to the strike result in equitable outcomes for all student teachers, we think that equity starts with opening up the process of communication and consultation.

The adopted statement of principles is posted on this website, will be emailed to interested students, and will be distributed in paper form as well.

A letter requesting an open forum for all SFU students will be sent to the administration. It was discussed that if the forum is organized as part of the official SFU program (by the university) all students could attend (this seems like the fairest way to start the process of deciding how to proceed - as it will encourage the most possible participation and input).

Finally, it was decided to wait before starting any media outreach. The draft media release was discussed briefly, but there was no need and no time to reach a consensus on this. Also, no media spokespersons were identified at this time (meaning that at this time no student is authorized to speak on behalf of the Solidarity Committee to the media).