#certificationism

Somewhere, in the nebulous space that is nuance, there is a practical middle ground between the demand for certification and the reality of people to actually do a job and the ways we can reasonably monitor and set expectations for the job they do and the paperwork they have to have to do it. However, as things stand there is a clear favoring of certifications over intent. I want to clarify that I am not advocating a stance for anti-certifications for anyone to do any job the want to and this applies to teaching.

As of January 15, 2025, the BC Ministry of Education reports that there are a total of 77, 440 certified teachers in the province and 756 individuals who hold a Letter of Permission1. Out of a total population in British Columbia of 5, 698, 430 as of October 1, 2024, we can parse that nearly one percent of the population in BC is a teacher and one percent of that one percent is teaching with a Letter of Permission. I figure there are a couple reasonable questions to extract from these statistics which are ‘how much is that?’ and ‘is that enough?’. According to an announcement by the provincial government of BC, the answer is no. The British Columbia Teachers Federation has been one source of advocacy toward the current situation of what they call “a critical teacher shortage”.

Simply put, if people in British Columbia want to keep operating with a basis on what I call ‘certificationism’2, then something has to be done to foster it. As The Tyee reports through data obtained from the BC Public School Employers’ Association: “Fewer B.C. teachers left the profession last year [2024] than in the 2021-22 school year, […] (sic) But those who did leave were more likely to be resigning, rather than retiring or finishing their contract positions.” There is a very real issue on how education will be addressed3 in the long term to ensure education in British Columbia continues to be reliably provided and provided at the standard that it is expected to be provided.

After all that context, I refer to this article in The Walrus regarding the material realities of teaching. Teaching as it was seen in media in the past as a life-long profession is becoming a thing of the past. The idea that a person can be the local, grade-whatever teacher for generations is no longer a reality. Teachers are likelier to resign from burnout brought on by stress and harassment than they are to be able to retire from teaching because they did the job for decades as it was a reality in the past. Canada is a corporate welfare state, meaning that while a whole lot of services are provided by the government, they are still funded by money, usually from sources such as taxes, meaning they have a cost. That overly simplified explanation of the source of services is important, because we think of possibilities based on the availability of resources, mainly money. If more resources, again specifically money, are not going to be made available, then other concessions have to be made such as allowing those without the proper certification to do the job. This concession is also usually at the expense of safety mechanisms such as union membership, long-term support, professional development, among others. To be a bit dramatic, the system is letting people in and then chewing them and spitting them out with, if they’re lucky, a thank you for their service because of the high turnover in the teaching profession.

This text on Article 24 from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and how it has affected teaching environments in BC by Tara Ward, pairs well with the aforementioned The Walrus article. It is, in my eyes, an example of how ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ It is admirable how we have a stated intent to have education be available and accessible to everyone. However, what does this mean when those providing said education feel like their struggling and literally have to use foam shields to do so? To be abundantly clear, I do not think Canada, or anyone for that matter, should ignore and discard Article 24, but it is frustrating and upsetting to see how it is “implemented” without the recognition that said implementation requires appropriate support. It sounds great to be able to state that everyone receives an education regardless of their needs, but it is a whole other matter when we consider what that means for the material realities of those teaching and those receiving said teaching.

I don’t feel my reflection in this instance into the matter is enough to lead me to propose a sort of concise plan to address this issue, this is, still just a reflection. Nevertheless, I feel confident in saying that there are two things that essentially need to change and be ensured: support and safety. No amount of resources and money are ever going to make the job worth it when you have to deal with people confronting a teacher before, after, and even during class, a student harassing a teacher, or seeing the effects of discrimination, bullying, and/or hate in the educational setting. We can’t reasonably expect to have a long-term, sustainable educational system if we have the people on the ground feel that they are putting their lives on the line to do keep said long-term, sustainable educational system going. Schools and classrooms should not feel like warzones where people are fighting some sort of epic battle, they should be welcoming spaces where people create community and grow as individuals.

References:

BC Ministry of Education. (2025, January 20). Statistics about valid certified teachers. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/standards-for-educators/statistics

BC Ministry of Education. (2024, July 25). Letter of Permission. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/employer-support/letter-of-permission

BC Stats. (2024, October 1). Quarterly Population Highlights. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/data/statistics/people-population-community/population/quarterly_population_highlights.pdf

BC Gov News. (2024, August 26), More certified teachers coming to B.C: schools. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024ECC0105-001373

BCTF. (2024, October 31). New BCTF research report highlights teacher mentorship in BC schools. https://www.bctf.ca/news-and-opportunities/news-details/2024/10/31/new-bctf-research-report-highlights-teacher-mentorship-in-bc-schools

The Tyee. (2024, December 6). Teacher Resignations Are on the Rise in BC. https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/12/06/Teacher-Resignations-Rise-BC/

The Walrus. (2025, February 19). You Can’t Solve the Teacher Shortage by Pretending Anyone Can Do the Job. https://thewalrus.ca/you-cant-solve-the-teacher-shortage-by-pretending-anyone-can-do-the-job/

The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2015, August 13). Welfare State. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/welfare-state

Capstone Magazine. (2024, February 12). BC’s Teacher Shortage and the Inclusion Paradox: A Critical Analysis of Canada’s Article 24. https://capstone.capilanou.ca/2024/02/12/bcs-teacher-shortage-and-the-inclusion-paradox-a-critical-analysis-of-canadas-article-24/

United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Social Inclusion. (1989, November 20). Article 24 – Education. https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/crpd/article-24-education

1 - “A Letter of Permission is a special permit that allows someone to teach without a certificate in a particular school district, independent school authority or for a First Nations Council for up to one school year. It is only to be used when a certified teacher (also known as a certificate holder) is not available to fill a vacant position. The employer and the applicant each submit a part of the application form. It is the responsibility of the employer to help guide the applicant when applying for the Letter of Permission.”

2 – I personally (as my quick Google search did not provide any sources on a link for reference on the matter) ‘certificationism’ the over- and blind reliance of certifying people to then allow them to perform a certain duty or profession.