Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
- William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming," 1919
You may know this poem (or have taught it to your students), written in the wake of the horrors of World War I and seeing a world where "things fall apart." With their epic battle for better public schools, Newton educators upended those last two lines - those heroic unionists were full of both "conviction" and "passionate intensity," and with both qualities, and many more, they supported and strengthened the center of their community, their public schools.
On Feb. 2, the Newton Teachers Association reached an agreement on a great contract after shutting down the Newton public schools for over two weeks. It is hard to capture in words the courage of NTA members, the joy they exuded, and the pride they felt in their campaign for living wages for Education Support Professionals, for more social workers for their students, greater paid parental leave, smaller class sizes and appropriate preparation and planning time. Many MTA members and locals showed up for the NTA, in person at the daily rallies, and in spirit by posting photos of support online. Donations came in all forms. The solidarity on display throughout the network of local unions and surrounding communities was profound. The NTA took a principled stand for its students and members, but also for the broader work of the MTA to defend public education and make our public schools more equitable.
I want to lift up one of the most important parts of this victory, which animated the contract campaign from the very start: a call for a social worker in every school building to help address the growing mental health crisis among our students. This is not just a Newton issue. One of the great privileges of my job is the chance to travel to locals to hear from members about the issues they are confronting and to support their campaigns for better working and learning conditions. Everywhere Deb McCarthy and I go, we hear about the pain our members feel on behalf of their students and the fear they have for themselves and their colleagues.
With the support of the MTA’s Environmental Health and Safety Committee, members have organized gatherings to address the crisis of mental health and the resultant behavior issues, which at times have resulted in physical harm to our members.
We have to protect our members as front-line workers while always recognizing that young people are suffering and need support. Behavioral issues, and even physical violence, are a cry for help by our students. In January, over 200 of our members met with Patrick Tutwiler, the state secretary of education, to share their experiences in our schools. The secretary and Governor Maura Healey responded with a budget proposal that would provide $5 million in new funds to support mental health services for our young people. That’s a good start, but much more is needed. We have called for enough state support to enable every district to reach the recommended studentto- counselor ratio of 250:1, hire more professional librarians and lift ESP living wages so we can recruit, retain and reward our members who often most directly face the mental health challenges being experienced by our students.
There is no magical solution to this problem. It is the reflection of societal dysfunction, the ubiquity of social media, the overemphasis of punitive, high-stakes testing, and the underfunding of public education, to name a few roots of the crisis. But Deb and I are heartened that our members are lifting these serious issues up, local by local, but also region by region, and making sure - as the Newton Teachers Association did - that the good of our students is addressed through our collective bargaining agreements.
Max Page, MTA President
