Volunteers Issues in Education Volunteers Volunteers bring special talents to our schools. Volunteers come to school to talk to students about their jobs, listen to children read, help coach a school team, sew or paint a backdrop, help out on field trips, make hot dogs for all the kids, cook a special meal with a class. At the same time, services in public schools expanded as did the people employed to provide them. In various situations, conflict arose between the roles ascribed to employees and volunteers. At the BCTF Annual General Meeting of 1986, teachers adopted a policy on volunteers that defines welcome and appropriate roles for volunteers in schools.
People volunteer for a variety of personal reasons.
We recognize, however, that a volunteer's first commitment may not be to the school and that career or family commitments may prevent them from helping on the day or time planned. Nor do we expect volunteers to be familiar with all the employer's rules and policies that guide us in our work. Recently we have all noticed fewer services in our schools. Many elementary schools have lost their teacher-librarians, caretaker hours have been cut back, band programs have been cancelled, fewer teacher assistants are available to help with students with special needs. Volunteers have sometimes been asked to replace employees who have had their hours reduced or who have been laid off or who were never hired for needed positions.