- Inducted President of the BCTF in March 2005: Only the 6th woman to take up the BCTF president’s position since its inception in 1917.
- President of the Nanaimo District teachers Union in 1992
- Punjabi being the only language she once knew, she studied to become an ace English teacher (with Social Studies) in 1974 after completing her BEd from the University of Manchester.
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Mother of two and grandmother of 3
As the long night of the two-week teachers’ strike ended on Oct 24, 2005 it was a victory of sorts for the teachers demanding an increase in salary, reduced class sizes and increase in funding for special needs students. Satisfactory promises were made.
But it was also the discovery of the sheer inner strength of the one at helm of the struggle that grabbed the media’s attention – Who was she? And what makes her go? Jinny Sims, President of the BCTF reveals her core philosophy: “Every child needs to be in a class room where they can succeed.” This simple belief was what carried her through days of leading an illegal job action, the prospect of fines that could cripple the union and possibly land her in jail.
“My drive was to address the diverse needs of children in our society and those living in diverse communities, and how our school system should address these needs,” says Jinny. Herself once a student with needs that almost every immigrant child would have, Jinny understands: “I struggled with English when my family moved from India to England when I was 9, and then there wasn’t even any ESL!”
Always involved with social justice issues, Jinny started with enthusing youth groups – “to get them excited about school,” through hikes and martial arts, as a young college student herself in England.
When she emigrated to Canada with her husband Steven as an English and Social Studies teacher in Quebec and then Nanaimo, BC she also served as Student councellor, and worked with children with low self esteem and other social difficulties.
| I love... |
read, walk, garden – I love flowers. |
| I dislike... | it when people don’t say what they mean. |
| Favourite haunt... | The seawall at Stanley park – I love to look at and listen to the sea. |
| Favourite possession... |
family pictures, 3 generations back. |
| I wish for Canada... |
Peace. This a beautiful country. There are ways to live in peace with each other, celebrating our differences & similarities. |
From then on it was no denying which direction her career would take. Elected president of the Nanaimo District teachers Union in 1992 she went on to hold the reins of the entire BCFT in March 2004.
So as Jinny Sims once more throws a call to the government to now follow up on its promises, this what she has to say to our readers: “Give something back to the society you live in. Set goals for your self, get involved with your community. Whatever you take on do it with your heart and soul, only then will you be successful.”
