Good. Time to apply some pressure, as the teachers don’t seem to be in any hurry to get anything done.

That is BS.

A 5% cut can be made without approval of the Labour Relations Board???

Most teachers (99%) are lazy.
They only do the job because they had a useless degree that was good for f all else and they like the time off. Pretty simple really.

Good for them.

We are becoming more like the states, very scary, they don’t give a sh about education and look how they are turning out. With no teachers in none of you that are posting negative on here would have jobs which abviously you do not like. Every teacher should just quite and not come back for a year and see how the province would function after that. Everyone would leave.

Pretty cool of buzzinga to illustrate the quality of education in BC.

quite?

buzzinga. Your opinions are not only dumbfounded but don’t knock the states. Their system makes ours look antiquated and their education system is the highest in the world! Teachers in the states perform their duties unlike these spoiled rotten canadian teachers that do nothing but whine and don’t give a damn about their students. The education level in Canada is only made to look good because we no longer demand that students perform to certain levels. Kids are no longer failed. In the states kids perform or they fail. If the teachers all quit we would have what we have now. That is our problem. There is no accountability in our judicial system , education system, or our government. The Canadian system is failing us and our children. Don’t run down the states.

I like how people are putting down the teachers. Not! Would you like working conditions where you are subject to verbal and sometimes physical abuse from kids who just needed a spanking when they were growing up? Would like to be expected to take your work home and spend hours grading assignments and tests and taking that time away from your own kids at home? Would you like to work at a job where it’s so expected that you volunteer your time outside of work for work events? Would you like to have to reapply for your own position every year if you don’t have tenure? Would you like to do all of the above, and then have your employer say you don’t need a raise and that you aren’t even worth the equivalent of your cohorts across the country? Would you? Until you agree with all of the above, keep your comments to yourself and support the people who are TRYING to educate the next generation of our fine country. If you want a successful Canada, support the people who will get our kids there.

I guess they should have chosen another path in University then….

Does anyone else find it ironic that many of the people who defend the BCTF have some of the worst sentence structure and grammar?

If you don’t like the public school system, there is always the private option.
Better teachers, schools, parents and children.
Public school is broke down.
Private is a better option.

The reason private schools do better, if that is actually true, is that they double dip into the money pot. They get funding from the province, then charge the parents for each child. Maybe the public system should get all the money. You know, up the per student grant in the public system which has to provide a place for every student who wants one, and stop subsidizing private schools. Let those who want a private education pay the whole shot. Stop using tax money to support elitist wannabees.

As to grammar, I have seen some real doozies on here from people who are anti-teacher. Obviously, they didn’t make use of their schooling opportunities when they had the chance.

It just occurred to me, didn’t the BCPSEA, or their Liberal controllers, or someone on the management side make a big deal a little while ago about how they were not going to negotiate in the press? This last offer was released to the press before the union was told about it, wasn’t it? Is that the case with this threat to unilaterally cut pay as well? Doesn’t that mean the BCPSEA is talking out of both sides of its mouth at the same time?

“Your opinions are not only dumbfounded but don’t knock the states. Their system makes ours look antiquated and their education system is the highest in the world!”

===================================

Not sure which world, but it’s not earth . . .

This study from 2010 has South Korea #1, Canada #3 and the US #14

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading

This one from 2013 is broken down by different categories. The US is well below Canada in all of the rankings and nowhere near the best in the world:

http://www.businessinsider.com/pisa-rankings-2013-12

There are many more studies out there, just take your pick.

Where the US does do very well is in regard to post-secondary institutions. That’s a very different ball game than what we are talking about here.

Teachers are important to our future, teaching our children the basics and how to be a good member of society. For that they are expected to take abuse from students, parent, government and the public. Why is education being targeted by this government? Do we want unhappy teachers who are poorly paid in crowded classrooms, with no money for books and supplies? Do we expect them not only volunteer their time but be happy about it? The government cuts taxes (which DOES NOT stimulate job growth, never has and never will – only customers wanting your products will ever produce more jobs) and then tries balance the budget by cutting public services. Meanwhile, the public expects the public servant to be a magician and do it for as little pay as possible. Public service used to be a job to be proud of, you were making a difference to your community. Public servants are now seen as parasitic, that they are not worthy of respect, not worthy of being paid well and the reason why your taxes are too high. After four years of University I wouldn’t be a public servant even if you paid me $100,000 per year let alone the $45,000 that new teachers start at and I don’t think most posters here would either.

Ammonra:”…or their Liberal controllers,…)

Who did the controlling during the two ruling periods of the BC NDP? Guess what: NDP controllers! During those years as well there was never any peace between the government and the teachers either!

Teachers are not the only ones who have difficult jobs! Most jobs have their unpleasant aspects. Ask any person, at random. They can tell you that they had problems, no matter who ran the Legislature.

Why don’t we just pay teachers to teach and forget about all of the extra stuff? If they choose to coach a team or do other things outside of their core duties it, then pay them a stipend for it.

If there are no teachers willing to do it for the stipend, then seek assistance from parents or other volunteers.

I think it’s pretty well known now that teachers will have to put up with abuse, they will have to deal with kids whose parents think their little Johnny couldn’t possibly be a problem, they will have to work some hours outside of the classroom and they may have to give up some of their personal life because of it.

Nurses work 12 hour shifts that often turn into 13 hour shifts without a break, they get kicked and spit on by patients and they get verbally abused by the families of patients who have no respect for anyone.

A guy working at a mill gets to work in a hot sweaty place all the time, he risks personal injury while on the job and he possibly has his life cut short because of the crap he has to breathe in every day while doing his job.

The point is that most everyone has something tough in their job that they have to deal with. Most people understand that going in and they have to learn to either manage it, or find themselves a job with conditions that are more to their liking. They have 100% control over that.

Teachers are very important and they serve a very important role in our society. That said, they are not Gods. Some of the self righteous talk coming out from places like the BCTF is a little tough to swallow and IMHO, it turns the public off from listening to what are likely very reasonable concerns on the part of teachers.

I think that teachers would be well served to take a look around at what everyone else is going through and to realize that their approach often leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. They aren’t the only people in this country who have a role to play in making it a better place . . .

Hey western2, don’t let the facts get in the way of your opinion. Truth is the USA does not have the best education system in the world, Finland does, the USA ranks 17th (an average rank), and with Canada ranking 10th we have a better education system than the USA.

“Pearson’s chief education adviser Sir Michael Barber tells BBC that the high ranking countries tend to offer teachers higher status in society and have a “culture” of education.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/best-education-in-the-wor_n_2199795.html#slide=1809844

On this matter Bazzinga is right and you are wrong western2. Anyone else noticing the pro-teachers comments are more factually accurate, and correct, than the anti-teacher comments?

Prince George, we are living in 2014 not the distant past. The Liberals have had 13 years to do all they promised and have woefully fallen short. Its about time all you Liberal supporters accepted that the current state of affairs in this province is the fault of the Liberal Party which you support, not the NDP.

If I was a teacher I’d say go ahead and cut my wages and I’d do even less! This is nothing but a bullying tactic and is pure BS. So the teachers agree and take the 6 year contract and the bonus, a week later the government rips up the contract. Wouldn’t be the first time.

They should walk now with less than a month left in the school year and say screw ya all!

Job action? What job action? This union and a few others have turned into wimps!

Posted by: lildigger on May 16 2014 2:57 PM
Most teachers (99%) are lazy.
They only do the job because they had a useless degree that was good for f all else and they like the time off. Pretty simple really.
———————————

I know a lot of teachers that would love to buy you a coffee.

Comment Posted by: JohnnyBelt on May 16 2014 3:44 PM
Does anyone else find it ironic that many of the people who defend the BCTF have some of the worst sentence structure and grammar?
————————————-

Not everyone is as perfect as you.

Well I guess this is the place to put down people’s occupations. Seeing as lildiggers’s ” pretty simple really'”brain has decided 99% of all teachers are lazy and as JohnnyBelt is in fine form, how about a few comments on those in the business community. I shared some of these posts with a friend of mine who spent some time investigating fraud in various cities in BC, including PG. He said you can always tell the self-centtred, selfish business guy with a very flexible moral code, who smiles as he greets you but has a knife in his hand behind his back. Fortunately most of them just spend time de-frauding each other when they’re not posting their ignorant comments here. My friend’s summation of the business community: “Why do you think we need so many lawyers?”

Who do you think we should go after next ?

I think it would be well worth a careful look at the implications of abrogating the contract. Does that mean retiring teachers can retire at the end of May and not have that 5% pay cut factored into their pensions? Just imagine the implications.
I would suggest the government take a step back before this gets really ugly.

Well said Karrman. Not to forget Dick, (living up to his name again). I’ve seen him in operation. Where do you think he derived his stage name from?

Sorry guys I got alittle heated and started ranting. I just can’t believe that people think they can do other peoples jobs better then the person actually doing the job, there are good teachers and very bad teachers just like everything else good doctors and believe me very bad doctors playing with people’s lives. Obviously some teachers have failed some people on here and now they are complaining about the teachers they have had which it is there right. Why else would you become a teacher, by a good teacher because it is very rewarding seeing a student progressing grade after grade mowing you set him on the right track to his life and career, I know the bad teachers don’t care about the student it is just a job to them with some extra perks . But we as a society has to remember that this is our kids future and we have to be carefull we want our kids heading inthe right direction.