There is nothing to prevent students, or anyone for that matter from crossing a picket line.

In fact if one goes back a few years we had union members and the public crossing picket lines to enter stores like Cdn Tire, or Extra Foods.

So, students can enter the school anytime they chose. Fact of the matter is, the pickets have to be set up **off** school property. Strikers are not permitted on the property that they are striking.

Respect and support are really the only reasons why others won’t cross picket lines……..2 qualities a lot of people lack.

Do the teachers get paid for a sit -in study session? What are they studying?
At the end it is the students that need to be in class getting that last bit of study for exams!

Well said apocpg.

At some point the people of this province will wake up to the privatization of public education agenda the BC Libs have.

First step, bankrupt the public system and claim it’s unaffordable. Check.

2nd step, make private schools more attractive and supported by government. Check.

3rd step, have private companies fund the public system. This is starting, see the chevron funding schools program.

…

Yes apocpg I wonder how long it would of took Canadian Tire to settle if no one crossed the picket line!

People lost their lives for the right to form a union and the right to strike. Crossing a picket line is disrespecting those who’s right it is to strike and the lives lost for better working conditions. Could you imagine the sweat shops and working conditions if there wasn’t a union presence? It’s bad enough for some now when there are unions around.

Shame on those who cross picket lines.

“Shame on those who cross picket lines.”
I am absolutely sick about having to make this decision with my child. Cross the line and take the exam needed to pass the classes. (Classes where part of the curriculum will remain untaught because of job action.)
Or:
Respect the line, and miss the exam, fail 3 classes. Screw your education, kids, this is all because they care so much. Don’t worry about your future, teachers care! government cares!
What would you have your kid do? 3 classes is a lot of sacrifice to honour a picket line. How will that look on a University application?
IF my kid crosses that line, it is not because there was no respect for union workers, or for the previous, and future sacrifices made for workers rights.

How do other countries (let’s say the top ten rated countries for education excellence) manage their systems? Are they also confronted on a regular cycle with teachers on picket lines?

How about the other provinces in Canada?

Why is there never any intelligent permanent solution in B.C., no matter who the governing party is?

To answer your last question PrinceGeorge: there is one common denominator in the last 30+ years of unsettled relations.

Any guesses who that might be?

That’s easy Princegeorge. Its spelled “BCTF”

Beat me to it ewitt lol

Posted by: apocpg on June 12 2014 8:52 AM
Respect and support are really the only reasons why others won’t cross picket lines……..2 qualities a lot of people lack.

———–

Respect is earned. As for support? When did that become a “quality”?

People don’t cross picket lines because they’re scared of retribution from their own union. Where’s the respect in that?

As for crossing picket lines for me it is a case by case basis. If it is a retail worker trying to get above minimum wage then I will not cross. Would cross the one on Tuesday in a heartbeat as long as the teachers are asking for a couple or three times what the other pubic(sic) sector unions settled for.

Where are the ndp leadership,such as it is, through all of this. As they consider themselves a government in waiting they should be front and centre explaining what they would do if faced with a similar circumstance. They do have an education critic,Scott Fraser who has not been on tv that I know of to offer his solution to the current crisis in the education system

They seem to have taken a page out of the Dix official opposition and election manual and are hiding in a panic room at dipper headquarters till the smoke clears. Queer when provincial party leader is camera shy.

ewitt, i’d like to watch you cross any picket line. that’s such tough talk, but even you know you’d never have the guts to do it. i call bs.

@mikmak When I worked at a sawmill years ago I crossed a pulp workers picket line daily for many weeks.

Our kids are out of school but might stroll across a line next week just for fun.

Kids wont have to cross a picket line to write exams. Please stop spreading rumours.

Posted by: Fate on June 12 2014 11:16 AM
“Kids wont have to cross a picket line to write exams. Please stop spreading rumours.”

Exactly, teachers will take down the picket lines because they have to supervise the exams!

http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/story.html?id=9500416

Imagine that!

ewitt “Would cross the one on Tuesday in a heartbeat as long as the teachers are asking for a couple or three times what the other pubic(sic) sector unions settled for”

If only it were about wages. It isn’t. Talk to any teacher and ask what the problem is, it isn’t wages. Would they like more, yep, do they deserve more, absolutely.

What is the real fight: working conditions. Overcrowded class rooms with lack of support staff to deal with all the special needs kids that are showing up. The public school system is VASTLY underfunded. Kids in a public school should get the exact same school experience as kids in private schools or the can give me back my tax dollars.

So it is clear that there will always be a perpetual tug of war between teachers and the government, with neither side (especially the teachers) ever thinking they have won enough to make them happy.

To all those teachers-in-training. Have you thought of switching your education focus to something that still involves what all teachers crave? Whether that be the love of teaching kids or the fact you get an amazing number of days off a year.

@porter Want kids in public schools to have a similar school experience to private schools then make the teachers accountable if their classes are consistently below the norm. Private schools do not permit substandard teachers to stick around long.

The person in the public school system that I really feel sorry for is the one that assigns students to a class. They know who the crappy teachers are yet still have to fill the seats. Do they put the top students in knowing they will at least pass but the lower marks might affect future plans or do they put the bottom quartile in knowing they might not graduate regardless of where they are placed.

“@porter Want kids in public schools to have a similar school experience to private schools then make the teachers accountable if their classes are consistently below the norm. Private schools do not permit substandard teachers to stick around long.”

Private schools dont allow overcrowded classrooms or unattended special needs (many actually dont allow special needs as they’re too much of a disruption to the learning of others). They also have librarians, updated text books, councelors in each school and full time PE teachers in elementary. The private school Christy’s son goes to advertises that no clasrroom has over 26 students.

I can’t speak for teachers, but I’m sure they’d go for performance reviews if they were guaranteed the same working conditions as those seen in private schools.

The public (taxpayers) own the property that the schools are located on. The Union (Teachers) when on strike must stand on the sidewalk. They are not allowed to picked on school property.

So keep off the property, and picket all you want, but you better not try and stop anyone from A. Entering public property, B. Using the same sidewalk.

Contrary to what a lot of people may think, a picket line is very limited in what it can do. It is not up to the public to support the teachers in this situation, they have the union etc; to plead their case.

As far as I am concerned the teachers are using the parents and students to get their way, and this is my opinion is far from being respectful or supportive of citizens rights.

Just to note that teachers pay taxes, both income and other types, and as taxpayers they also own the property that the schools are located on.

but but ammonra, we pay the taxes that pay the teachers, so in essence, we own them!

(just giving you a preview of what some of the teacher bashers will say here…)