The picketers wave, hoping for support from me, as I drive by. Nope, not happening,– you have messed up year end for 3 grandkids. Besides, it was only 2 years ago, you were out there. Give me a break!! I don’t get raises that often!

Why comment when you know nothing about the issues. Hope your grandkids are in a well balanced classroom with proper support.

So ntkr13 you don’t care about your grand kids future. Bravo.

Just got back from the rally. Well organized Tina Cousins the rest of you. ntkr13 no problems with you not honking, there were plenty of others who honked in support of teachers.

“A rally of teachers and their supporters in School District 57 has turned out to be much larger than anticipated.”

“Much larger than anticipated.” This must disappoint some of the anti-teachers on this site, yet for the rest of us, the size of the rally is not too surprising. The majority of British Columbians support the teachers over a government that acts illegally, unconstitutionally, and irresponsibly.

This is as much a Union Rally as a Teachers Rally. So people shouldn’t be surprised at the number of people who turned out.

Judging from the number of horns honking around the picket lines to-day, I would say that the teachers support is waning.

This is nothing more than a strike. Doesn’t much matter what Union. To try and convince people that it will have an effect on school kids is **bogus**.

I seriously doubt that a majority of British Columbians support this strike.

So who on this site would give up a full months paycheque to support the kids you teach. I sure as he’ll bet you that Very little would.

Palopu states; “I seriously doubt that a majority of British Columbians support this strike.”

http://www.angusreidglobal.com/polls/48983/bc-teachers-strike-parents-support-teachers-over-government-as-job-action-begins/

You should know better than to question the contents of my evidence based comments Palopu ;-)

Polls have been known to be wrong. Especially in the past 5/10 years.

I agree with the poll in that this is a political issue between the Liberals and the NDP as much as it is an issue about teachers, their salaries and benefits, etc; etc;.

Cant seem to get the Government and Civil Servants to spend more time working and less time arguing with each other.

“So who on this site would give up a full months paycheque to support the kids you teach”

Apparently not as many as those who would give up a full months paycheque in the hopes of a huge raise while pretending it is “for the kids”…

Well if they are going out for September and October, even what they are asking they will lose that in those 2 months so there for it isn’t about the money.

Well said interceptor. I would be more supportive if they would just be honest and admit it’s more about pay and benefits than the kids. If you want raises and such fine, perfect. Just don’t say this is all for the kids and not for your personal financial gain. Go for the raise I hope you get it. I sure as hell didn’t with my last government contract. Fight the fight.

If only Victoria had their own money printing presses. Alas!

Are they giving up a full months pay?

@peeps

The polls right up to election day predicted an ndp majority government in the last provincial election and we all know how that worked out.

The only people who participate in phone polls are those who still have land lines and are too dumb to get call display.

The problem with supporting the teachers by honking or waving is that it is only symbolic.
Who won the last election and who got trashed?
Political parties of every ilk are useless but the mandate from the last election is clear.
Teachers don’t get hefty 17% raises.
Oh and btw, if all the teacher supporters are so worried about the children’s educations then simply buck up and put your child in a private school. Problem solved.
Money solves everything just ask the public teachers.

Good luck getting a deal when the strike negotiator quits, and the Vince Ready declines.

There is a reason why Vince Ready wanted nothing to do with this strike. Demands are excessive and there is no hope currently of getting a deal. These high profile mediators don’t risk there reputations unless the case is a slamdunk. Demands between province and BCTF are so far apart he wants no part of it!!

Teachers need to reduce there demands for salaries + signing bonus + increased benefits + class size composition or this strike will go until October.

Let’s see how much support teachers have in September and October!! Maybe it’s time for the union members to stand up and tell Iker to just go get a fair deal. Unfortunately there is little way for Iker to save face now. Looking to be a very long strike.

lol digger private schools are fine until your kids are struggling then they ask you to remove your kids so they don’t bring down the false grade point average they brag about due to removing kids who would lower it. Yeah private schools rock unless your kids needs one on one help.

I honk every time I pass the teachers on strike, ripping up contracts by our government us disgusting.. Shirley bond dealt the final blow when she was education minister with her cuts to funding.

I love that “class size and composition” are the top priorities. Both under appeal in the courts and not on the table. Print the facts. This is about compensation sold as altruism. After decades of this, the BCTF has zero credibility. Union drones will honk at any workerbee with a placard, the silent majority roll their eyes.

Was sitting at light at Massey and HWY16 on Monday and can’t remember one single honk from anyone. The public knows the real story. Entitled BCTF wanting the moon in terms of salary and benefits. Oh and I forgot they are also doing it for the kids because it’s printed on there signs!

Iker needs to quit trying to fight the last election and move on. The teachers are shills if they believe this is anything more than that.
As for getting kicked out of a private school where you pay for having a kid that needs extra help?
Dream on and go sell your bs somewhere else there p val.
Your scare tactics reek if teacher/union rhetoric.
There are way more stories of kids getting no help in public schools that transfer to the private system for better learning than the way you suggest.

It sucks to be a teacher. This is a disfunctional union. If they were more reasonable, maybe this could be worked out.
ps. we dont want socialism in Canada.

@ seamut, you ask “Why comment when you know nothing about the issues.”

First of all, I’d like to inform you that you should have used a question mark (?) rather than a period (.). Perhaps your teacher was not as good as the one’s today think they are??

Secondly, it must really bother you that many of us are far more aware of the issues than you might believe. From my recent conversations with teachers that I personally know, I can assure you that I am far more aware of the issues than they are! You might ask me why that is, so I’ll take the opportunity to tell you that I have taken the initiative to gather information from both sides of the debate! I always say that it’s pretty hard to make an informed decision with first being informed. I take it upon myself to get informed. Perhaps you are only interested in the drivel coming forth from the BCTF. Me, well I get the drivel from both sides!

I suspect that far more of us do that than you give credit to!!

As far as the teachers are concerned, they seem to think that they are more intelligent than the rest of us. I for one am awfully darn sure that I am every bit as intelligent as the vast majority of teachers! Far more of us are than the teachers may think! It’s time for the teachers to learn that lesson!!

I agree with Dr. Patrick McGeer, in his Opinion Piece in today’s Vancouver Province, Page A10 if you are interested. Fire them all and hire back the ones that want to work. I suspect that Dr. McGeer might be more intelligent than the average teacher, more intelligent than Jim Iker, more intelligent that Jim Sinclair, more intelligent than I am and undoubtedly more intelligent than you are, Seamut!!

I agree and disagree with both sides . First the wages , sure maybe the teachers do deserve a raise , but they have not budged on their demand of 13% , where the government has offered 7% . This is a fair offer in my opinion. I make a fair wage but majority of these teachers make more than me . Second class sizes , ok I will admit I don’t know a lot of the facts or offers from either side . But at the end of the day all of this costs money . Where will this come from ? Us the taxpayers , that’s who. We cannot afford to build new classrooms and hire tons of new teachers without a tax increase . So both sides better get off their high horses figure out what is fair for the kids and the taxpayer . Especially those taxpayers who no longer have children in the public school system yet we still fund it .

Don’t many of the classrooms have CUPE teacher aids to help in the classrooms.

Do the teacher aids contribute anything to making the jobs of BCTF members easier??

I know they probably don’t have a university education, but they must serve some purpose in the classroom to lessen workload burdens in schools.

The CUPE teacher aids don’t ever seem to be mentioned in this dispute. Can someone tell me how many teacher aids are on staff in a typical school in PG?

Dr McGeer opinion piece – I like it.
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/06/23/dr-patrick-mcgeer-bctf-has-ruined-the-professionalism-of-teachers/

Hart Guy,
you may claim “to get the drivel from both sides!”
From your posts, however, (and a few others who are very anti-BCTF), you don’t really seem to have a grasp of the Liberals role in this mess. Did you read Palmer’s article in The Sun?
Did you chose to ignore it because it clashed with your rather set views?
To me you have really lost a lot of credibility because of your close-minded comments.

Hart Guy, wasn’t McGeer part of the crowd that forced the teachers to become a union in the 1980’s ?
Prior to that time the BCTF was an association.
Regardless, McGeer was never on my “most admired” list. I think rather than a cabinet minister he would have been better as a stand in for Marty McFly’s father in “Back to the Future” …. and no I am not just referring to his appearance.

Hart Guy, wasn’t McGeer part of the crowd that forced the teachers to become a union in the 1980’s ?
Prior to that time the BCTF was an association.
Regardless, McGeer was never on my “most admired” list. I think rather than a cabinet minister he would have been better as a stand in for Marty McFly’s father in “Back to the Future” …. and no I am not just referring to his appearance.

Comment Posted by: Hart Guy on June 24 2014 9:43 PM

@ seamut, you ask “Why comment when you know nothing about the issues.”

First of all, I’d like to inform you that you should have used a question mark (?) rather than a period (.). Perhaps your teacher was not as good as the one’s today think they are??

——————————————————-

Sigh…it would appear that you have forgotten your English lessons from High School already. There should not be an apostrophe (‘) in “ones.” It must be a typing error, as your self professed intellect is of dizzying qualities and far superior to most on this site. Be that as it may, the extra question mark at the end of the sentence is a no-no, too.

——————————————————–

Secondly, it must really bother you that many of us are far more aware of the issues than you might believe. From my recent conversations with teachers that I personally know, I can assure you that I am far more aware of the issues than they are! You might ask me why that is, so I’ll take the opportunity to tell you that I have taken the initiative to gather information from both sides of the debate! I always say that it’s pretty hard to make an informed decision with first being informed. I take it upon myself to get informed. Perhaps you are only interested in the drivel coming forth from the BCTF. Me, well I get the drivel from both sides!

While I am impressed that you ‘personally know’ teachers (which is much nicer than impersonally knowing teachers), I find this somewhat laughable. When others have made a similar statement about their knowledge and understanding of the issues, you seem almost rabid and ready to jump down their throats. In fact, at times, I can imagine the froth spewing forth and landing on the keyboard. (You may wish to keep a towel handy for later.) Others, myself included, are also VERY well informed; however, when their interpretation is different from yours, they are instantly branded a union hack, or uninformed. An open mind is key to finding the truth.

—————————————————

I suspect that far more of us do that than you give credit to!!

Again, the extra punctuation. You’re slipping (please notice the correct use of the apostrophe).

—————————————————

As far as the teachers are concerned, they seem to think that they are more intelligent than the rest of us. I for one am awfully darn sure that I am every bit as intelligent as the vast majority of teachers! Far more of us are than the teachers may think! It’s time for the teachers to learn that lesson!!

It would seem that you are so excited about this supposition that it requires the use of four exclamation points in three sentences. The lesson of which you speak is that there are people who are more intelligent than teachers, correct? Wow! Who would have thought that? Oh, right, I would have. One of the most intelligent men I have ever met was my uncle who dropped out of school in grade four so that he could run the family farm. He had a keen mind, a sharp intellect, and a creative and inventive capacity that far outstripped almost anyone I have ever known.

—————————————————

I agree with Dr. Patrick McGeer, in his Opinion Piece in today’s Vancouver Province, Page A10 if you are interested. Fire them all and hire back the ones that want to work. I suspect that Dr. McGeer might be more intelligent than the average teacher, more intelligent than Jim Iker, more intelligent that Jim Sinclair, more intelligent than I am and undoubtedly more intelligent than you are, Seamut!!

Unless you have verifiable proof, this is strictly unsubstantiated supposition. I really don’t know how intelligent anybody really is, or what a fair means is of measuring intelligence that is not, in some way, influenced by society. What I do know is that there are many, many highly intelligent individuals in all walks of life, and, I suspect, the vast majority of those do not blow their own horns, or denigrate others because of grammar and punctuation errors. Remember, you got that ball rolling.

As far as Pat McGeer is concerned, was he not the same, “Stick it in your ear, McGeer” of the Socred Era? He has had a pretty stellar academic and research career. I will give him points for that, but not for his rabid anti-unionism, which was a significant plank of his time in politics.

To each his own.

Thanks.

http://castlegarsource.com/news/teachers-strike-more-about-bc-governments-contempt-constitution-pay-or-working-conditions-31782#.U6mhN4m9Kc1

This is about every workers rights!

Hart Guy,
“As far as the teachers are concerned, they seem to think that they are more intelligent than the rest of us. I for one am awfully darn sure that I am every bit as intelligent as the vast majority of teachers! Far more of us are than the teachers may think! It’s time for the teachers to learn that lesson!!”
This has to one of your more silly posts. You make an most far-reaching unintelligent assumption about teachers that belies your claim of being every bit as intelligent as the vast majority of teachers.

karmann and crew,

I know a biology teacher who is very knowledgeable about matters pertaining to biology. He doesn’t have a clue how his vehicle works or how to even change the oil.

I know an English teacher who knows far more about the English language, sentence structure, etc than I will ever know or care to know. Can’t balance a check book or make a family budget to save her soul!!

I know a shop teacher who can weld, do woodwork and fix a car, but who struggles with computers!

My point being some of the most intelligent people that I know, are complete idiots with matters other than their subject of study!

I can fix my car and change the oil, but I no longer remember my periodic table of elements.

I run a successful business, but I don’t know the species or family of many animals.

My point is that we are all intelligent in our own way, but the BCTF seems to think that they are smarter than the rest of us!

I’m smart enough to realize that!

karmann, are you??

Hart Guy,
“but the BCTF seems to think that they are smarter than the rest of us!” What do you base that on ? To me that isn’t a thoughtful comment, but rather a comment based on emotion.
You are so hung up on your hatred of the BCTF that you completely ignore the Liberals’ actions that have played a major role in creating this mess.this situation
Again I invite you to read Palmer’s …. and then read the comments that follow.

Socialists are relentless, I’ll give ’em that. Theft by sloganeering, what a concept.

Just once I would like to see how much the Teachers are making for the amount of time they are in the classroom teaching. Let’s see what it would work out to per hour. How about the benefit package as well. Put it all out there for the general public to see.

Comment Posted by: Hart Guy on June 25 2014 12:11 AM

I know a biology teacher who is very knowledgeable about matters pertaining to biology. He doesn’t have a clue how his vehicle works or how to even change the oil.

I know an English teacher who knows far more about the English language, sentence structure, etc than I will ever know or care to know. Can’t balance a check book or make a family budget to save her soul!!

I know a shop teacher who can weld, do woodwork and fix a car, but who struggles with computers!

—————————————————-

These are great examples of ability and aptitude, but not necessarily intelligence.

—————————————————-
My point being some of the most intelligent people that I know, are complete idiots with matters other than their subject of study!

It is nice that you are able to admit that some of the most intelligent people you know are teachers. It must be very liberating to get that off your chest.

—————————————————-

I can fix my car and change the oil, but I no longer remember my periodic table of elements.

I run a successful business, but I don’t know the species or family of many animals.

Congratulations, on all of the above. These are quite the accomplishments, really.

My point is that we are all intelligent in our own way, but the BCTF seems to think that they are smarter than the rest of us!

I’m smart enough to realize that!

—————————————————-

Are you smart enough to realize that the BCTF is a Federation of individuals who are tasked with providing an educational service to the people of the province of British Columbia, and as such, the physical entity of the BCTF has no intelligence; however, individually and collectively, BCTF members do? That collective intelligence is probably, on average, above the median and mean. That is not to say that there are not outliers within that group who can skew things one way or another when you look at individual cases.

Thank you.

” Posted by: tiredofthebullshit on June 25 2014 6:24 AM
Just once I would like to see how much the Teachers are making for the amount of time they are in the classroom teaching. Let’s see what it would work out to per hour. How about the benefit package as well. Put it all out there for the general public to see.”

Someone had already figured it out in another post tired! It works out to less than 2.00/hr per kid!

It is bad enough that teachers will use the kids as pawns in fighting for what they want, but when they have to start putting them on the picket line for support is ridiculous. The story the other day was about elementary children holding up signs in support. What! maybe 11 or 12 years old? That really pushes it over the line as far as I can say. These kids know nothing about the process of bargaining and yet, parents and teachers are allowing them to march amongst them in protest. Kind of makes one think what really does get taught in class rooms!

Posted by: oldcoot on June 24 2014 8:06 PM
Are they giving up a full months pay?

Yes. When you take into account the 10% that teachers were fined during the lockout of their unpaid time and the increasing number of strike days ever teacher is looking at losing a month’s wages.

Posted by: jimmy on June 24 2014 9:55 PM
Don’t many of the classrooms have CUPE teacher aids to help in the classrooms.
Do the teacher aids contribute anything to making the jobs of BCTF members easier??
The CUPE teacher aids don’t ever seem to be mentioned in this dispute. Can someone tell me how many teacher aids are on staff in a typical school in PG?

Students designated with Special needs generate a dollar amount that is used to support learning. This is used to fund things like Education Assistants (CUPE). Something that many people don’t realize though is that many of these designations come with zero funding. Basically it’s like saying yup their going to need some more help, good luck with that.