Always invest in educating our children. They will be who pays for your social programs in the future. The better their education, the better jobs or business they create. More money, means more taxes.

Keep them stupid, than they work for nothing for foreign companies coming in to steal our resources.

The Teachers should look at their T4 Slips for 2013, and then go back to work.

Other than a contrived issue with class sizes they have nothing to strike for.

They have good working conditions, good working hours, good holidays and benefits, and an extremely good salary.

So, go back to work and quit the shenanigans. This issue is basically between the left leaning BCTF, and the right leaning Provincial Government, and the teachers and students are pawns in a bigger game.

Right on Looks good on the Liberals .

So you have a class of 32, 4 are always fighting and 3 special needs. Palopu how would you deal with that?

seamut you make a valid point. The four who are always fighting need to be given the appropriate notice that if the disruptions continue they will be expelled from the class. Constant fighting in class is a problem that has to be dealt with by the parents of the children. If the fighting continues then stronger measures have to be taken.

If you reduced the class to 27 are you suggesting that the 4 that are fighting and the 3 special needs, would somehow disappear?? I suggest that you would still have the same problem, only in a smaller class.

Special needs is another situation entirely and I do not have a solution. In any event regardless of whether they are special needs, or disruptive students, they do not have the right to consistently over time disrupt other students in the class. We seldom hear about those students.

I doubt if the problem can be solved as a bargaining chip in negotiations. We need our Government, School Boards, and Parents, to solve this problem on a social level, not as a We versus They problem.

Dealing with those 4 students is indicative of the problem. The teacher has complained many times. A reduced class size will make it easier to deal with the class as a whole along with the special needs. More quality time.

Go to the parents, ya right when you have kids coming to school with no breakfast or lunch.

Managing a class depends on the students (their age and upbringing), teachers (their experience, subject familiarity) and the subject area. I have seen classes with 100 mature students in them, well managed and I have seen classes with much smaller number in total chaos.

What is the average class size or what is the average salary in Canada is a good benchmark and they should always assist or compensate the teachers for classes with bigger size. Teaching and marking the homeworks/tests of a class with 5 is much easier than a class of 40 and there is less interaction between the teacher and student once we pass an optimal class size. The class size is more about the quality of teaching that the students receive.

Have a nice Party in Kamloops, then get back to Work….

I think we should hire the other 35,000 teachers in the province who want a job teaching, pay them twice what they are making now at Tim Hortons, reduce the class size by half and leave taxes where they are at.

The problem for me is the quality of teachers is going downhill and there is no way to punish the bad ones while rewarding the good ones. The things I’ve heard teachers say to kids in these past few years and overheard them say to each other are frankly disgusting. And some of the things I’ve had to deal with, with my own kid’s teacher is beyond frustrating.

Teachers should be paid according to what their capabilities are.
Some teachers are capable and some are not. I have seen teachers that aren’t capable of managing a few kids but others teachers can manage the same group of kids with little to no effort.
Teachers should be assessed as to what their capabilities are and pay them according to their capabilities.
The teachers then could work on improving on themselves in the areas that they are weak which would not only make them a better teacher but would also earn themselves more pay for doing so.

I agree with you moose. Frustrating is putting it mildly.

I would think if the teachers fired their union, selected one teacher per area, went to Victoria, they would have a contract in a couple days. I know, dream’in, LOL.

Palopu you obviously have never volunteered at a elementary school. I suggest you give it a try since all the cutbacks then your opinions will have merit.. As of right now they just show your ignorance to what’s really going on since the liberals have cut back so much funding for,the schools.

I knew the headline would,bring out the teacher haters.. It always does.. And the funny thing is the teacher haters are the first ones to blame the teachers for their kids bad behaviour or blaming other kids etc.. Pathetic

P Val

Could you explain how demands for $3000.00 a year per teacher in massage therapy and wages and benefits double of what other public sector unions have recently settled for helps kids? The benefit package they already have must be pretty damn good to have back rubs still on the table at this stage.

The union has to regroup as the only tactic they know in negotiations is to ask for the moon and then wait till the government of the day imposes a contract. Good on the liberals for saying that they have no intention of forcing the teachers back through legislation, but I suspect this might change if they are still walking the line in October.

If your mom says all we have for dinner is hot dogs a beans and you say I want steak and potatoes or I’m not eatting. How many nights can you hold out, it is not a matter of if your going to eat the dogs it’s a matter of when. Get the mustard a relish ready the dogs are on the barby.

Get smiley face to resign and you might be able to negotiate a new contract.

Hold bad teachers accountable…. but hey.. unions took that out of the game a long time ago.

oldman1, are you referring to Jim Iker? Yes, get that twit to resign, then get rid of the BCTF, put the current Union dues back into the pockets of teachers, appoint a teacher rep from each district as suggested by Grizzly1 and THEN maybe we can negotiate a new contract!!

I agree oldman1 the sooner Jim Iker resigns the sooner this will be settled!

I was talking to a teacher a while ago and if I remember correctly they not only pay dues to the BCTF but also to the PG district teacher’s association. Any teachers that could confirm this?

Socialism = legislated theft.

For both dues it’s $90 a month. And its very obvious that non of you now exactly what they are fighting for right now. No its not the $3000 back rub its more about how this government are criminals and since they are governmnet they can get off scott free from anything. It must be nice to commit a crime and get away with it.

They are fighting for every penny they can get.

=>Buzzinga

The great flaw of trade unionism and the communist model that it’s based on is that it simply deplores productively and innovation and outright encourages and rewards mediocrity and, in some cases, total incompetence.
Anyone who has ever touched on a union environment will know this to be an absolute truth whether they care to admit it or not.

Sure Isis. It’s called catching up.. How many years where the teachers held at zero increase ? Yet others in the public sector got 2% a year. What other contract did the government rip up?

When it comes to negotiating it’s always the same game.. Employer goes very low.. Union goes high and they hopefully meet somewhere in the middle. You do understand that I hope.. Next time you go buy a car and it’s on sale for $15,000. Offer them $17000. Bet ya they yell Sold..lol

P Val. You seem to relish using the term **Teacher Haters**,. This of course is your take on the situation. If we disagree with what you think is best for the teachers, then we are haters.

For your info. We have all gone through the school system. In fact all the teachers on strike went throw school under the old system, then went to University, and then became teachers. So if they are successful in their trade, we can thank the school system that educated them.

So if the system worked for all the teachers in the past 20/30 years why can it not work for their students to-day. Hmmmmm. I suggest that if you get the Government and the Union out of the way the teachers (most of them) would get the job done.

I have immediate family and many relatives that are school teachers, so have some sense of how the system works.

Your use of the term **Teacher Haters** does nothing to further your case.

SLINKY, I HOPE THEY GET EVERY PENNY.

With one negotiated settlement in three decades it is obvious that the bctf does not know how the process is supposed to work. They stick to their original demands until the big bad government invokes essential service legislation and puts them back to work and imposes a contract.

They were taken off guard when their bluff was called and now know what happens in the real world when you withdraw your services. No paycheck! Might be feeling a bit of a pinch from June but reality will really set in when September’s checks fail to arrive but the bills do. Bit of an eye opener for some I would think.

Plenty of the other provincial workers had contracts with 0% or net 0 by giving back certain perks and have since signed new contracts with 1 or 2% increases but definitely not “catch up” amounts.

The city workers are the exception but that gravy train will also be derailed.

Who in the heck, especially this week, would call themselves isis ?

Unions had their time and place but the bctf is a prime example of how the pendulum has swung too far. I wish old Jack Monroe was still around to comment on the 3 grand back rub demand or some of the things they demanded last go around like 2 weeks off if an acquaintance passes away.

itISwhatitIS was too much to type every time.

Isis is also the Greek goddess of magic and life or at least that is what my teacher said.

Wow Isis you really don’t now much do you. 2 Weeks is i bit to much don’t you think but hey if one of your kids or mom and dad passes away how much time do you think you need?

Palopu when all these teachers went through school the class naked up was completely different.

Special needs kids had their own classes and teachers, they where not in regular classes like they are now. Kids with discipline problems were actually disciplined.. Now it’s never the kids fault for their behaviour it’s someone else’s.

I worked for the school district for 5 years and know exactly how the system works.. And it doesn’t work very well. Everyone passes..it’s a fight for mediocrity .