Precisely, kb. Three strikes in how many years? Five? If this were any private industry, it would have gone under by now.

Teachers, if you'd like to see how grown-ups strike, please see the trucker strike. Stop this puerile whinging and politicking. And please stop equating supporting education with supporting the teacher cause. I support education, but this is really getting ridiculous.

Canar appears to believe that the adults who look after the children of B.C. and teach them are somehow not "grown-up". I wonder who was able to teach him to read well enough to get his driver's licence? Think about this: those kids are part of the work site for teachers. When working conditions are safe and productive, the kids will learn. Is it really that ridiculous for workers to expect a fair wage, is it bad politics to stand up and fight for collective agreements? When was the last time your contract was stripped of all fairly negotiated clauses? If you really supported education, you would make the time to understand the issues, and not come off as a simple red neck, dishonouring drivers everywhere.

Redhead, you're drinking your own bath water again. We don't give a crap about your agenda, and quit threating the kids. Fair wage - worker unite - comrades at arms - kill the capitalist pigs - blah blah bla. We heard it enough times already.
I bet you sing real well at the pot belly union rallies too.
Anyway as you pointed out, Canar, seems to have turned out well enough dispite the "appalling" conditions when he learn the three R's. Now all Canar needs is for you to take your R's into the classroom and teach.

If the Teachers get more than 8% than I also want more.
If they don't settle for 8% than why should I ?
Government get ready.

It's a new day and it's a new deal. Forget about what you had.

If the teachers were a part of the problem or solution a few years back when enrolments dwindled, 14 schools were closed and a large chunk of our population exited to Alberta, then there may be more support for their cause.

Unfortunately, their actions to want more and to do less didn't impress me when times were tough. It was hard on everyone. And, it did seem unfair. But, those hard decisions needed to be made. And the teachers weren't the ones stepping forward with any solutions.

Why are we trying to compare wages in BC with wages in Alberta? When times are good, populations are increasing, tax money is flowing and the province is flourishing, it makes sense that pay should increase appropriately. Why? Because the demand for employees and their services has increased.

We are now in a position to try to win some of the things back that we lost. We still need to earn it. Striking will not solve anything except foster more resentment, frustration and anger. Chester

Last year the teachers went on strike. The last time that TEACHERS went on strike in Prince George was 1989. I haven't gotten a raise above the inflation rate since. In fact, in the last ten years teachers have received an average wage increase of less than 1% per year.

Another fact worth noting is that the students of this province test in the top 3 in the world in literacy, math, and in the top 5 in science. The reality is that teachers need to go to university for 6 years, and are some of the best educators on the planet.

For years and years teachers took little or no wage increases to improve our classroom conditions-class size, working conditions, etc. But now, when teachers ask for a half decent raise, we're labelled as greedy and selfish. Is 24% too much? Yes. Is 8% too little. Definately. But for years, when teachers tried to bargain with BCPSEA, we've hit a brick wall. We're not asking for the world, we're asking to be treated fairly. Why should teachers not get a fair raise in a booming economy? After all, the reason we were constantly told that we weren't entitled to an increase in wages was because the economy was poor. Government can't have it both ways.

I trust that is not a teacher spelling definitely???
The students graded in the school system in this area did rather poorly, as I recall.
The teachers are opposed to this form of grading.
Could it be attributed to the teachers we have employed in this area-or are the kids just a tad dumber???
Or should we look at it both ways????

Yoshi, what do you mean the last time teacher went on strike in PG was 1989???
What about all the teachers on the picket lines a couple years ago? They even had the symbolic burning barrel out, and I remember getting fingered when I laughed at them.
Walk out - strike or whatever, but it was only a couple years ago that the teachers were out acting like spoiled brats again.
Your confusion is understandable, after all you have to believe the crap coming out of the BCTF or some other teacher will rat you out.

The truth of the matter is, teaching can either be one of the easiest jobs going, or one of the hardest. If you want to be good at the job, you have to put in a huge amount of time and effort. The best teachers I know work extremely hard for the salary they receive - even the ones who've been at it for decades.

In an effort to be the best teacher I can be for my students, I put in at least 10 hours a day during the week (8 hours at school and two at home after the kids go to bed), and several more on the weekend. As a relatively new teacher trained outside of BC, I spend my summers taking courses so that I can get my interim teaching certificate upgraded to permanent (even though I have a masters degree and a legitimate teaching diploma from Australia, I am still required to take an additional 9 units of coursework).

I find it very insulting to be called a glorified babysitter, as Lou did on another board. I spend many hours preparing lessons and updating my website (which includes all my overhead notes, worksheets, student marks, test dates, and homework listings). I read up on new discoveries in science to discuss with my students. I am constantly seeking new ideas for inspiring them. I meet with my colleagues and discuss best practices for teaching different concepts.

What's more, I lay awake at night worrying about the kid in the back of my class who I saw bawling her eyes out behind the school last week. I wonder how I can get the ESL student who's given up on life in general to actually complete an assignment in my class. I think about all the comebacks I wish I could make (but don't - after all, I'm the adult) to the boy whose parents are going through a divorce and thinks that I'm a great target for his pent-up hostility. I spend more time thinking about my students than I do about my own kids...

I work in a science lab built for 24 students, but have 30-33 in each of my classes. On top of dealing with the safety concerns of running labs in such crowded conditions, my 33rd student stands at the front of the class and waits to see if there is anyone absent - I only have 32 desks, so if everyone is present, he/she sits at mine. I'm looking forward to the implementation of Bill 33 so that neither my students nor I are faced with this irritation anymore.

Do I think I'm effective at my job? My provincial exam results seem to indicate that I am, as does the positive feedback I get(both directly from students and parents, and through the administration). I love my job and I know my students are aware of it. They know I work hard for them, and they work hard for me in response.

Do I think that I should get a 24% raise? No. Do I think any teachers actually expect that? None with any sense. I think we're all aware it's just a bargaining position. But I do think that I should at least be getting the equivalent of a cost of living increase - perhaps slightly more to make up for the lost ground in salaries over the last 10 years. Ideally I'd like to see a number around 12% over 4 years (3% a year). The truth is, I love my job, and while I'm definitely not in it for the money (if I wanted financial compensation, I'd still be in consulting!), it would be nice to be recognized for the work that I do and to be able to at least maintain the standard of living I now enjoy.

I'm not afraid of the concept of merit pay - I know I would darn well earn mine. However, I could just imagine the difficulties that would arise trying to implement this. As for the teachers who make teaching the easiest job by doing the bare minimum...trust me, no one has less respect for them than their fellow teachers who actually care about their jobs.

All I ask is that you don't tar us all with the same brush, and at least offer me the respect I believe I earn every day by refraining from calling me an "puerile whinger".

Science Teacher - You sound alright, got your head screwed on straight, but you are in the minority.
By the way the lab situation is the same as I went through in 1971 at PGSSS. Everybody wanted to get into that teachers class.