Teachers are a joke. They like to call themselves professional and compare themselves to doctors. Well they sure have no hestation to put kids at risk or supervise to protect and track the little people in their care to get their demands met.
Teachers are more like professional social engineers where the intent is to squeeze as much money out of society as possible. Pretty good scam too. Claim it's for the kids and any demand is justified. It looks more like revenge because teacher get no respect, so they hide behind the children. We should let teachers use the strap in school again, and maybe that will satisfy their child abuse needs.

OH PLEASE!

Now teachers are child abusers? Why is it that a strike vote by the BCTF can suddenly change teachers into child abusers, and at the same time change the Campbell government into the good guys?

Lets talk about school closures, budget cuts, class sizes, waiting lists for high school classes, teachers paying for class supplies out of their own pockets...the list goes on and on. If anyone is abusing the rights of our children to get a good education, it certainly isn't the teachers...

Shirley Bond says she is shocked and upset that the teachers haven't been able to reach an agreement through the collective bargaining process...tell me, Shirley, where does the bargaining part come in? If the government can legislate a union back to work, there is no bargaining, just bullying. The employer simply waits for the government to impose its will, and the cycle continues.

As for the teachers out there, take heart, you DO have support, and your efforts on behalf of your students ARE appreciated, hang in there!

OH PLEASE - Tami!
Where do you get your lines from - the BCTF? So if there are no kids we can't close the school? Funding per kid has gone up over last year - or can't you read? The people that should have input to schooling are the parents and public - not the BCTF. I absolutely disagree with the mega school approach and I DO tell Shirley Bond that fact every time I see her. I was raised on a teacher salary and I do know the situation, so OH PLEASE skip the union line crap.
At a senior secondary in town kids see instructors taking a wacky tobaccy break and crystal meth is every where and you whine because some teacher bought a brat a pencil? What's more important to you - kids at risk or teachers wages? Be careful, one does equal the other.

How do you equate kids on crystal meth to the strike vote taken by teachers? Are teachers responsible for the drug problem now?

Yes, PolCat, I CAN read, and what I'm reading in your post is a lot of nonsense. The schools closed in our district have contributed to the overloaded class size in my children's schools. Yes, I am a parent, and a member of the public, so according to your post I'm entitled to input.

I agree with you on one point. There are kids at risk, but forcing their teachers into an impossible work situation is not the answer. The answer begins with parents, and teachers that care.

Your remark about the strap satisfying a teachers child abuse needs was WAY out of line, don't you think?

Hang in there teachers and get what you deserve.

Remember what the Liberal government promised when they were elected. When things were flush in BC they would give PSEC unions a long over due raise. Well like everything else they are about, they lied. When they say they have settled with over 100 other public sector unions (100?) at 0-0-0,they lie again. They neglect to say it was only a one year extension of the existing contracts and they gave a whole 2%. That doesn't cover the increases in taxes, user fees, garbage collection, water sewer, gas prices, heating fuel and loads of other things that have gone up in the last 6 years.

Campbell and his cronies are lining their own pockets, selling our province to the United States and paying back their corporate backers.

Campbell wants only two class of people in this province, thats the rich and the poor, no middle!

Time for a general strike!

The YAHOOS have spoken???
Schools closed due to a lack of students!!!
Yes, we should have kept them open and increased taxes to pay the costs???
Is that what you wanted??
And we should have run buses to them for 2 or 3 students!! Right????
And we should pay janitors top wages to clean for a full school when 1/3 may be utilized. Right????
And we must pay teachers full pay for teaching half a dozen instead of 20. Right???
And the parents should not have to buy school supplies for the education of their offspring. Right????
So the teachers buy a couple notebooks and pencils. Right??
And teachers should not have to work over 5 hours a day. Right???
And yes, the strap should be brought back into the system-teach those brats they are not the rulers in the schools. Right????
And a teacher should not be required to give a report on any students progress. Right???
And teachers should be paid "off days" for whatever they call it. Right???
And if the teachers do not like the conditions they work under-then go get another job. Right???
Freedom of choice-we are willing to give them that. Right????
Or they can hold the system up for ransom-give them that. Right???
Actually I could care less. Walk if you want teachers-and for as long as you want-but you are in a union that displays an outright "dictatorship" attitude.
You do not want that in government, but wish to practice it yourselves. Right????
So walk!!!!! So long!!!
Good riddance!!!

It is so sad that you are willing to show everyone how ignorant you are about the situation. Where do you get your information about no students' reports, teachers buying supplies for their classes and hours worked in a day? You have no idea and have not been in a school in a very long time. I do agree with many of you on school closures. They have to happen somehow. You cannot keep a school open for just a few student but you do have to make sure that students are not being "lost" in a class of 32 students.

I have been a supportive member of the BCTF for over 25 years.
I find it necessary to take time away from my Sunday preparations for next week’s classes, so I can respond to some of the uninformed comments I have read over the past couple of days.
I am the last of three siblings who have spent most of our adult lives in BC. Over the past couple of years, my two sisters felt victimized and alienated enough by the Campbell Government’s social policies that they left to work elsewhere. Two of my three adult children have also moved to other Provinces where they feel they can make a more dignified living while raising their families.
I do not smoke, drink, do drugs or abuse children. I do not demean people by calling them derogatory names or belittling their points of view when they do not agree with me.
I make my living as a teacher. It is my job. I do not make apologies for wanting to improve my working conditions and securing my financial well-being. I respect others in the private and public sectors hoping to do the same. I believe the BCPSEA and the Gov’t are one and the same, and at this point, I do not feel there is an alternative to the job actions we are being forced to take.
Thanks for considering my views.

I think we have forgotten some of the other "roles" a teacher fills. They often spend more waking time with our kids than we do and have the ability to give a child a desire to learn, to become the next astro physicist, novelist, artist, whatever, that will enrich all of our lives. Many kids get no direction at home becasue mom and dad don't have the time because they are trying to make ends meet, or they simply don't care.We pay our Mayor more than $100 grand a year in salary and expenses. Who do you think has the more important job? Do teachers deserve more money? Yes. Should class sizes be smaller so kids can get more one on one instruction? Of course. I am not a teacher, but we have given these people the responsibility for the shaping of the future. Surely that is worth something?

NOAPOLOGIES - I like your fankness as to the strictly selfish reasons for a strike - good for you. The screechy wheel always gets the grease when it comes to government ears. That's why the public has to out holler you.
TAMI - funny to read the drug problem is no concern of the teachers. The teachers aren't being backed up by the BCTF when it comes to the culture in school. Your blanket and eyes closed support of the BCTF is eerie. Reminds me of the Stockhome Syndrome. Are you having difficulties because your children are held hostage by this BCTF? The BCTF is planning a "peace education forum" in June 2006 to "to end war and build a peaceful, just and sustainable world."
You went to school, tell me does this sound like any particular historical criminal? Cozy up to the BCTF, if you like radical organizations with worldly ambitions. I'm not going to. I hope Campbell fires the lot and starts over. Should only take two days.

YDPC ... you said:
"Teachers are a joke. They like to call themselves professional and compare themselves to doctors."

How quickly you forget that doctors in this province go on strike as well when they get pushed to the brink!!!!

Both are working in a closed shop and monopoly system. They really have little choice if they wish to practice their profession. Sure, they can leave and go elsewhere, which some have done. Or they can give up and take on other jobs, which some have done as well.

As far as the rest of your remarks, they are pure reactionary crap and ad hominem attacks without any salient information to promote your point of view.

Now on to one of the issues which may be at the bargaining table and has been brought up in a few posts here: class size.

When I was in high school they could not build high schools fast enough. In Ottawa, the year I went to high school, they put four schools the size of PGSS on stream the day I went to high school. My class sizes were between 36 to 40 students. From my biased point of view, we had as good, if not a better education to what I have seen come out of the school system these days.

With classes in the range of the upper 20's to 40 or so, the size is not the indicator of quality of education. The key indicator is the ability of the teacher. Generally this is determined in the first place by the comfort level of the teacher with the material he or she is teaching. In other words, do they have a degree in geography if they are teaching geography, etc.? To look at class size is the easy way out. It means the BCCT does not have to look at its membership and determine that some of the members really should seek other employment because they really are not cut out to be teachers.

As far as the School system goes, the problem, more often than not is that many do not have a higher level of education in the subject area they are assigened to teach. This is especially critical in the early years of a child's introduction to a subject. They need the best at the early stages. That is where North America is making one of its major mistakes, in my opinion. This lands right in the laps of the Ministry of Education and the School Boards.

That philosophy of the best at the earlier stages needs to start right from the beginning. Kindergarten and first and second grade children need teachers who have graduate degrees in early childhood education programmes.

A discussion on class size:

http://edreform.com/index.cfm?fuseAction=document&documentID=710

An interesting report on teaching philosophy for all those who believe in report cards, standardized testing and other bean counter methodologies promulgated by the right leaning "think tanks" - rote learning versus focus on critical thinking and creativity

http://thetyee.ca/Views/2005/08/30/EducationLeap/

Finally, as I said above, I believe the BBCT must ensure that they do not protect unqualified individuals. They must have a practice standards board which is transparent to the public and make sure those individuals who are not meeting the standards set by the association are not promoted to their level of incompetence. The report card which needs to be sent to government is inadequate in my opinion. I realize fully that that is difficult in the sytem we have, but the BCCT must do they best they can, otherwise they are not a professional association safeguarding the interest of the public.

And, of course, we must remember that the average parent of today has little interest in participating in a meaningful way in the education of their children. That role has been given over to the school system to a much larger extent than when I grew up. In my opinion, this needs to change. The attitude displayed by some on this site towards teachers is one which I believe arises from being too far removed from the system.

OWL - My you are a wordy fellow, I had to look up a couple, but what is the BCCT and the BBCT you mention in your querulous drivel?
Glad to read you agree with most of the points I make, in your own way of course. Sorry you don't like my crap, I went to school here not Ottawa, so I write a little verbose and think for myself, however you could be a politician!

Yeah-well if these teachers are so great then how come so many illiterates manage to graduate???
The country is supposedly full of them!!!!
Report cards are a judgement call as to whether the student is actually acquiring an education while attending school.
Marks are marks!!!!
Right is might!!!!!
And the aptitude of teachers is put to the test when tests are graded!!!!
Lots of failures in our school system-if we are to believe the stats!!!!
Some so called teachers simply fill in as well paid baby sitters!!!
They are entitled to a failing grade as a teacher!!!
But-lo and behold-the union is there to protect them????
Good or bad--just pay your dues--and you are in the ballpark!!
Play the game-collect your paycheque- and tell us how great thou art!!!!
Just more rot in another one of our systems.
Sure- there are some great, devoted, dedicated teachers in the classrooms.
But remember-you are judged along with the deadbeats also!!!
Hardly fair-but blame the union!!

YDPC

The BBCT was a typo error on my part. The BCCT is the professional organization for primary and secondary school teachers. It was established to differentiate the professional duties from the collective bargaining agency, the BCTF.

http://www.bcct.ca/default.aspx

It really points out how little you know about the teaching profession.

I have a professional education in a scientific field. After some 15 years of working in that field I began teaching in the post secondary system. I used to teach the graduates of the secondary school system, so I know a bit more about the product of our school system first hand.

We often had to undo the results of the teaching style in High School. Most were interested in learning what was going to be on the "test" rather than learning how to solve problems themselves as they would find in the workplace when they had to make decisions on their own. There was hell to pay for the instructor who would put a new "probelm" on a test to solve, rather than a variation of a problem which was dealt with in previous studies and the numbers simply changed.

Students exiting high school suffer from the lack of problem solving skills. To me, that is an indicator of students being taught to pass standard examinations. They make excellent robots at the time when we have mechanical robots called computers.

That is why they are great for MacJobs, but not much else.

Is this the fault of teachers?

Nope. It is the fault of those who sit in the Minsitry of Education and those who sit on School Boards. They need measuring tools because they are bean counters. No one has given them the right measuring tools to determine which students excell at the knowledge skills required to survive in the world of today and tomorrow.

Gypsy ...

The same as with Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Accountants, etc., if you have a personal problem with a teacher you feel is not doing his or her job properly, get in touch with the BCCT. As they say on their web page:
"Where necessary the College also reviews conduct and competence matters."

I am not too sure how many people do that. I suspect very few, if any. I would like to see more people do that.

Had they existed about 10 years ago when I was dealing with a troubled teenager we had taken into our family for a few months and had some "dealings" with a teacher who did not understand the capacity of this person's interest and ability to learn and how to access it, I would have brought that to the attention of the professional association.

As it was, the teacher was supported by the HS principal and there was little an outsider to the system could do.

The entire system needs an overhaul from top down. But, that is useless unless the parents also become more involved. The reason why that youth was with us was not because of the failure of the school system, it was because of the failure of the social system of parenting. Yes, teachers have become high priced babysitters in many ways. That is what society has made them!