Teachers have a right to negotiate their salary and working conditions, and should stay out until the government recognizes that.

Land of the free

Try this one Gordo:

Canadian Teachers' Federation
Fédération canadienne des enseignantes et des enseignants
October 7, 2005

Dear Jinny,

I am writing to you today on behalf of CTF, its 17 Members and the 210,000 teachers we represent in all of Canada`s provinces and territories to let you know that you are not alone in your fight for open and free collective bargaining. Such a heavy-handed tactic as using the legislature to impose a contract flies directly in the face of everything that we believe as a Canadian Teachers' Federation. We will not stand idly by and allow such a heavy handed and punitive measure be borne by one of our Member organizations. We are all in this fight together and will remain one in solidarity

All eyes in Canada are now focused on the plight of your teachers. Today we are sending a message that is loud and clear, that we will not tolerate what is happening in your province! This is wrong for students, it is wrong for education and it is wrong for teachers! We are also serving notice to any other government that is even considering such an action, that the Canadian Teachers` Federation and its Member organizations will do whatever is necessary to ensure that democratic rights and principles will be respected in all future rounds of negotiations.

The draconian measures being used by the government of British Columbia to unilaterally impose a contract are nothing short of dictatorial. We believe that this desperate measure is the sign of a desperate government. This measure lacks imagination, compassion and honesty in resolving your labour issues. It is a bullying tactic by a government intent on imposing its way on the teachers and students of your province.

Our Member organizations, 210,000 strong, throughout the provinces / territories stand ready and waiting to defend and serve the teachers of British Columbia!

Yours in solidarity,

Winston Carter,
President,
Canadian Teachers' Federation
cc CTF Member organizations

Dear Mr Winston Carter,

As a student of Grade 12 in British Columbia, I am slowly watching precious classtime dwindle away as my tearchers are striking for a better future in education. I support the idealistic views of the BCTF, and hope that they achieve their goals, but I must ask, hopefully you may provide an answer to my question, at what cost will the teachers win this strike? You may call me young and ignorant, but why is my future being put on the line for students who follow in my footsteps? Not that I do not care about the next generation, but why should I, along with thousands more, pay this price? We have sat back and watched a week go by, alright, I can accept this sacrifice, but I grow increasingly insulted as I continue to read that there are no meetings planned between the sides. I grow tired of being the "pawn" of the negotiations. The teachers are claiming that "this strike is for the students," which leads me to another question, in what way will this strike benefit my classmates or myself? If the teachers wanted to show that they truly 'cared' about the students, then the Grade 12's would not be missing class right now. Yes, I understand you do not have a united front and you lose your 'urgent' pawn, but the teachers would be demonstrating their relationship with the students and their compassion for their positions in education.

Furthermore, it would be appreciated if you did not speak for the students when trying to gain respect and support for your cause. "This is wrong for the students," thank you for pointing this out, but I would like to remind you that we were in class before this action began, the system in which we received our education was not ideal, but it was a nourishing environment nonetheless. The government was a factor in the strike, but they are not the sole reason that I am at home studying my textbooks during the week rather than attending class. For future reference, please do not speak for a population in which your best interests are feebly associated to.

I would like to thank you for your time in advance, and I hope you can shed a little light on my perception of the situation. I also hope that this battle of neanderthals draws to a close soon so we need not worry about your 'member organizations, 210,000 strong' coming to the rescue of the BC teachers.

Class sizes are one of the most important factors in learning. Private schools often have classes ranging from 10 to 20 students. That's how they get the results their parents desire and why they are at the top of the "league tables". The government chooses to ignore the benefits of small classes as they are not truly interested in providing a first class education system for the rest of the population. They seem to have other plans for spending our money!

Part of the reason that some private schools are top of the "league tables" has to do with economic conditions that the students attending live in. The parents of those students attending are quite often highly educated and can afford to pay the high tuition fees. They also tend to put a lot of emphisis on education within the family. You may also find that some of the private institution don't have to deal with some of the special needs students that the public system educates. Staff is also held accountable in the private institution. It wasn't that many years ago that class sizes were in the contracts and as I recall we were graduating less students then. So it's really not as simple as saying lower the class sizes and all the problems will be solved. It has more to do with composition, who is teaching and the mind set of the students.

If having small classes was not important the private schools would increase class sizes and reduce the number of teachers on their payroll (and increase their profit margin).

Supertech,yikes 210 thousand strong,this doesn't sound like open and free collective bargaining.IMO this is organized extorsion.All the teachers have to do is say they are sorry and get back to work.
ROCK

It sounds like the public schools should be the ones with the small classes!

If (as skeptic implies) the parents of public school children are less well educated, and place less emphasis on education, it would seem essential to have smaller classes in order to overcome these disadvantages. This is even more critical when almost all the classes have special needs students who require so much individual attention.
Do rich people desrve a better education system than the rest of us?

Excellent, informative comment, krisb.