I have grown weary of the teacher's strike even though I am not a teacher, nor do I have kids that are not going to school. As a matter of fact, all of my grandkids attend private school so this dispute really does not have any effect on anyone in our family.
I have three things to say about the strike that I have not heard anyone say, and believe me, I have listened to this ongoing war from day one.
1. The labour contract that the government illegally 'tore up' is before the courts. Neither side wants to give in until they see what the court decision is. So we have some blaming the government, some blaming the teachers, and who knows, soon some might blame the kids. Here is a fresh take.
Blame the courts! Everyone knows how slow they are in making decisions. Here we have a critical decision that is holding up education all across the province and you would think that the litigators and judges could just burn some midnight oil and get this thing done. I have not heard a single commentator suggest this. Do we just take for granted that the courts are slow and that they have to be so?
2. Having recently read Bill Vanderzalm's autobiography, I have a better understanding about how things work in government and all things that have to do with government. Our government is made up of people who have foibles and faults and it is usually a secret know to only a few that there are personal vendettas and personal agendas going on behind the scenes. This could possibly be the case here. Wielding power, and harbouring hatred for someone, is a bad combination and it would appear to me that because the two sides are so entrenched that there might be some personal conflicts going on here.
3. And you don't hear this because it is politically incorrect. Nobody is holding a gun to a teacher's head and making him or her be a teacher. We live in a free country with great opportunity all around us. If you do not like the pay, change careers. If it really is the case that you were born to teach and as you say, it is about the quality of education and class size, and class make-up, join the staff at a private school where you will get lower pay, but you will not have to strike and you will get to do the thing you were called to do, teach kids.
I can say this because I too belonged to a union at one time. They went on strike for more pay and less work, something I totally did not agree with. I soon quit the best paying job I ever had and changed my direction in life. It can be done.
4 comments:
I agree, personal agenda's.
As for the courts...they made a decision. They told the government that what they are doing is illegal, and the government has appealed TWICE.
As for the teachers.... no one held a gun to their heads to be teachers. Do you really think that teaching in a private school is the answer? And is it fair to say that kids whose parents can't afford to put them in public school don't deserve a good education also? Maybe it's time for you (and others that don't have any ties to public school classrooms) to step into a classroom to see what's going on before you make an attempt to fix a problem with this tongue-in-cheek solution. When is the last time you spoke to a public school teacher and asked what their class composition is? Some more food for thought... if you put all the Christian teachers in private school, who will be left in the public schools? For those of us with kids in public schools, we are thrilled that they have AWESOME teachers both Christian and non-Christian that have made a difference in their lives.
I was not taking sides in my comments because I do not know enough about some of the core issues and because I did not want to create enemies. You must admit that this kind of thing is polarizing to say the least.
I do stand by my comment that everyone, teachers, bankers, painters, plumbers, all have a choice as to their career paths. That is not opinion, it is fact. I was just saying that going to a private school to teach is an option. Of course there is not room for all of them, but the choice is there nevertheless. And of course public education is an absolute necessity.
I hope for all concerned that a resolution is found very soon and I totally understand why you are so passionate in your comment.
If God has called you to teach in a public school, do you run from that?
There is no gun to their heads, but there is no way to be a teacher in the public system without being part of the union. I realize that you are anti-union and not anti-teacher. It's just important to realize that teachers don't want to be out of work and they don't want our kids to be out of school. What they all deserve (teachers and students), is a classroom where teaching can happen, not just babysitting. In keeping up with the times, you will realize that things are very different now than they were when we (your kids generation) were in school. Back then, the special needs kids were in their own school with proper resources. Life threatening food allergies were almost non-existent, parents parented, violence wasn't acceptable, the autism spectrum didn't exist, and social media didn't exist. On top of all this, the cross section of students in each classroom is now so massive that a teacher can not possibly teach everyone adequately. Not even the most amazing organized well versed teacher. I know this because I have helped in classrooms, not just because I get to hear the horror stories first hand from my husband and other family members. This strike is about bringing back safe working conditions, teaching conditions, and most importantly learning conditions. Did you know that in the '500 million' price tag that the government keeps talking about includes TA's (or EA's)? Can you explain to me why is this considered a benefit to the teacher? Is this not what the special needs child requires if they are going to be thrown into a mainstream classroom? Why is this considered a benefit? This 500 million dollar price tag is why teachers are called greedy.
You are right, this is extremely polarizing. The problem is that most people form an opinion without realizing what is at stake. For everyone that thinks this is about money, guess again. It will likely take years for most of us to recover financially. If it were about money, the teachers would have left their profession years ago.
Back to the ‘gun to their head comment’.... 12 years ago class size and composition weren't an issue. It was part of the collective agreement to protect our kids and establish a learning environment. For my husband who has been teaching for 19 years, he is not about to throw in the towel because the government has a hidden agenda. He has spent tens of thousands of dollars on a University Education, Hours of his own time (no overtime and double overtime like many other professions), and invested emotionally year after year into his students. Is it too much to ask for the government to stop breaking the law? Is it too much to ask for the Minister of Education to better our system rather than break it apart?
I urge you to sit in a public school classroom for a day. You don't have to teach, just observe, what my husband does all day. I dare you to just sit among 30+ kids without feeling your temper rise and nostrils flare. I know for a fact that I can’t do it and I doubt 90% of the non-teaching population could either.
You state your case well.
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