Teacher bargaining

[MAPearce]

so under age 13 you get $40 over 13 nothing is that not some form of discimanation ???? I want my ?120.00 a day f0r my three 14 and over kids or I will sue there *bleep*

if your over 14 year old needs supervision , you're doing something wrong..

My 11 year old is making dinner tonight. the over 14's should be on the laundry .

This is meant to subsidize the cost of paying for childrens supervision while they can NOT attend school and , by law can't be left alone or taken to the job site.

Kudo's Gov't ...

[sooperphreek]

Those of you who think that the government will break its promise to keep the books balanced and break its promise not to raise taxes are simply wrong.

the liberals already broke that promise - or self imposed legally binding law though. why would it be so outlandish to do so now to get a deal done that should have been done 12 or so years ago? and if anyone thinks that the cooked books and budgets we get are balanced....then it may be a sign we should just legalize marijuana.

[MAPearce]

.then it may be a sign we should just legalize marijuana.

Not a bad idea really .. Tax the snot out of it to pay for the teachers raises..

But don't worry teachers , it will be covered by your benefits package as "stress relief" medication ..

You won't have to pay for that either .

[sooperphreek]

if it was legalized it wouldnt have to be classified as medication. you could just have the freedom to do what you like. weird idea eh?

[MAPearce]

if it was legalized it wouldnt have to be classified as medication. you could just have the freedom to do what you like. weird idea eh?

Imagine THAT science lesson ......

[hype14]

WOW! I am very impressed that this government is standing up to the BCTF and they have my full support on this one!

I would like to point out that while some education funding is provided through the Ministry (ie. general operating, special education, + targeted funds, etc), each school district and each school spends the money allotted to them as they see fit. The school district/Board of Education is responsible for decision making in terms of spending and budget cuts. The administration at each school generally determines how/where monies are spent in that particular school with a few exceptions (heat, power, etc)... If you want to know where the money is going in your child's school - ask the Principal or VP to provide a copy of the school budget and/or ask a parent who serves on the School Planning Council as they may be able to access this information.

A few other things I'd like to point out:
a) Most often, it is CUPE Support staff (Resource Staff, CEAs, etc) who work directly with exceptional students while the teacher works with 'regular' students
b) Some teachers (not all) have specific training to deal with students with exceptional needs
c) Access to necessary supports for exceptional needs students can be limited by a number of factors (ex. Number of individuals trained to deal with students, number of retirees in that particular year, individuals ill, budget cuts, etc)
d) I could go on but I'm pretty sure you get the idea...

As a taxpayer, I find the actions of the union and some of it's members incomprehensible to date - If it really was 'all about the students', they would have reached a settlement before the end of the school year.

[jjflood]

While many of you on this thread don't see eye to eye with the teachers, be assured there is a lot of public support for us. If you don't believe me check out the comments section of this Global Okanagan piece on DeJong's 40$ fiasco. http://globalnews.ca/news/1485222/b-c-p ... -drags-on/
Over 300 comments since it was posted this afternoon and hardly any of the comments support this latest move by the liberals. So while you think there is waning support for teachers, rest assured it is growing and will continue to grow as we get closer to September

[KGT]

A few other things I'd like to point out:
a) Most often, it is CUPE Support staff (Resource Staff, CEAs, etc) who work directly with exceptional students while the teacher works with 'regular' students

Agree, except that the only CUPE staff who work with special needs kids are CEAs, the rest are all professionals. And you are making the same point I've been making - SN kids are getting less and less time with specialists (resource teachers, learning assistance teachers, SLPs, counsellors etc) and the day to day teaching of our most needy and vulnerable children is being left to poorly paid paraprofessionals who are given no time to even meet with the teacher to be directed on the child's program. CEAs are super important and very much needed as a support to the classroom teacher, but the SN child should be spending a reasonable amount of their day being taught directly by a specialist. That was the original idea when we first started integrating SN kids into the classroom.

b) Some teachers (not all) have specific training to deal with students with exceptional needs

We all have basic courses on teaching SN kids, and adapting the curriculum for various SNs is always incorporated into every curriculum course I took. We continue to take workshops and professional development throughout our careers depending on the needs of our area. Those all important specialist teachers, who now primarily push paper and attend meetings, have several years of coursework, training, and experience in teaching SN kids.

c) Access to necessary supports for exceptional needs students can be limited by a number of factors (ex. Number of individuals trained to deal with students, number of retirees in that particular year, individuals ill, budget cuts, etc)

Access to necessary supports is primarily limited by the ever increasing number of children on the specialist's caseload. I agree that illness plays a factor as well since the district most often does not replace a specialist teacher or CEA if they are away sick. My school didn't have a counsellor for an entire year once.

d) I could go on but I'm pretty sure you get the idea...

As a taxpayer, I find the actions of the union and some of it's members incomprehensible to date - If it really was 'all about the students', they would have reached a settlement before the end of the school year.

[KGT]

Those questions could be and SHOULD be asked of the BCTF AND it's membership.

I can only give you a teacher's opinion.

I think the govt needs to take this money and put it into the education system. They need to come to the table and accept the mediator that is willing to sit down with us in August, and get a deal done before September instead of planning how they are going to wait out a strike into the middle of October.

Corrected for clarity.

[MAPearce]

Please ... teacher , CORRECT your quote ..

I did NOT say that ..Smarty pants....

Here is proof that teachers are over paid.

Those questions could be and SHOULD be asked of the BCTF AND it's membership.

This is the only part of what you quoted that I said ...

[flamingfingers]

As a taxpayer who has not had children in the public school system for at least the past 2 decades, I am TOTALLY against deJong using MY money to subsidize daycare for children. This money MUST go back into the education allocation to provide for ALL children in the public school system. Either that, or the government gives EACH and EVERY one of us who pay tax dollars into that portion of the provincial budget a refund!

The government pledged to provide public education to the people and have allowed an untenable situation to develop, fester and come to the point of them abrogating their responsibility. They have a court case against them and losing that court case will cost US untold MILLIONS! And they are playing the divide and conquer (vote for me game) with a lousy $40 per day to subsidize a segment of the population - pure political pandering!!

Disgusting!!!

[MAPearce]

As a taxpayer who has not had children in the public school system for at least the past 2 decades, I am TOTALLY against deJong using MY money to subsidize daycare for children. This money MUST go back into the education allocation to provide for ALL children in the public school system. Either that, or the government gives EACH and EVERY one of us who pay tax dollars into that portion of the provincial budget a refund!

I get that ...


Taxpayers in general SHOULD NOT be paying for services they're NOT getting..

That money should be given back to the "stakeholders"

AKA every one in this province who pays a school tax.. I'l bet those with children under 13 will use it for a child care subsidy..So they can keep going to work to pay for your pharmacare...

[Hurtlander]

While many of you on this thread don't see eye to eye with the teachers, be assured there is a lot of public support for us. If you don't believe me check out the comments section of this Global Okanagan piece on DeJong's 40$ fiasco. http://globalnews.ca/news/1485222/b-c-p ... -drags-on/
Over 300 comments since it was posted this afternoon and hardly any of the comments support this latest move by the liberals. So while you think there is waning support for teachers, rest assured it is growing and will continue to grow as we get closer to September

That's what I mentioned here on this thread last evening, the vast majority of people I've talked with during my travels around the province this past month support the teachers....

[Urbane]

That's what I mentioned here on this thread last evening, the vast majority of people I've talked with during my travels around the province this past month support the teachers....

There should be more consideration of proposals such as the ones that rustled and erinmore have put forward than on who's winning and who's losing when it comes to public opinion. There won't be an election for three more years so the Liberals aren't too concerned about making tough decisions that may annoy a lot of people. The BCTF is more interested in defeating the Liberals in the next election than they are in negotiating a contract and that's not good for anyone. Teachers will once again be losing salary in September and students will be missing out on their education so why not look at the ideas put forth by rustled and erinmore and get a deal done? The people who are advising the BCTF to hold out, expecting the government to run a deficit and/or raise taxes, are giving them terrible advice.

[dogbreath]

Its weird how teachers that are posting on here say they are getting a lot of support from parents. I have not met one parent that has said that they support teachers. Everyone I've talked to has an entirely different opinion. I suspect most people say one thing to teachers faces and something entirely different behind their backs.