British Columbia Teachers may walk out

♥♪Megan♫♥ - posted on 02/27/2012

The Liberal government here in BC has been shooting themselves in the foot for a few years. My MIL is a CNA, four years ago BC health cut her salary by 15% then gave her a raise. She hasn't had one since and now Christie Clark is cutting the number of aides needed in nursing homes while congratulating her party for cutting the budget and giving themselves a bonus of 15% with the cut they took from my MIL and her co workers. Sorry, but that's all I have for comparisson.



I agree that reducing the assistants for special needs students isn't going to help anyone. I was in special education classes in NY and there was one boy who was legally blind and had someone copy his notes down and help him in class. There is no way anyone could have learned if the teacher had had to take time from his or her lessons to assist with that.



If I have to end up teaching my daughter while the teachers are on strike, so be it. She's been asking DH about how to make movies and 3D models anyway and talking about learning to design things herself. We'll just incorporate it in with her other subjects. DH was just saying for her writing lesson she can write a letter to Christie Clarke thanking her for cutting the teachers jobs and her grandma's celary (you know education cuts LOL) to balance the budget and pay for things down in Vancouver that they didn't need.

Johnny - posted on 02/27/2012

I am with the teachers on this as well. If they do a full scale strike, it won't effect me personally, but even if my daughter was in school now, I'd still support it.



I'm sick of the government reducing our education system and overburdening classroom teachers with additional special needs students without supplying the necessary support systems. I'm very very pro-classroom integration, but it doens't work for the typical needs kids or the special needs kids or the teachers when there is not enough support being provided.



When I was in school there was a boy in my classroom who was a quadrapelegic on a ventilator and he had two assistants at all times. They were needed. Now my neighbor's daughter, who is also a quadraplegic on a ventilator, is in grade 7 and she shares one assistant with another boy who has cerebral palsy. It is not sufficient. The teacher has to teach from this girl's chair because she has to help her with everything as they go. There is a boy in her classroom with fairly high needs autism spectrum as well. He has a quarter-time assistant only. I simply do not believe that is setting any of the kids in that classroom up to receive a proper education and I'm sick of it.



The government can spin it all they want. They have no money because of the convention centre and the stadium. Now they are expecting our kids to pay for that stuff with their futures. I think that the teachers would accept a pay increase at the rate of inflation and some added classroom support and class size restrictions. At least that's what I hear from those I know. It is not too much to ask at all. After last week's budget came out completely contrary to Christy Clark's "families first" agenda, the Libs have lost any chance they had of getting my vote. They are only trying to appeal to older, wealthier people. They could care less about the abysmal child poverty rate and the fact that our educators are among the lowest paid in the country (in the region with the highest cost of living).



Rant over. I don't feel any better though.