My first husband was a teacher and the head of an English department. Every evening after dinner he marked papers and on weekends he was rarely free. He was devoted to his students and never complained about the work he took home. My son has followed in his footsteps and my son-in-law is also a teacher. I have a stake in the three day strike. My concern and the concern of many teachers are the following:
BC teachers are now ninth down the list for pay in Canada but the government refuses to consider cost of living. Often they have to begin by supply teaching and you can’t raise a family on part time work. It takes ten years before they get a good salary commensurable with their education and profession.
Teachers have sacrificed salary increases in the past to gain improvements for students, only to have these removed in 2002. But there’s more to it than money. Classroom conditions are a priority. Here are some of the teachers concerns:
- No limits on number of students with special needs in a class
- No limit of numbers of students in Grades 4 to 12. Teachers don’t necessarily want to be paid more per extra student. They want relationships with their students. Isn’t that how children learn? They want classes that are manageable.
- No consultation with teachers about their classes
- Superintendent’s report eliminated
- No public accountability for school boards
In Korea teachers are called nation builders. How sad that we don’t have respect for our teachers. They have such an important job.
If only my son had become a hockey player!