BCTF Workshops for TTOCs

There are a number of workshops available for Teachers-Teaching-on-Call that can be booked for free. You can talk to your local TTOC rep or local president to secure a location and date to book these workshops. Then you can email or call the BCTF to book a facilitator who will come in with the materials to run the workshop for your TTOCs.

This is available to all BC teachers and is usually booked for a local or neighbouring locals can team up to book.

Currently to book the workshop you email nbove@bctf.ca or kshields@bctf.ca

Teachers Teaching on Call (TTOCs) Workshops

1. Work-Life Balance: This workshop offers strategies for maintaining work-life balance in a particularly stressful role.

2. Dealing with Stress: Teachers Teaching on Call often face uncertainty in the workplace, this workshops explores how to develop positive strategies to effectively respond to stress.

4. Raising health and safety awareness: Teachers Teaching on Call are often unaware of of the workplace risks. This workshop deals with awareness and procedures for workplace safety.

5. Reality 101: Life teaching on call. This workshop is designed to support new teachers teaching on call. It provides current teaching practices and practical resources, and to enhance confidence in new TTOCs.

6. Employment Insurance Seminar (EI): This presentation helps TTOCs understand the steps to follow in applying for and obtaining EI benefits. This presentation is also on-line on the BCTF website.

7. Classroom Management for TTOCs: Teachers teaching on call encounter a variety of classrooms and this workshop deals with the unique issues of classroom management faced by TTOCs. It outlines reasons for student non-compliance, the difference between punishment and discipline, and uses discussion and scenarios to outline strategies for dealing with these situations.

9. Engaging and Supporting Teachers teaching on Call: The New Reality in a Bill 22 World: TTOCs are often more vulnerable than members who are attached to a regular staff with access to frequent support. This workshop will cover ways locals and individuals can create support structures and build solidarity amongst TTOCs.

There are also a number of other workshops available to all teachers, including TTOCs. Here is where to read up on them all.

1. Go to the BCTF portal

2. Click "Teachers"

3. Click "Professional Development"

4. Click "Workshops and Conferences"

This will open a PDF of all workshops offered by the BCTF.

This week I spent three days at the BCTF Facilitators' Institute where new and experienced facilitators met to train and prepare. There are a number of people available to facilitate these workshops. Contact the BCTF to book!

Not Only in Wisconsin....

Sadly,' this is not only in Wisconsin' as a colleague pointed out when I re-posted this on facebook.

I recall last year when Scott Walker was governor and tried to destroy unions, strip bargaining rights and eventually was recalled after a major march of public workers to the legislature.  Sounds oddly familiar doesn't it?

It seems a trend lately that governments do not wish to fund puclic sectors and prioritize tax money to other areas, claiming 'net zero' for anything else they do not deem important. It is an obvious move to privatize public sectors to make more money and to have more control over the monies.

I still do not understand how the rich can get richer and the rest of us suffer. Change needs to happen. We have allowed little by little the erosion of our rights, and now government threatens to take them all away in one massive scoop.

Here in B.C. we are in a "cooling off period" which has allowed the government to introduce more bills and laws while forcing us to sit back and "just cool off"

This summer, bargaining will re-open and while we are in mediation currently with the (not so qualified or experienced) Mr. Jago, one wonders what September will look like for our students?

So no, not only in Wisconsin can these things happen... and that worries me. I love my job, I am passionate about education, but the looming unpredictability of public education scares me and I believe in speaking out and taking action to ensure our students are protected and don't lose out in the future because of major losses today.

Staffroom Confidential writes:

We do not need to become partners in backwards reform movements, we need to be principled critics to attacks on union rights and public services. Rather than stating, for example, that yes, perhaps union members should pay some of their health insurance benefits but not too much, we should be arguing that these benefits are part of an overall compensation package that was negotiated and to claw back is equivalent to a pay cut. We need to point out that pensions are simply deferred salary that has been earned, and to claw back pension benefits is to steal that deferred income. We need to remind the public that seniority rights are to protect against discrimination, nepotism and favoritism.

We also need a principled public defense of public services in the public interest. "Reform" has become a euphemism for privatization and it is important to call a spade a spade. Every so-called reform of public services being pushed right now really aims to reduce public spending, curtain service delivery and quality, and to increase the private delivery and control of public services. Think charter schools, for example.

The lesson from Wisconsin is that we need to reform our organizations to ensure that we speak out for what is truly in the public interest, not simply try to lesson the damage. The slogans should not be "These cuts are too deep" but rather "Tax the rich".

Read more here

Province will not allow another year of teacher job act

News 1130
Dave White
May 25, 2012

SURREY (NEWS1130) - Your kids may not have to worry about another year with job action by teachers.

Education Minister George Abbottsays he will bring the teachers' job action to an end in time for the 2012/2013 school year, if a resolution has not been found by the end of the cooling-off period.

"We'll need to have some kind of an agreement in the absence of a mediator agreement, of course we have to look at legislating a solution, it's been done many times over the past 30 years, but it's not something I want to do at all. If it's absolutely necessary to do it, then we would of course do it."

Abbott hopes both sides can reach an agreement, and notes they are still talking, but the minister admits there has not been much softening nearly one year after the dispute started.

Teachers staged a three-day walkout in March and are currently refusing to perform extracurricular duties.     

To view the article, click here

I Remember When....

The BTA Blog
Jennifer Heighton
May 21, 2012

I remember when:

• The counsellor had enough time to come into our rooms and lead lessons on anti-bullying or class meetings or whatever issue needed addressing as a group, plus enough time to see kids individually.
• We had a school nurse, even for one day per week.
• We had a teacher’s assistant to help with photocopying, preparing for art projects (cutting 100 stocking shapes from fabric!), making booklets, laminating…the list goes on.
• We had clean classrooms on days that the custodian was absent, because replacement custodians were sent in.
• There was enough learning support time to get regular support for grey area kids too.
• If you had three designated kids in intermediate, your maximum class size would be 27 (30 minus three), so you could end up with 25 (to allow room for new kids). And this did happen – seriously.
• We did not have a TOC shortage problem.
• Cost-of-TOC for discretionary days was about $180 (prior to 2005), not $312 that it is today.
• Librarians could work at one school, instead of having to take on two or more schools for full-time work.
• There was a gifted program at each school where a teacher would provide enrichment to gifted students, once or twice per week.
• Paperwork for learning support (ex. IEPs) did not require a time-consuming, crash-prone program like BCeSIS. Instead, hand-printed or simple word-processing would do fine.
• Teachers were not as stressed, because the needs of their classes were not as great, since many kids were getting the extra emotional or academic help they needed. Maybe it is not our ‘demographic’ changing. Maybe what we are seeing today is the result of ten years of cuts?

To view the rest of the blog posting, click here.

Cooling Off?

I thought this was a great post... I don't see how any cooling off is happening... it feels more like a "hold teacher's unable to take any action while we hit them with bill after bill after rule to get our way"

Cooling off Period??? Following the passage of Bill 22...

The Christy Clarke Liberal Government ordered a 'cooling off period' for teachers after they passed Bill 22 that ended our Phase 1 job action. However, the following actions from the government indicates that they have not cooled off very much! First, there were two Ministerial Orders:

Learning Improvement Fund (LIF) - pitting teacher against teacher for scarce resources rather than restore struck language.

Class Size and Compensation Regulation - the 'cash for kids' program that excludes entire groups of teachers and then places a price tag on student's head teachers forced to enrol them in their program.

Then...

Based on Bill 22's narrow language, a mediator chosen by the BC Christy Clarke Liberals - Dr. Charles Jago is chosen as the mediator even though he has no experience as a mediator and no experience with K-12 education in BC. The BCTF has concerns about a 2006 report on public education in BC done by Dr. Jago on commission to former Premier Gordon Campbell’s Progress Board. The report’s findings clearly foreshadow positions taken by the BC Public School Employers’ Association at the bargaining table and also reflect policy directions laid out in Bill 22.

Bill 36 - 2012 - School Amendment Act - Promotes online courses for students as young as four, puts sweeping powers in the hands of the Minister of Education - school calendars, hours of instruction, and allows for fees for 'costly' programs.

LRB Ruling - Report cards and Struck Work - BCPSEA ensures that teachers must do Term 2 reports and our Board demands specialists reports to accompany them.

Bill 25 - Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act - attempts to limit third party activity from 60 days to 40 days and allows for a minimum window of three weeks after the legislature rises in which there is no limit on advertising - another attack on our Charter Rights to freedom of speech and expressions.

LRB Hearing - Extra Curricular/Voluntary - BCPSEA is attempting to dictate what we must do in addition to teaching, on our own time.

The BC Christy Clark Liberals Cooperative Gains Mandate - It equates to no money or benefits offered by the government, but if teachers wanted, they could sacrifice their own hard won benefits to get modest salary increases.

Feeling 'cooled off' yet? Neither do we!

 

 

[Source]

And so it continues.... Voluntary vs Mandatory

It seems BCPSEA (employer) feels teacher's withdrawing their voluntary activities is illegal. They have filed their conplaint with the LRB who will likely rule Friday.

I don't understand how teacher's volunteer choices outside of school hours can be viewed as "illegal" but I am interested to see how this plays out.

I have a lot of opinions on extra-curricular and this whole situation, but first, let me share with you the information in the media:


Teacher withdrawal from after-hours work is illegal, employers say

A protest that has resulted in teachers withdrawing from all after-hours activities in B.C. public schools amounts to an illegal strike, the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) alleges.

On Wednesday, it filed an application to the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) seeking an order that would end the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) protest and require teachers to resume all such activities.

The crux of the issue appears to be the definition of extracurricular. The BCPSEA says it is not trying to force individual teachers to coach sports teams, for example, but does not accept the union’s broad definition of what constitutes voluntary activities.

“The BCTF has directed its members to withdraw a very broad range of duties that teachers typically perform as part of their teaching job, based upon the fact that those duties are typically performed either before or after the school bell rings,” the association says in a statement. Those activities include parent-teacher interviews, student tutorials, writing reports and talking to principals.

“The BCTF’s call for service withdrawal captures both duties that are clearly and expressly required of all teachers and duties that are performed by some teachers at those teachers’ option.

“In our view, the BCTF’s direction to its members to engage in a concerted refusal to perform these duties constitutes an illegal strike in violation of the Labour Relations Code and the Act,” the association states.

Read More

My fear is that voluntary activities become mandatory. Thus, forcing teacher's to take on some form of the 'obligated' volunteer time. This seems to defeat the purpose of any volunteer activities. Teacher's often take on areas they are passionate about, be it sports, drama, clubs, or other events. If there is a need in the school, teacher's interested or connected to that area may volunteer, but by making voluntary activities "part of the work day" it takes away the passion and the point... "I am doing this extra because it is important to my students, important to me, important to our school community"

The Globe & Mail writes:

The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation maintains teachers are withdrawing from what they consider voluntary activities – such as coaching sports teams – and that the withdrawal was the only tactic teachers had left to protest against what the union characterizes as punitive legislation.

This is the only action teacher's can legally take to voice their concern with the current government's attack on public education! It is to raise awareness and take action against the threats being imposed against public education!

The activities are extra's and voluntary. This is not stopping MATH class or skipping lessons - this is stopping out of school hour activities, such as overnight camping!
Since when did teacher's taking students camping become the norm? When I was in school, my teacher's didn't give up their evenings to take me camping - that is what Girl Guides or my parents were for!

Our "wrap-up" activities were within the school day, a school picnic in the park, a field trip to the waterslides, and so on.

When did the expectation change? Why now do we expect so much more from our teacher's spare time? I would encourage anyone to come into a classroom for a day, observe, or help run the class for the day and then after school there is the marking, preparation for the next day, photocopying, and possibly some coaching or meetings afterschool. Planning and taking a class camping seems like a far stretch from the "regular teacher duties"

I have heard of some schools where teacher's who run lunch time intramurals get a different block for their lunch (which they still often spend planning or marking). I have seen schools where teacher's who plan Sports Day or awards ceremonies and assemblies are given additional preperation time to do so, instead of using their own time at home to plan. PACs stepping in to plan activities with teachers is another strategy I have seen to ensure programs still run at schools, despite teacher's decision to stop voluntary activities.

It can be done! It is not the end of these extra's, it is a shift in how they are approached!

I don't disagree with teacher's doing extra-curriculars, I am a teacher who enjoys doing extra's with my students and like most teacher's who do extra curriculars, we don't want to stop forever, but right now, given the threats from this government and the corner we have been backed into, this is the only thing we have control over - our own voluntary time! And if this is the only way to deliver the message - it is what we must do.

More on Bill 36

Last night I wrote about the elimination of standard school calendars and briefly mentioned some other problems with Bill 36.

Last night I had a tough time digesting this and tried to imagine what these proposals may mean for education, not only as a teacher, but as a parent and how this will impact my daughter as a student!

Today I ready Parents Take Note - Bill 36 is an attack on you! which summarizes how Bill 36 can impact parents and students if passed:

Friday, April 27, 2012

Parents take note - Bill 36 is an attack on you

Having successfully removed teachers as an "obstacle" to the BC Education Plan, yesterday George Abbott introduced enabling legislation to change the school year, day, and total instructional time provided to students.

Bill 36 removes the requirement for School Boards to follow the standard school calendar, and most importantly allows the Minister to change, through regulation, the minimum number of instructional hours in the year. It also enables more online and blended learning for all grade levels and the introduction of fees for International Baccalaureate programs.

Although the media has focused on the school year, the scariest part of this legislation is the change to the minimum number of instructional hours through regulation. Here is the actual section of the Bill, which allows the Minister to:

prescribing the minimum number of hours of instruction that a board must offer to students enrolled in the schools in its school district, including prescribing that there is no minimum number of hours of instruction for prescribed classes of students, schools or educational programs;

If parents are wondering what this might look like, then look no further than the changes that have taken place in the delivery of Planning 10. In some schools in BC, every grade 10 student goes to the gymnasium once a week for a lecture (this can be in excess of 100 students). There is no or little further instructional time for these students. The remainder of the course is taught through a "blended" model with online components or simply assignments that are done on the student's own time and handed in. The instructional time goes from 240 minutes per week in a class with 30 students, to 80 minutes per week in a class with 100 or more students. Typically this can reduce the teacher hours needed by half.

<Continue Reading Here>

I worry for the students who slip through the cracks, I worry for how diverse learning needs will not be met, I worry about what this will look like and how this will change education for the worse.

I have taught Planning 10 online (though only for a month) and I had dozens of students coming in confused, behind, struggling. As part of that contract I worked 2 blocks Planning 10 in class and Planning 10 online and the difference was night and day. Planning 10 in -class involved far more engaging activities and group work and interactive options, while online was individual, self-paced work.

While I agree that there are students who may prefer one method or another and having choice is important, I fear the government's implementation of this is not to provide "choice" but to save money and that this is just the first step in a future that eliminates the actual classroom and overlooks the importance of that structure, in favour of a cheaper alternative that sounds fancy on paper but is more about making students a commodity and privatizing education than actually improving it.

Why this fight is important

I wanted to share this post as I found it to be very interesting and well written....

First published on BCTF Portal March 11, 2012
Bruce McCloy - Teacher in New Westminster

Here is why I see this current fight as very important. This is not about class size, class composition, a wage increase or extra help for special needs students. While these are all very important they are dwarfed by a greater threat; the changing of our current educational system to one that caters less to equity and developing a good person to one that is squarely focused on market based principles and catering to an ever greedy corporate elite. Teachers and government are on a crash course, fighting over, as Wendy Poole outlines http://www.ucalgary.ca/iejll/vol11/poole, the vision and purpose of K-12 public education and the meaning of professionalism.

Government is focused on a neo-liberal view of education, “conceptualiz[ing] education as a commodity to be bought by customers (students and parents) and sold by suppliers (schools and others). From a market perspective, schools are training grounds for future workers and consumers, as well a multi-billion dollar industry offering opportunities for profit. Efficiency, accountability for student outcomes (usually measured by standardized test scores and other measures like graduation rates), choice for parents (e.g., charter schools, vouchers, within-district school choice), privatization (e.g., public funding for private schools, user-pay fees, contracting with private firms to operate public schools, private-public partnerships for school construction, school-business partnerships), and attacks on teachers unions are hallmarks of neo-liberalism in education”. (see attached paper if you would like to read more). This fight is about breaking the union in order to bring in a system that caters to only a few, and leaves the many others simply to be good workers. If we truly cared about students, and creating a better society, we would be modelling our system after Finland, rather than chasing the USA, UK and Australia downwards. The end result of this current action by the BC government is to cut costs, break the union and make a statement to the voters that the current ruling Liberals deserve their vote in May 2013. It has nothing to do with students. For the differences in focus of the Finland system in comparison with the USA, UK and Australian systems review the attached paper, Neo-Liberalism in British Columbia Education and Teachers’ Union Resistance and the video found at http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3441913.htm
Current OECD rankings have Canada slipping slightly behind Australia in reading (#8 compared to #7), still behind Finland at #4 but well ahead of the USA at #11 and the UK at #18. Rankings in Math and Science have Canada far ahead of the USA, Australia and UK systems that the government are focused on reaching down to and still behind the ranking of Finland, a country that teachers are working to catch. Finland is ranked #2 in math, Canada #8, with Australia at #15, the UK at #21 and the USA being far behind at #32. There are similar findings in Science with Finland at #2, Canada at #6, Australia at #12, the UK at #21 and the USA at #30. The quality of our education does not matter to the current Liberal government; containing costs, and creating preferable market conditions do.
Some sobering thoughts when contemplating this possible scenario.

• While increasing funding for schools from a 2002-2003 total of $3.782 billion to a projected 2012-2013 total of $4.725 billion (making true governments claim that per-student funding has increased) the actual costs to districts have far outstripped this increase. Most telling is the decrease in priority of education as a part of the provincial budget falling from 26% in 2002 – 2003 to a 15% in 2011 – 2012. In 2002 – 2003 the total allocation envelope for education was $3.7 billion. This accounted for 26% of the total provincial budget. In 2012 – 2013 the projected total allocation envelope for education is $4.7 billion accounting for 15% of the total provincial budget. If the 2002 – 2003 % of total provincial budget allocation held true today the total allocation of funds to education from the provincial budget for 2012 – 2013 would be $8.1 billion providing for a further allocation of $3.1 billion on top of the $4.7 billion currently being provided. The amount due to school districts for next year over and above what is being given is almost equal to the total amount provided to school districts in the 2002 – 2003 year. It is not a situation of lack of funds, rather a change in priority for the government
• Board funds have long been frozen, all but 6 districts are currently in Funding Protection (meaning that they are working in a bankrupt state). Board funds have been frozen for a further 3 years, leaving them with an accumulated $100 million shortfall this year alone. The “easy cuts” to budgets have long been done leaving an impossible situation. The overwhelming major cost to districts is teacher salaries, something that districts have been unable to change due to strict rules in the collective agreements. Until now. Changes in post and fill rules, class composition and numbers, evaluations and discipline procedures will make it easier for boards to lower their salary costs by making life difficult for more expensive teachers to the point they will quit, removing more expensive teachers and filling their positions with cheaper less experienced teachers or with even cheaper non teachers. The boards will sell the public on these changes b y offering perks that will have most forget the importance of teacher quality.
• The current government advertising focused on teacher salary and benefits (the BCTF is demanding a 15 per cent wage hike and other benefits that would cost $2 billion and raise taxes for BC families...) is allowing the government to keep attention away from the main changes they wish to see through the BC Education Plan. This education plan provides the government with the route to the neo-liberal result that they wish to see, a result that will have us emulating the OECD rankings of the USA, UK and Australia in a very short time, leaving far behind the rankings we currently have and our hopes for reaching those of Finland. This is because the government is not focused on providing an equitable education system. Or even focused on educating at a high level. Rather, it is focused on creating a system that follows their neo-liberal beliefs. The BC Education Plan is a guise (as is the current troubles on the labour front) to instituting these ideals:
  
  • While requests for feedback to the BC Education Plan is currently seen as a priority for government, the plan is all but written awaiting an appropriate time to roll out. Current feedback will never be considered but provides the perception that it has been
  • BC Education Plan calls for personalized learning that will amount to students staying at home to work on their computers learning from an on-line master teacher. Cheaper non-teachers will be available for students to submit assignments and pick up others, while tutoring (on-line and in person) will be available if necessary. This change over has already begun. The government is admitting that 700 special needs teachers that have been lost to the system have been replaced with 2100 new teaching assistants ... but no more teachers. The $165 million Learning Improvement Fund will hire more teacher assistants ... but no more teachers.
  • Contract changes are necessary to enable this change to occur in our current system – changing hours of work, working conditions (class sizes can reach the hundreds) and making it easier to deal with teachers that disagree with the direction
  • Money will be saved on school buildings as only a few will be needed as regional meeting places – while the others can be sold as they are no longer required to service children
  • Standardized assessment will become easier as the teaching from the on-line Master teachers will be the same.
  • Large corporations will find a ready market for technology. A quick look at those involved in developing the new BC Education Program indicate past and present members of the guiding committee including 20 members who belong to the corporate business community or with strong ties to this community and zero involved in public education in BC.
  • Creating a system dependent on technology will provide a ready market for both hardware and software manufacturers as well as internet providers. On line needs will increase, allowing a market for sellers of data plans
  • Control of teacher Professional Development and new evaluation and “one-strike you are out” dismissal procedures will allow government to control what teachers learn and what they will teach in the classroom. Government and corporate propaganda will be required to be taught, even if ethically unsettling, or a teacher will face dismissal.
  • Control of curriculum and standardization of what is taught will allow government to lessen the time many students stay in school, providing an opportunity for students to leave at the end of grade 10 (where 3 of our government exit exams currently are placed). Students will be able to leave early for the workforce providing cheap (and undereducated) labour to be available during the week – something that is currently not readily available for most companies. Seeing that these workers were encouraged to leave school at grade 10 they will later find that they do not have the required education to change occupations, therefore making them more likely to stay in lower paying jobs within the company that they currently work for.
  • With the education of children left in the hands of busy parents, and at home often with little guidance (especially in the secondary school years) it is more likely that they lag behind and have less motivation to finish beyond grade 10. As well, earning money at an early age could be a great benefit to the family income as well as provide a greater source of disposable income at an earlier age – resulting in more purchasing power at a younger age.
  • Only those being educated in private schools (still in a traditional mode of providing education) or those with incredible self-discipline will have the skills to enter university – predominately leaving the rich to claim the higher level jobs and the less rich or less motivated to take up a new lower class working class.
  • With a larger number of workers available and a dismantling of trade union power, the minimum wage can once again be lowered, rights eroded allowing for more flexibility and higher profits for business owners. As well, the numbers of the consumer class will increase, also allowing for further profits for corporations.

While we are busy fighting the current contract negotiations, which in themselves are important, the Liberal government has a far greater goal. We find ourselves so busy with fighting the little things I fear we may miss the bigger picture and feel the pain of the onslaught (BC Education Plan) far before we see it coming and far later than we can do much about it. I am reminded of a simple yet effective strategy we use to use in PE class when playing the game British Bulldog (in one of its many configurations). If one was lucky enough to get two balls they often incorporated the following strategy – throw one ball high in the air. As members of the other team watch the ball float slowly towards them the original thrower would throw the second ball hard , directly at the opponent, hitting them and getting them out.

We see a similar strategy with the government – lob up the whole confrontation of contract negotiations, and, while teachers are busy looking at these, hit them hard with the educational changes you as a government actually want to implement. While current contract negotiations are very important and need to be dealt with quickly by teachers throughout the province, we need to be talking about and informing the public of the far greater threat that looms and is poised to hit in the very near future. It is one that will find us sadly leaving any possibility of reaching the equitable system found in Finland (and along with it the high OECD rankings), leaving any possibility of maintaining our current standing in the world (as stated in the OECD rankings), and fervently chasing the lower scores of the USA, UK and Australia. All in the name of creating a new culture of uneducated workers and consumers for a quickly growing corporate elite.

What Bill 22 does to Class Size & Composition

Staff Room Confidential broke down the numbers and the possible risks:

The formula for additional compensation basically calculates a "cost per student" by taking the average teacher salary and dividing by thirty. So, if the average teacher salary is $60,000, then the cost per student is $2000. Thus, a teacher who has 32 students enrolled in a class all year full time would be paid an additional $2000 per student, which in this example would be $4000. The formula also only pays nine of the ten months of the school year (so the actual amount paid would be $1800), and does not take into account additional costs such as benefits and overhead costs.


What does this mean?


It means that for any given grade or subject area, it is cheaper for a District to overload classes than to hire additional teachers. If an extra 29 students can be spread around into oversize classes, that will be $2000 less than the salary of an additional teacher. Not until a whole additional class of 30 is reached does it become economically equivalent to hire another teacher. Anything less, and the cheaper option is to overload.


Consider, for example, a school with 105 Grade 6 students. The cost of having three classes of 35 would be $210,000 (based on the $60,000 average salary). The cost of having four classes - three of 26 and one of 27 - would be $240,000.


Not only is Bill 22 likely to lead to increased class size, up to as much as in the 50's potentially, but it will also lead to fewer teachers. Consider the example above where the school creates 3 classes of 35 instead of the 4 smaller classes. This also means for the existing 4 teachers, now only 3 are needed. If you spread this across the District, a worst case scenario would see up to 25% of teachers lose their jobs. Now this is not likely to happen immediately, but remember that in the first year after Bill 28 came into effect, approximately 2500 teachers province wide lost their jobs - close to 10% of the contract teachers currently employed. Given that the budget for school Districts next year does not include an increase to even cover inflation, it is reasonable to expect at least 3-5% job losses, if not more.

This frustrates me, not only because my daughter is in Grade 3 and has over crowded classes to look forward to, but because as a "new teacher" (wrapping up my 6th year as a TTOC now) I fear even longer waits to get my own classroom.

My daughter required extra help last year with her reading. This year she didn't get that help because there was only enough room for 3 students from her class and she wasn't "the most needy"

What will happen when her class size increases? What if you child needs extra help... how will they get it when they have to "compete" for attention?

I hate Bill 22. I don't get how anyone can see any value in this Bill?

I have heard some say "well there is some money coming back into public education" but that "money" is not even CLOSE to what has been taken away....

It is so upsetting that THIS is the future for my children and for my colleagues and for my career!

Support BC Teachers - YouTube Video from a young graduate

Write your MLA's

Here is a list of MLA contact information

If you are not sure who your MLA is you can look it up here

Share your teaching experiences and thoughts. NDP MLAs want to hear your stories and share them, they are against Bill 22.

I will not let the government bully me....

Today I wear pink to stop bullying.

What started as a students message against homophobia and bullying, then grew to represent a stop to all bullying has an especially strong message today for me...

Yesterday the BC Liberals once again took a stab at the heart of public education.

Our government is trying to bully teacher's and Bill 22 is their latest weapon.

I will not be bullied!

How can I teach my students to stand up to bullies then allow George Abbott to bully me and all teachers in BC?

Teacher's put everything they have into their students and into their classrooms, yet have been bullied into a corner once again by a government that does not care about public education. Our rights taken away and threats made on us if we don't do as we are told.

We tell kids to talk about their issues, not fight about them, "use your words" we say... but teacher's won't even be given a chance to "use their words" because mediation can't occur whole heartedly because of BCPSEAs imposed rules prior to even entering mediation.

Teacher's are backed into the corner by the bully and about to lose more than just their lunch money.

Do we want to walk-out and miss days in our classes with our students?
NO

Do we want to have to fight with every ounce of strength for our students right to better learning conditions?
No.

We would rather be in our classes teaching our students.

We would rather the government put "families first" and give every student the opportunity to learn.

...but instead, we are assaulted with a sham of mediation, a bill that strips away even more rights and a government that pushes it's desire for a privatized province onto the people, with the most vulnerable of all British Columbians suffering... the children.

I have always said children are our future, it may be cliche, but it is the truth.

I wonder what message we are sending the 'citizens of the future' when we allow a government to bully us into submission?

Do we want our students to think it is ok to say one thing and do something different?

What lesson is George Abbott teaching us?

Certainly not lessons I wish to share with my students. It is not the way I want to live and that is why I am taking a stand.

I will not allow this government to bully me so that their not-so-hidden-agenda can be achieved.

I will not sit around while people who have never walked a day in MY shoes dictate how my job should look.

I will not sit back knowing that the decisions this government is making will negatively impact students I teach... negatively impact my own daughter's education.

Last night's announcement of Bill 22 made me angry. It made me feel betrayed. It made me upset!

How could 'good-faith' bargaining have ever happened when this kind of legislation was always looming? Why pressure is there for BCPSEA to bargain under these current conditions? And how will true mediation happen with these kinds of parameters set around it?

Teacher's need to take a stand against the bullies!

The rules, regulations and penalties set out in Bill 22 are harsh and intimidating, but I won't be bullied.

I will fight for my students, I will fight for our citizens of the future, because I will NOT let them grow up with the lesson that bullying is ok.


Bill 22
BCTF Press Release