After a few months hiatus...

After taking some blogging time off, I am back with some back to school posts coming up this weekend.

In case you are not a colleague in B.C. let me give you a quick run down of something that have been happening here in our neck of the woods....

After months of failed negotiations, teachers were taking minor job action which included not supervising at recess. The government then locked us out at recess/lunch/before/after school and deducted 10% of our wages. We moved to a provincial rotating strike, one day a week for each district, with multiple districts out at once. Things were not improving.

Finally, the last rotating strike was Friday, June 13 and the following Monday we started a full walk out. All schools shut down as of June 16 and were not back in session until this past Monday, September 22.

As a zone captain on the local executive, striking days meant that we met at the CTA office early in the morning to discuss issues, then we would drive around to our "zone" of schools (6-12 schools we visited daily)

Our district cancelled summer school and so we didn't have to picket over the summer, but many areas of B.C. did. As September drew closer, we hoped for a deal, especially when mediator Vince Ready got involved. But, with the parties "too far apart" he walked away and our hopes faded.

There were rallies put on by students, parents and the community, there were events hosted by BC Fed and other unions, there was support in the form of solidarity, money, and more from across Canada. It was truly a historic event.

When teachers voted 99% for binding arbitration, it sent a strong message that we wanted to get a deal, even if it meant going to binding arbitration. The government still disagreed but finally, there were some discussions again. After a promise to bargain 25/7 all summer, the government only met once with BCTF and this final push at least got both parties back at the table again.

Finally, last week, with Vince Ready back and some discussions between parties, they reached a deal.

The deal was not the deal teachers hoped for, but it had modest improvements in some areas and allowed us to get back to work, kids back to school and focus on the next issues were are trustee elections and our court case.

It was a tough time for many teachers, parents, students, community - but we go through it.

I feel like it was one battle in the bigger war. With a government like this, it feels like there are many more battles in this war and we need to stay united in our fight to stand up for quality public education. We can not allow have/have not privatization of education. We can not allow this government to break our union.

I did not blog the past few months because (mostly, I didn't have the time... but also...) there was so much going on on any given day with bargaining and job action and government moves - I didn't want this blog to become a political opinion blog (although that is part of who I am) but to stay focused on classroom ideas and such.

So, there are no guarantees I won't post more on this issue and any others that come.... but for now, we are back to school and I am ready to share some more classroom ideas!

Thanks

If you want some info on this check out some of these great posts:

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/06/14/BC-Ed-Keeners/

http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/05/21/BC-Teacher-Bargaining/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-teachers-rally-at-canada-place-1.2757616

http://www.news1130.com/2014/09/16/tentative-deal-reached-between-teachers-and-government/

Better versions of 24 hours front page advertisement #BCED

There is no money for education, however, there is for a lot of other things this government makes a priority.

This is a great summary of what happened - the ad backfired on social media.

After this full page ad in 24 hours newspaper was bought as a 'fake' front cover by the Liberals (remember, they did this during election time with 'Christy Clark the come back kid' fake front page ad too)

Well, I much prefer some of the more accurate statistics contained in these 're worked' ads [Found via facebook from various sources]:

Check out this news story on the ad.

BCFED & BCTF Rally for #BCED tonight at Canada Place

What an amazing rally. There was a Maple Ridge teacher who spoke, a Vancouver grade 12 students, BCTF President Jim Iker, Jim Sinclair from BCFED, Ontario Teachers' president, CLC President Hassan Yussaff, leader of the NDP John Horgan, and many other wonderful speakers.

What was inspiring to me

• Passionate speakers
• Student who pointed out she could vote in 6 months and Christy Clark had lost her vote
• Ontario Teachers support "Your fight is our fight"
• Reminders of the importance of what we are standing up for
• Sinclair - passionate as always
• hearing enthusiasm in Jim Iker's usually calm voice
• Listening to NDP leader supporting education
• seeing past NDP leader Glen Clark who I met as a young youth advocate
• reading creative and clever signs
• seeing colleagues 
• the music, one group is made up of local band teachers (and a drama teacher) who I have worked with 
• it was massive, so many people!

I tweeted more and posted some on my facebook.

Government is like a deadbeat spouse... a letter to the editor

So there was a 'Student Walk Out' last Wednesday and one of the student organizers said they were tired of being 'pawns' and being 'stuck in the middle of two divorcing parents' [Government and BCTF] 

This letter sums it up nicely....

I am a greedy teacher (Shared Status from Facebook)

I am a Greedy Teacher

Andrew Turner - June 7, 2014 at 1:30pm

As I stress and think about the upcoming strike vote, in order to unscramble my internal conflict, I decided to write down my own thoughts and echo some feelings of people I have spoke to. This is the result...

I am a Greedy Teacher.

I want more than I currently have, a lot more. I don’t think that I should have to apologize for that. You see I have a son that will need help in school. He will need one-on-one attention, and a speech pathologist. I am so greedy that I am willing to walk out on strike and potentially lose over $4000 because he isn’t the only one.

I am a greedy teacher. I work in an alternate school and teach students with behavioural and mental health issues, high anxiety, ESL, Learning Disabilities, and drug problems. I have seen all of the teachers I work with struggle to make decisions as to who should get testing and who shouldn’t, since access is limited. I am so greedy that I am willing to sacrifice my strike pay to make sure that they get what they deserve when it comes to service.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I believe a raise that is in line with cost-of-living is something everyone is entitled to. I am so greedy that I believe this even after being legislated back and taking 0% for almost 3 years (and potentially a 4th) for fighting to protect the rights of students learning conditions, that are illegally being stripped away by a Neo-Liberal government. I am so greedy that as I watch my profession get trashed in the media, and assaulted by many of the parents who have entrusted me to protect their children, I still keep fighting for their rights. I am so greedy I sacrifice my ability to bargain for a fair wage because the government wants a lower wage offer in order to start to negotiate class size and composition and when we give them one they still refuse to negotiate on “key issues.”

I am a greedy teacher. I want the government to tell the truth. Peter Fassbender goes on Global and states that the government has been at the table ready to negotiate 24/7 since last June. Then maybe he can explain why, after threatening our benefits the government wanted to take from April 30th – May 26th away from the table and the BCTF had to use precious negotiating time to try to convince them to come back for May 6th, 7th and 8th. I am so greedy that I think that the fact the government agreed to come back by the 12th, and waste 2 weeks, is ridiculous.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I would rather believe Dr. David Zyngier who did a comprehensive review of 112 research papers, written between 1979-2014 discussing the effect of class size. I would rather believe the 109 research papers that argue smaller class sizes are better for students than the 3 that argue it’s not. I am so greedy that I would rather believe UBC education professors Dr. E. Wayne Ross and Dr. Charles Ungerleider who study curriculum, pedagogy, class size and composition, sociology in education and policy research, and state the government is wrong about class size, rather than Peter Fassbender who read a few research papers and the one OECD report he quotes the most he misrepresents.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I don’t think that “below average” funding is good enough for the children of British Columbia. I am so greedy that despite “below average” funding I have still managed to give my students one of the best educations in the world. I am so greedy that I managed to do this by buying supplies with money out of my own pocket. I am so greedy that I am constantly searching for new technology and software that I can use to engage my students and efficiently facilitate learning, for different learning styles, and then realize it will have to wait because the money isn’t in the budget.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that when the government locked me out of my own school and docked me 10% pay for fulfilling my contractual obligation I stopped doing extracurricular activity. I am so greedy that instead of coaching, running plays, facilitating environmental clubs, etc… I took my VOLUNTEER time and went home and played with my kids instead.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I think that the government should increase the corporate tax rate that they have been cutting since they go into power. I am so greedy that I don’t believe I should have to pay more tax than a mult-billion dollar corporation that has not created the jobs that the Liberals corporate tax cuts promised. I am so greedy that I believe all corporate tax cuts should be incentive based and not handed out until the jobs are created, not before. In legislature, when discussing BC’s weakened finances and loss of revenue Christy Clark admitted, “It just doesn't add up.” I am so greedy that I think we should have a government that will admit it when they get things wrong and fix it.

I am a greedy teacher. So greedy that I think the government should prioritize public education and healthcare above a new roof on BC place, or LNG projects. I am so greedy that I think that the government spending money on students is a better investment than a retractable roof that rarely opens. I am so greedy that I believe the government should not
make promises, about BC’s economy, based on a gamble with LNG and a lot of “could’s” and “maybe’s.”

I am a greedy teacher. I want for all students what Christy Clark obviously wants for her own son. I am so greedy that I want Christy Clark to come on TV and tell the people of British Columbia that she chose private school for her son because she wanted him to have smaller classes and more one-on-one time. I am so greedy that I want her to explain why she finds it necessary to spend over $18,000 a year of the money tax payers pay her to put her son in a school that promises classes no bigger than 26 and senior electives no bigger than 16, when over 30 students in a class with 4 or more special needs students is just fine for everyone else.

I am a greedy teacher because I want more, and I want better. I want more for my own children, I want more for the students of British Columbia, I want more of my taxes to be reinvested into the province not into private corporations pockets, and I want a better government that cares more about the people of the province on all socio-economic levels.

If being greedy means not being complacent, I am proud to be greedy. In fact I teach my students to be greedy, to not settle. In the words of Maureen Dowd, a columnist for the New York Times, “The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.”

Blog Post: Why I will vote 'yes' for escalating job action

There is a great blog post from a teacher called: Why I will vote 'yes' for escalating job action. I have pulled a few sections to share, but highly recommended you go read it in its entirety at the original source.

The post talks about the history of cuts to education from the BC Liberals and the roller coaster ride it has been.

But this time it’s different. Through social media, teachers have been able to dispel public apathy. We’ve been able to refute government talking points with a barrage of non-partisan statistics and historic facts, most of which can be pulled directly from the Supreme Court ruling. This time, we’ve finally got a chance to make things better instead of watching them get worse.

...

And now, the teachers have called a strike vote. 

The timing is tough. Teachers are weary by June. We are uncomfortable leaving the students with a bad feeling before summer break, and we’re tired of fighting –of losing pay to strike days, of having 10% cut from our salaries. Many teachers would rather not further anger parents. 

On the other hand, a strong ‘yes’ vote will show a cynical government that it can never defeat us. It will show the government that no matter what it does to us, we will stand up in solidarity. 

In this last, desperate battle before the judiciary lowers the boom, the government will throw all of its grenades, and things are likely to get ugly. Already rumours abound of a lockout for September, whether we strike or not. They want to punish us.

But for me there is no more fear. I don’t care what the government does to me any more. I have fought too long, and endured too much heartache to give up now. We are so close! If we hold rank we can win. We have the Charter and the Court of Law on our side. 

Read the entire post here: https://thecoalmine.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/why-i-will-vote-yes-for-escalating-job-action/

Today's debate at the legislative assembly - Oral Question on #BCED

You can also watch the QP here: Question Period


DEBATES OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

(HANSARD)

---

HOUSE BLUES

MONDAY, MAY 26, 2014

Afternoon Sitting

Oral Questions

LOCKOUT IN TEACHERS' LABOUR DISPUTE

J. Horgan: Well, we've had 12 years of B.C. Liberal meddling in negotiations with teachers, with trustees, with support workers. We've had 12 years of confusion. You could call it a generational confusion, because the kids that were in grade 1 in 2002, when the then minister or the current Premier capriciously ripped out class size and class competition language from a collective bargaining agreement and then was told by the courts to renegotiate that position…. A whole generation of kids has gone from grade 1 to graduation this coming month with uncertainty and unease as a result of the actions of this government — not one Supreme Court ruling, but two.

My question is to the Minister of Education. He has said: "The class-size issue is an oxymoron as far as I'm concerned" — we can debate the grammar of that — "because all the research in the world says class size does not determine outcomes."

I would disagree with that and so would thousands of other scholars. But instead of trying to explain when he had time to read all the research in the world, my question is: did he have time to read the convoluted explanation as to why we're locking people out this week when we should be at the bargaining table negotiating a fair collective agreement?

Hon. P. Fassbender: I appreciate the question from the Leader of the Opposition. I will say this. I think if his facts weren't on an Etch a Sketch, when he flips it over and it disappears, then maybe he could stay on track. I'm going to try and help the Leader of the Opposition and the members opposite. I'm going to try and help you understand the reality of what we have done and what we are doing.

This government is committed to negotiated settlements. If you look at our track record, we have been working very hard with the public sector to find negotiated settlements — to work together with trade unions — that respect their rights and also respect the rights of taxpayers in an economic climate that requires some tough decisions.

But it is not this government that initiated this current round of dispute. It is the BCTF that started limited strike action. It is the BCTF that ramped it up this week to rotating walkouts throughout the province. This government, since June, since we were elected, was prepared to sit at the negotiating table every single day to find a negotiated settlement. We are still committed to doing that. We are prepared to meet around the clock, through the summer, to find a negotiated settlement that respects the rights of teachers, of students, of parents, of other labour unions in this province. That is our commitment. That is our goal, because long-term stability is what is important in our education system.

Madame Speaker: Recognizing the Leader of the Opposition on a supplemental.

J. Horgan: As tempting as it is to talk about mechanical bulls and by-products, I think I'll just try and focus in on the minister's comment about the track record of the B.C. Liberals — not one but two examples that went to the Supreme Court and found that the government had contravened the chartered rights of a group of citizens in British Columbia. Not once; twice.

What did they learn from that? They learned more provocation, more disruption, more confusion. Let's be clear. I love to do that. This is what we hear from the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council: "Everybody is confused." That strikes me as not a transparent approach. It's a confusing approach.

Will there be graduation ceremonies? Will we be marking exams? It took five pages in a letter from the chief negotiator, and I'm still not clear. I wasn't reading all of the information in the world, but maybe I could ask the minister…. This is a comment from the Vancouver District PAC association. This is all the PACs in Vancouver.

Interjections.

J. Horgan: Oh, I know that the minister is really concerned about this, so keep your mechanical bull to yourself for a moment, and we'll focus on this: "Parents are more willing to adapt to a one-day schedule change than they are to accept the long-term damage the provincial government is inflicting on the public education system in this province." Long-term damage.

My question is, to the minister: could he try and interpret for the people of British Columbia just what Peter Cameron is doing with the people of this province, and most importantly, the kids that are not in classrooms because of your provocation?

Hon. P. Fassbender: I am more than prepared to ride the wave of misinformation that is coming from the members opposite about what our intent was and what it has been. It is very clear. Mr. Cameron last week clarified exactly why we had to take the steps we did in response to the decisions that were made by the teachers union moving forward. But I would ask the members opposite: where was your concern over a year ago when we had almost a year of limited strike action while we were trying to negotiate a settlement? Where was your concern then when that happened?

Where were the members across the way? Where was their concern a week ago when the BCTF was initiating strike action? Where was the concern then? All I can say, and I say this with all sincerity…. There are none of us that want to see disruption in students' lives, in the lives of their parents and their communities, in the lives of the teachers. We are clearly still at the table, willing to negotiate, asking for a response that is measured and appropriate for everyone in this province.

First and foremost, stability has been our goal. It'll continue to be our goal, and we'll continue to negotiate that.

J. Horgan: A 12-year record of destabilizing public education. A child who started in grade 1 in 2002 has had 12 years of confusion as the result of this government's policies.

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members. The Chair needs to hear the answer and the question.

J. Horgan: Thank you very much, hon. Chair.

My question is to the "Let's be clear" Minister of Education. You've been provoking disruptions in the education system for 12 years. The court has found twice — not once; twice — that you deliberately provoked action so that you could take more pieces of a collective agreement off the table.

What steps will the minister take to ensure that this last month of public education for those kids who were disrupted in 2002 by the then minister, the current Premier…? What steps are you going to do to make those next 30 days an enjoyable experience rather than a chaotic one that rests right at your feet?

Hon. P. Fassbender: I think the Leader of the Opposition, as I said, has selective memory when it comes to the facts.

The facts are Madame Speaker…. We've had a decade of unprecedented labour peace in this province. Another fact for the Leader of the Opposition: just last week or the week before last, we signed another tentative agreement with the HEU that was within the framework. That was a five-year agreement.

I do not believe that even the members of the opposition, who have children and grandchildren, don't want what we want on this side of the House. That is stability, a focus on learning outcomes, a focus on moving forward in transforming our education system to meet the future of this country and this province.

We have learning outcomes. We have learning outcomes that lead the world, that show that we are delivering results. Yes, Madame Speaker, it's absolutely through the hard work of the teachers, who also deserve a fair and negotiated settlement, not labour disruption initiated by their own union.

GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO
TEACHERS' COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

R. Fleming: It's déjà vu all over again, Madame Speaker, with these guys. This government has a unique ability to insult the province's teachers.

Last week the Premier said she would resolve bargaining by locking everyone in a room until they'd get a deal. Good. But then she look to the airwaves mere hours later and said teachers are only motivated by greed. She told a radio station that for teachers: "It's all about money. It's never about the quality of education."

Wow. I thought it was this government that wouldn't let bargaining talk about class size and composition issues on the table in this dispute. Can the Education Minister describe how the Premier insulting teachers and then locking kids out from their lunchtime activities and extracurricular activities can in any way help create…?

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Members.

R. Fleming: Can the minister describe how the Premier's sum total of her statements on teachers last week in any way helps this week in getting us closer to a settlement to achieve trust and respect at the bargaining table so that our schools in British Columbia are stable and secure?

Hon. P. Fassbender: I appreciate that the critic for the opposition is again taking facts and twisting them to their purpose.

SOURCE

Excellent Letter from a 'very very annoyed parent'

From Kristina Barnett Lee

The Honorable Peter Fassbender, Min Ed
The Honorable Christy Clark, Premier
Mr Douglas Horne, MLA Coquitlam-Burke Mountain

Dear Sirs and Madam,

I write today to convey my extreme disgust with the manner in which the education system is being treated by your government. The conduct you have displayed with regards to the future of our children’s education is reprehensible. You claim to put “Families First” and to hold the needs of the children above all else, and yet there are children in our system who have challenges and special needs who are being lost because you won’t fund the help that they so desperately need. Your condescension toward teachers is easily traceable back to 2002 when, as Education Minister, Premier Clark removed the teacher’s right to bargain about learning and working conditions by enacting Bills 27 and 28 - action which has since been deemed by the Supreme Court of BC to have been a violation of Charter rights. Undaunted by the illegality of your position, your government enacted Bill 22, once again removing class composition, amongst other things, as an issue about which teachers have any say. Your government is clearly hoping that we are stupid enough to have forgotten that only 3 months ago Madam Justice Susan Griffin ruled that Bill 22 was also unconstitutional, found you guilty of bargaining in bad faith, and accused you of attempting to provoke a strike for political gain. Clearly the children are merely pawns in your political game of chess, and I am nauseated by the cynicism and Machiavellian ideals permeating your caucus.

When a government requires a School District to submit a balanced budget, but makes no budgetary allowance for increases in fuel costs, electricity costs, or tax increases, that government knows that the only way the District can possibly submit a balanced budget is by making cuts to our children’s education services.
When a government announces new schools, but does not actually provide capital funding or build them, resulting in the school district having to use millions of dollars from their operating budget to purchase, maintain, and service portable classrooms, that government knows that the only way the District can possibly submit a balanced budget is by making cuts to our children’s education services.
When a government knows that enrolment is declining, funds schools on a “per student” basis, and it costs virtually the same amount in fuel, electricity, and staffing to have 480 kids in a school vs 500 kids in a school, that government knows that the only way the District can possibly submit a balanced budget is by making cuts to our children’s education services.
When a government abruptly changes policy for funding of school seismic upgrading and announces that School Districts will have to pay for up to half the costs of putting our children in safe structures, that government knows that the only way the District can possibly submit a balanced budget is by making cuts to our children’s education services.

Your government would have us believe that teachers are demanding too high of a wage increase, and yet in the past dozen years teachers saw a 7.5% increase from their 2002 contract, a 0% increase from their 2005 contract, and a 16% increase from their 2006 contract. In those same dozen years, the benchmark price of real estate has increased 100-200% (depending on the region), BCHydro rates have increased by 40% (from an average of $70/mo to an average of $98/mo, after correction for inflation), gasoline prices have increased by 80-100% (from fluctuating around $0.70-0.80/L to fluctuating around $1.35-1.50/L), and the cost of feeding a family of 4 in BC has gone up 38.7% (from $626 to $868 per month). Clearly the increases in a teacher’s pay are not keeping up with the increases in the cost of living.

The BCPSEA and BCTF have failed to reach an agreement (which is hardly a surprise considering that Carole Taylor’s 2006 deal has been the only freely negotiated contract that the two sides have reached in the 27 years since Mr VanderZalm’s SoCreds gave teachers the right to strike) and so the teachers have escalated their action to a rotating strike. The lockout notice that the government has countered with is shocking and its logical underpinnings are convoluted, to say the least. While maintaining that children should not be put in the middle, the government has done exactly that by ensuring that teachers can not provide before- or after-school preparation or assistance to children. This does nothing BUT penalize the children, and once again lays bare the viciousness of this government’s intention to provoke action by the teachers for it’s own political gain - leaving our children as collateral damage along the way.

Your government claims that LNG industry development will “build a prosperous economic future for British Columbia”. I disagree. What will build a prosperous economic future for British Columbia is adequate funding for the education of our future generation. Provide us with education for all children, instead of having so many kids in a class that the teacher can’t properly assess and supervise everyone. Provide specialist teachers and education assistants for kids with special needs, so that they can learn and progress with their peers, rather than disengaging and becoming lost. Provide School Districts with budget increases to cover utility rate increases, so that our children won’t suffer because the District has to pay BC Hydro and Fortis an extra $625,000. Currently, between not negotiating in good faith, and not providing the School Districts with an adequate annual budget, you are failing us; you are failing our children.

A few weeks ago when the Coquitlam Board of Education was having its last few public meetings before finalizing what cuts to make, my children became aware that their library was in jeopardy. My seven-year-old summed it up with “Mum, you said that you pay taxes so that the government gives us hospitals and schools to help us learn, but how can we learn without books and a LIBRARY? The government doesn’t care about us; the government is an asshole” And while I chastised him for using an inappropriate word, I cannot disagree with his opinion or fail to marvel at how astutely a child can assess a complicated situation and distill it down to its core.

Kristina Lee, Coquitlam
Post Script:
I am not a teacher. I am not married to a teacher. My parents were not teachers. I have no direct financial interest in this dispute other than being a very, very annoyed parent.

Sources
Vancouver Sun
The Province
www.dieticians.ca
vreaa.wordpress.com
newsroomgov.bc.ca
business.financialpost.com
www.rbc.com
British Columbia’s Liquified Natural Gas Strategy One year update , gov.ca.ca
cbc.ca
sd43.bc.ca/budget

Something to be bothered about with #BCed

I apologize if my outcry against the deterioration of public education bothers you but I think there are much larger issues to be bothered by with the way this Provincial government is treating public education!

I shared this as a facebook status, and I wanted to share it here as well:

Teachers fight for students everyday. Fight for smaller classes, more support, specialist teachers and a safe place to learn and grow. My union fights for me. Fights for improved salary, benefits and better working conditions. Don't get it confused... Teachers always 'do more with less' so just because we ask for a fair wage to catch up with teachers across Canada (many with lower cost of living) doesn't mean we are greedy. We care about your kids, but have families of our own too. Funding needs to go into education, for better working conditions for teachers, which is better learning conditions for kids. Thank-you to everyone who supports public education. We will keep fighting until this government makes it a priority!

As the struggle continues in British Columbia for public education to become a priority for the BC Liberal government, I find myself constantly having to defend my job, my union, and my students. For some reason, there is this divide... just because teachers want better working conditions including salary, benefits, prep time and smaller classes, they are somehow greedy and not passionate about teaching. Many somehow believe that improving things for teachers doesn't positively impact students.

I can't even count the number of times, in the past two weeks, I have been asked, "Why don't you choose a different career?" or "Well, why do you keep teaching then?" or "Have you thought about moving somewhere else to try teaching or moving to the private sector?" Like that is the answer?

I am a teacher because I care about education and kids... but that doesn't mean I don't also care about my own well being and my family's security. Like any person, in any job, there is a balance of wanting what is best for your clients, colleagues, business, whatever the case may be... as well as your own family and personal life too. I am passionate about education and that means I stick with it, through thick and thin, always trying to improve it for my students as learners and for myself and my colleagues as teachers.

About me...It has been a roller coaster ride... I graduated from university and was hired that summer to start in September as a Teacher-Teaching-On-Call [TTOC] in the district I still call home. After three years of slow work and struggling to make ends meet as a TTOC, I obtained my first part time temporary contract. It was outside my subject area, but I took it because contracts were hard to come by. After that, I had a temporary contract, of some sort, for a few months each year until, in year seven, I finally "rolled over" into a continuing part-time contract. This meant, although 'owed a job' I would be laid off each year until I obtained enough seniority to find a secure position, a classroom and school to call home.

Last year I was laid off and out of 480 or so teachers, I was right in the middle. I was recalled to a part-time job, outside my subject area, the day before school started, and on-call the rest of the days. This year, of our 632 teachers laid off, I am in the bottom 100. Because I am part time, many full time teachers have jumped ahead of me on the lay off and recall list. With a cut off point of 8 years and 4 months, many teachers who have not been laid of fin several years are laid off this year. I have only 2 years and 6 months seniority because much of my on-call teaching time is not included in calculation so I knew I would be laid off this year, however,  I didn't expect to be so low down the list. I don't expect to be recalled in September, if at all next year. This is one of many difficult cuts my district has had to make because of lack of funding from the Provincial government!

I don't mean to sound greedy, or selfish, [why do teachers always apologize when speaking out against injustices?] but as I enter my ninth year teaching, I wonder when I will escape this tumultuous procedure? Where else does nearly a decade of service lead to facing this much uncertainty? If I continued to work just my part-time, 2 day a week contract and the lay-off level stayed as it is this year forever, it would take me almost 15 MORE years to get above lay-off line.

Depressing as that is for me personally, it is not as depressing as losing all our teacher-librarians next year, among other major cuts. My district is not alone in facing these difficult decisions, across B.C. school boards are struggling to balance budgets as the provincial government continues to download costs. B.C. invests $1000 less per student compared to the national average which, if corrected, would resolve most of the cuts school districts are being forced to make. These cuts are devastating and will change public education forever. I fear, once cut, these positions, services and programs will never return and my daughter and her future children, will not be given the opportunities they deserve in school.

It isn't just about me and my family, although that is very important to me, it is about everyone's family and future. Although cliche, it is true, these kids are our future... the government talks about a 'strong economy' but is squashing our young future decision makers' opportunities. Our future nurses, teachers, plumbers, tradespeople, parents, bankers, doctors, cooks, lawyers.... losing important support in school.

It frustrates me that there is no money for classrooms, but our premiere can spend frivolously. It isn't about there being no money, it is about the allocation of money and the priorities this government has. Clearly education is not one of them.

It upsets me that we are bullied and bribed in the public instead of respected at the bargaining table. There is a fair deal to be made, but the media parade won't help us get there.

Teachers elsewhere in this country are negotiating and being recognized as important figures in children's lives. Why can't B.C. see the same? An investment in education now, will pay off in the future.

This isn't about being adversarial, this is about coming to the table... the government and the BCTF... and discussing, proposing, negotiating. Teachers working conditions are students learning conditions and both need to be protected.

Education is worth the investment. Quality education should not be reserved for the rich and elite. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and nurturing environment.

So, I apologize if my outcry against the deterioration of public education bothers you, but I think it should bother you more that this government is treating teachers and students this way. Everyone has a right to quality education and as a teacher and a parent, I will keep fighting for public education and the educators who work hard every day to teach our children. I won't give up on their future and neither should you!

#DearPeter @MLAFassbender - what teachers think of a ten year contract....

Dear Minister Fassbender

Yesterday the question of topic on BC Almanac was is a 10 year deal for teachers fair and reasonable? My answer was how can it be given that teachers cannot trust this government. Here is why we can't trust this government:

1. Contracts and working conditions have been imposed on us by legislation for the last 12 years. The courts have found this to be unconstitutional, yet teachers are still waiting for their rights to be restored. 

2. The threat of fines, legislation and "accept this or else" attitudes from the government are not democratic collective bargaining. It is legislative thuggery.

3. Austerity really means wage-cuts. It's about families you say, but we are parents too. Inflation raises the cost of living year after year. Wage increases should be somewhat mindful of the rate of inflation.

This government says trust us... we have changed. Minister Fassbender, how many times can you assume us to be fools? You wish teachers to bury the hatchet sir, but what you really mean to do is to bury it in our backs yet again.

Read more teachers' letters to Minister of Education, Peter Fassbender here: https://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/groups/226536574108231/?hc_location=stream

Also search #DearPeter on twitter.