Clark government cuts Science World program for kids

Christy Clark and the Liberals putting Families First... right?

Wrong!

Again!

Though this cut is to an important education program, so it makes sense they cut funding - that is what they do best!

Vancouver Sun writes:

VICTORIA - The B.C. government has cut funding to a Science World program that brought innovative education to hundreds of thousands of children across the province. In an interview Thursday, the chair of Science World's board of directors said his organization will no longer be able to run the Program for the Awareness and Learning of Science, which included free fieldtrips and touring educational science programs to communities around the province. "Why it's so important is we're of the view that graduates in science, technology, engineering and math are the natural resources of the future," said Andrew Harries, chair of Science World's board of directors, adding the BC PALS program helped inspire kids to follow careers in these areas. "Any government that doesn't recognize that is short changing its society." Harries said provincial funding of the program began in 2005, adding the province has contributed between $1 million and $2 million each year since. He said the program allowed Science World to extend its reach into communities across the province, including many First Nations communities. "Science World will roll up in a truck and it will take its hands on, highly visual and entertaining form of science learning to kids that just don't get to experience that," he said. "There are very few communities, in fact very few schools in the regions, that the PALS program hasn't reached in the past few years." Education Minister George Abbott has not yet commented on the issue. Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Clark+government+cuts+Science+World+program+kids/6856207/story.html#ixzz1z8K2rLKa

Are teachers more valuable to the government than previously advertised?

Are teachers more valuable to the government than previously advertised?

Union Book
Ian Weniger
June 4, 2012

Last weekend, I suggested that the BC government would use the event of the BCTF representative assembly to further force teachers into submission regarding the extracurricular ban accepted formally by three-quarters of voting union members. I suspected that the Labour Relations Board would announce that the employers' petition to declare the "bell-to-bell" actions of teachers to be a form of strike action and therefore illegal by the terms of the cooling-off period mandated to the end of the summer by Bill 22. And I thought that, since the minister used the confluence of the BCTF annual general meeting and the spring break period to introduce Bill 22, forcing teachers' delegates to consider incurring massive fines against individual teachers, union officials and the union itself, that the government would do it again.

Why didn't this happen at the RA? I think there are two main reasons. The first is the general political failure of the government as it faces the final year of its mandate before the provincial election next May. Not only are the BC Liberals halfway behind the popularity of the opposition NDP, but they are also neck-and-neck with the newly reborn, tiny BC Conservative Party. The premier's major responses were to lead a trade delegation to China and preside over a couple of dozen investment deals in BC oil and gas development, and to formally propose a competition to change her party's name to reflect the commitment to "free enterprise." While I thought such a dismal situation would be solved by kicking the BCTF while they were down, the government saw that Bill 22 didn't help them before, and more teacher-bashing was unlikely to help them now.

Besides, if Christy Clark's priority in breaking the teachers' union was financial, then a balanced budget at the expense of defunding public education is probably a better re-election asset than scapegoating the most defiant labour organization in the province.

To view the rest of the article, click here

B.C. teachers warn threat of legislated contract amounts to fighting words

Vancouver Sun
Canadian Press
May 28, 2012


VANCOUVER — The BC Teachers' Federation says it won't back down despite threats of back-to-work legislation if a bitter contract dispute is not resolved by the end of June.


BCTF president Susan Lambert warns her members will be ready to fight if Education Minister George Abbott makes good on suggestions that a new contract could be imposed over the summer.


Abbott says he would be ready to act if a government-appointed mediator can't reach a deal with teachers before June 30.


Lambert responds by saying the union has a court-mandated order for the right to free collective bargaining, something she says the B.C. Liberal government is continuing to ignore.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/teachers+warn+threat+legislated+contract+amounts+fighting+words/6690521/story.html#ixzz1wCtTpWfG

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

Free ride over for some adult ed classes

Free ride over for some adult ed classes Vancouver Sun Janet Steffenhagen May 22, 2012 A government program that offers free courses for high school graduates who want to upgrade their skills has been radically scaled back after the Education Ministry decided it had expanded far beyond its original intent. Under the program, tuition fees were abolished in 2008 but the mandate was left openended. That allowed B.C. school districts to offer free online courses for adults in a range of subjects such as photography, hair design, drawing, guitar, film and television, outdoor pursuits, computers, cosmetology, horsemanship and more than half a dozen languages. Education Minister George Abbott said the program, called the Education Guarantee, was never intended to provide "personal interest" courses. "There's been a huge proliferation in personal-interest courses like rock-and-roll history, body toning, hip-hop, Latin and ballroom dance. I mean, these are fine things in their own right ... [but] are they consistent with an education guarantee? I don't think so." The ministry could not confirm that all of the online courses mentioned by Abbott have been offered tuitionfree but said they were among 3,000 permitted under the Education Guarantee. Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Free+ride+over+some+adult+classes/6657316/story.html#ixzz1vfP65M13

Minister Abbott's thank-you letter to retired teachers

"Not Gonna Take It" - Music Video by teacher's

Yesterday I went by Glen School and the passionate, energetic, creative teacher's shared a song they made up while on their walk-out.

Today, I returned and they had video taped it and I asked if they could send it to me to share. I think it is clever and encourage you to share it with others:

Support BC Teachers - YouTube Video from a young graduate

Abbott claims it is "discrimination" to limit class size and composition?

It upsets me to hear our Minister of Education, George Abbott saying that limiting the number of special needs students in a class is "discriminatory"

What is discriminatory is jam-packing so many students into a class that they can't get the extra attention they need to learn.

Special needs or not, EVERY student deserves positive learning conditions, and that means positive working conditions for teachers.

Calling Class Size & Composition requests "discriminatory" is absurd! The government illegally stripped BC teacher's right to negotiate class size and composition leading to over crowded classes and inadequate support for special needs students across the Province!

Students identified may need extra time, extra attnetion, or have specific needs in which they are entitled to just like every other student.

Additionally, there are often a number of students who are not "identified" as special needs who require extra attention, extra help, certain methods or strategies to help them learn.

Limiting the number of special needs in a classroom allows those students to have access to resources and to participate fully in the class. Without limits teachers can not adequately meet the needs of every student.

As it stands, SEAs often have multiple students and with more special needs in a class, it makes the SEAs workload heavier and can become a safety issue without adequate support.

Minister Abbott needs to spend more time "IN CLASSROOMS" and not just brief public appearences "at schools" to truly understand the system ESPECIALLY before making such absurd comments about education and "discrimination"