To the Editor,
Re: Teachers aren’t striking because of salary demands, Letters, July 3.
Many of us are guilty of the ‘know-it-all’ syndrome. We read something in the paper, immediately get on our high horses and spout our views on that subject to anyone who has ears. Unfortunately these views usually come from ignorance.
Top of the list at the moment seems to be the fact that school teachers have withdrawn their labour. I have heard views that they should be forced back to work.
When asked how much knowledge they had based their views on, the reply was, “I read it in the paper,” or “think about the single parent who has to scramble for help while they have to go to work.”
Consider broadening your knowledge by talking to teachers face to face. They are easily accessible.Talk to all ages, you will find them very civil and willing to share the reasons they regrettably have had to take this action which they understand has a ripple effect in the community.
These people spent years and a lot of money earning their teaching degrees; they did this to become educators of our children, not babysitters.
Many of us on this Island are seniors and tend to remember our experiences of school life. Things have changed drastically. The education system of today is a mess, mainly through cutbacks. Our teachers take the brunt of it.
Joan Chantrellvia e-mail
To the Editor,
The idea of giving out $40 a day if the teachers and government can’t reach an agreement is about as brilliant as a two-watt bulb.
I suggest instead, the following: gather up Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister Peter Fassbender, along with the bargaining committees of the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation. Take them to some isolated spot, lock them all together in one room with no cell phones, radio, TV, newspapers, computers, visitors or air conditioning. Provide only adequate bread and water at meal times. Perhaps a little discomfort might help them focus on reaching an agreement that benefits students.
Barbara CooperNanaimo