Dear editor,
If it is the government’s intention with Bill 22 (Education Improvement Act) to get the teachers' union to take their eyes off the ball, it has succeeded magnificently.
It looks like the priority for the union leadership has become Bill 22 and how to “fight” the government’s “draconian” legislation.
The teachers’ totally supportable quest for manageable class sizes and greater assistance with special-needs students will be put on hold while the union deals with the implications of Bill 22.
Now, if the government can manage to goad the union into some kind of illegal activity in protest of the legislation, we will have an entirely new ballgame.
You’ll hear people say, “Oh, my, what kind of example are those teachers setting for our children?” And, “Is it really about the children or are those teachers just thinking about themselves?”
You know what.
I think teachers would be better off if they would come out and say they are thinking about themselves.
That it’s not just for the sake of the children that they want smaller class sizes and greater assistance with special-needs students.
It’s for themselves — so they are able to do their jobs properly, so they can spend the kind of time with their students they believe is necessary for a quality education.
It’s for themselves — so they can feel they are making the kind of difference they went to university to learn how to do.
Everyone wants to be proud of the work they do. I’m glad that the teachers are trying to bargain for the kind of conditions that they need to do work to be proud of.
I hope they are successful. But you know what?
I think they would be more successful if they stopped saying unkind personal things about government leaders in public.
How realistic is it to expect your employers to be positive towards your proposals when you are being so negative towards them, personally negative.
A response might be — “Well, if they were nicer to us then we would be nicer to them.” Or — “We haven’t been able to negotiate anything with them for 20 years. They just won’t listen.”
So, maybe it is time to get a top professional mediator on the case — someone who has the stature to get the parties to smarten up and get to work on getting a resolution.
Because whether it’s all about the children or it’s all about the teachers, neither are benefiting from this kind of dispute.
Erik Eriksson,
Courtenay