Cost of living aside....shouldn't RESULTS play into ANY contract? When kids averages keep going down across the board, and the curriculum is more hinged on social activism and other DEI initiatives...the line must be drawn in the sand. Return to teaching the required basics, or turf these SJWs out on their asses!
The math is not adding up with what teachers are claiming regarding class sizes. Let's say we have 825,000 students here in Alberta and we have 37,500 full-time teachers. That equals 22 students per teacher. (Notice I have increased students and reduced teacher counts from the numbers in this article. If I had taken the numbers from this article that would equate to 14 students per teacher). With the additional 3000 teachers the numbers would be reduced to about 20 students per teacher. I have purposely left out part-time teachers and school administration as well as EAs. Help me understand why caps on classrooms is part of the issue.
If there are 700,000 students home from school due to 50,000 teachers being on strike, does that not make the student to teacher ratio 14 to 1? Is my math not a thing, are the numbers in this report wrong, do they really have too many teachers, or teachers who do not teach?
Classrooms are a disaster for the students and teachers. Average class size at schools is over 30. High needs children are in the classroom often violent and disruptive. High number of English as a 2nd language students. Split classes where the teacher must teach 2 curriculums. No resources such as workbooks or textbooks given so teachers have to gather resources and buy them with their own money on teacher pay teachers. No support in classrooms for all of this. Maybe one EA for an hour a day. Violent students hitting teachers and other students. Classroom clears because of students throwing fits and picking up desks to throw around the classroom. Hmm.. tell me how teachers are supposed to be teaching and students are supposed to be learning in an environment like that.
I agree. The class size should average 14. There is something wrong here. I’ll bet there are a lot of teachers who don’t teach but have admin type jobs which should eliminated
In 2014 families in BC were paid $40 a day for the duration of the long teacher strike after it continued into September. The pay amounted to $520 for the 13 days in Sept. Under the Temporary Education Support Payment program (TESP) parents were to use the money for tutoring, homeschooling, basic daycare, etc. and indeed new arrangements were being arranged before the strike finally ended — micro-schools, co-operative arrangements by families, etc.
Hopefully, during this current Alberta teacher strike politicians, policy-people and all affected and interested can consider this an opportunity to explore some questions relating to the matter of public education:
• Should taxpayer funds meant for education of the young be directed more specifically toward the child, versus, as presently, being sent to the system, schools boards, etc.? Much waste and bloated administrations result. Some American states, using the principle of money following the child, are finding considerably more efficient use of the education dollar with programs such as education savings accounts.
• Alberta is known for being the only province in Canada with successful Charter schools. Is this not a good time to consider expansion of the popular charters (with long waiting lists) to provide more education choice for families?
• Would a close examination of the current economics of the near monopoly system of schooling and education in Alberta not show a dollar value of more than $30 a day for parents to fulfill the education mandate? If the strike lasts a long time, alternatives will be expensive, dollar-wise. Even more costly and lamentable will be the harm to the futures of the young as their well-being will be compromised.
Cost of living aside....shouldn't RESULTS play into ANY contract? When kids averages keep going down across the board, and the curriculum is more hinged on social activism and other DEI initiatives...the line must be drawn in the sand. Return to teaching the required basics, or turf these SJWs out on their asses!
Yet another good argument for home schooling. The teacher's unions are playing right into this.
Also an argument for tax funded alternate schools.
That too! Something where the parents have real input and get taken seriously.
The math is not adding up with what teachers are claiming regarding class sizes. Let's say we have 825,000 students here in Alberta and we have 37,500 full-time teachers. That equals 22 students per teacher. (Notice I have increased students and reduced teacher counts from the numbers in this article. If I had taken the numbers from this article that would equate to 14 students per teacher). With the additional 3000 teachers the numbers would be reduced to about 20 students per teacher. I have purposely left out part-time teachers and school administration as well as EAs. Help me understand why caps on classrooms is part of the issue.
If there are 700,000 students home from school due to 50,000 teachers being on strike, does that not make the student to teacher ratio 14 to 1? Is my math not a thing, are the numbers in this report wrong, do they really have too many teachers, or teachers who do not teach?
Classrooms are a disaster for the students and teachers. Average class size at schools is over 30. High needs children are in the classroom often violent and disruptive. High number of English as a 2nd language students. Split classes where the teacher must teach 2 curriculums. No resources such as workbooks or textbooks given so teachers have to gather resources and buy them with their own money on teacher pay teachers. No support in classrooms for all of this. Maybe one EA for an hour a day. Violent students hitting teachers and other students. Classroom clears because of students throwing fits and picking up desks to throw around the classroom. Hmm.. tell me how teachers are supposed to be teaching and students are supposed to be learning in an environment like that.
Fire them. Start over. Kids will be better off.
Besides the Feds and teachers blowing smoke up our asses I'm starting to feel bloated
I agree. The class size should average 14. There is something wrong here. I’ll bet there are a lot of teachers who don’t teach but have admin type jobs which should eliminated
In 2014 families in BC were paid $40 a day for the duration of the long teacher strike after it continued into September. The pay amounted to $520 for the 13 days in Sept. Under the Temporary Education Support Payment program (TESP) parents were to use the money for tutoring, homeschooling, basic daycare, etc. and indeed new arrangements were being arranged before the strike finally ended — micro-schools, co-operative arrangements by families, etc.
Hopefully, during this current Alberta teacher strike politicians, policy-people and all affected and interested can consider this an opportunity to explore some questions relating to the matter of public education:
• Should taxpayer funds meant for education of the young be directed more specifically toward the child, versus, as presently, being sent to the system, schools boards, etc.? Much waste and bloated administrations result. Some American states, using the principle of money following the child, are finding considerably more efficient use of the education dollar with programs such as education savings accounts.
• Alberta is known for being the only province in Canada with successful Charter schools. Is this not a good time to consider expansion of the popular charters (with long waiting lists) to provide more education choice for families?
• Would a close examination of the current economics of the near monopoly system of schooling and education in Alberta not show a dollar value of more than $30 a day for parents to fulfill the education mandate? If the strike lasts a long time, alternatives will be expensive, dollar-wise. Even more costly and lamentable will be the harm to the futures of the young as their well-being will be compromised.