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  1. Numbers Relating to the Teacher Strike

    September 3, 2014 by Tunya

     

    [posted in Victoria Times Coloinist regarding column — Now is the day of our national disgrace  by Geoff Johnson —    http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/geoff-johnson-now-is-the-day-of-our-national-disgrace-1.1337335, Sept 02 '14.  Below is my comment Sept 03]

    #’s Count

    From Geoff's column:

    1 ½ million (500,000) children barred from BC public education because of teacher strike.

    2 BCTF members got $4000 signing bonus 2006. All other civil servants got $3000. Did BCTF get extra through tough bargaining?

    From other records:

    3 Globe & Mail says: “Since teachers won the right to collective bargaining in 1987 there have been 52 strikes, a series of controversial legislation, bitter court battles and only a single new contract signed without the aid of strikes or legislation.”   http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/history-of-bitterness-between-bcs-teachers-and-governments/article20285359/#dashboard/follows/)

    4 Poor math till Vaughn Palmer figures 0+0+2=11: "Dix has rosy view of role in ’98 teachers deal.  http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=8939e534-0a32-43c3-a59b-b63a8dc27e76

    5 Court cases: How many judges does it take to settle an issue? The Griffin decisions were made by 1 judge (Griffin) — 2X. The Appeal Court will have 5 judges, Oct. 14-16. The Supreme Court of Canada will have 9 judges. Would you rather have one judge or 9 looking at a case?

    6 How many years of turmoil have all governments of different stripes had with BCTF? Answer: 40+. See “Worlds Apart: BC Schools, Politics & Labour Relations Before & After 1972”, Thomas Fleming 2011, Bendall Bks.

    7 What was Jim Iker upset about today besides Christy Clark’s request to stop the strike and go into mediation? "$40 day to parents." So, If it’s for day care, is that what public school is about? But, if it will be used for “tutoring or other educational opportunities” as Finance Minister de Jong hopes, then parents will just be seeking what the public schools were supposed to deliver, and parents are doing THEIR JOB by their children — ensuring that they get an education.

    8 Are teachers poorly off? Of course, some are suffering at the moment, regrettably, due to no pay, but when employed they are in the top 10% of workers in Canada. “Canadian teachers are some of the best paid in the world, earning generous salaries for working nine months a year and retiring early with a generous pension indexed to inflation. Most


    Canadians would be ecstatic at such good fortune but union culture always demands more no matter what.” (High times for the public sector, National Post, Aug 28, ’14   http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/28/high-times-for-the-public-sector/

    Yes, these 500,000 students and their parents are caught in a “disgraceful history” as Geoff Johnson, ex school superintendent concludes. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” 


    – Einstein (attributed)

     

    Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Major Structural changes required to BC ed system

    September 1, 2014 by Tunya

     

    [Sent as comment to Globe & Mail to their story — B.C.’s closed schools leave parents stranded — http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bcs-closed-schools-leave-parents-stranded/article20295700/#dashboard/follows/ ]

    APPETITE FOR MAJOR STRUCTURAL CHANGE IS GROWING EXPONENTIALLY 

    While the mediator in BC’s troubled teacher negotiations, Vince Ready, says there is little appetite by the two parties to settle, there is however a remarkable “appetite” for fundamental reforms as to how education is to be obtained.

    From an earlier G&M story we learn that “Since teachers won the right to collective bargaining in 1987 there have been 52 strikes, a series of controversial legislation, bitter court battles and only a single new contract signed without the aid of strikes or legislation.”  (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/history-of-bitterness-between-bcs-teachers-and-governments/article20285359/#dashboard/follows/)

    Some are projecting the teacher strike will last a whole semester. The BCTF is being counseled by at least one lawyer to “wait-out” the government.  Looks like neither side will be the first to blink for a l-o-n-g time!

    Meanwhile with the $40 day voucher plan parents are finding, or will find, ways to spend that money on educational opportunities.  Also, the parents, individually, and through their provincial group, BCCPAC, are providing more noise in vying for voice in bargaining and in apportioning of special needs funds.  Parent pushback is a reality.

    Also, the intellectual food is there for people to really examine how the current industrial structure of bargaining and the monopoly delivery of schooling are dysfunctional.  A paper by a labor relations scholar opens up the matter,  that in future, governments will be inclined to “steering, not rowing the boat” and that the BCTF, which has “structured reality” in their favor is likely to be posing formidable challenges to provincial governments, whatever their political orientation”  for a very long time to come. 

    http://lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/5645/6508

    Time to convene some serious discussions about fundamental change, eh?

     

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Time to talk “alternatives” — vouchers, charters, etc., etc.

    August 30, 2014 by Tunya

    [posted to The Tyee http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/08/30/Reasons-Not-to-Cool-Off/ on story "Three Reasons Teachers Must Keep Picketing to Keep Pressure on BC Gov't" by Bill Tieleman.]

     

    $40 Oils The Slippery Slope To Vouchers

    Maybe that’s why John Fryer, long time public sector union organizer and now professor of Public Administration, U Vic, counseled BCTF to go back to work but keep bargaining.  Parents are to be paid $40 for every strike day come the new school year. That first payout would be the beginning of the end — a “post public universe” as Tom Fleming, historian, predicted 3 years ago in his book “Worlds Apart: BC Schools, Politics & Labour Relations Before & After 1972 (Bendall Bks).

    Imagine abolishing the Ministry of Education — vouchers paid out by Finance and a Department of Standards and Regulations to monitor accountability.  Massive reduction of bureaucrats!

    Imagine no more public school teacher strikes, as the monopoly would no longer exist. 

    However, Fryer might actually be experiencing a “conflicted” mind as a report for the federal government that he headed actually discussed the proper role of government as being to “steer, not row the boat.”  So vouchers (or any of the other choice mechanisms working in other jurisdictions) would be in that direction.  So, his counsel to return to work may have been just a way for BCTF to gain favor with parents, not to forestall per diem payouts from the education fund.  Not sure how Fryer actually sees the $40 idea.

    But in the history of BC, vouchers have been an item.  In 1973, NDP Premier Barrett and MLA Bob Williams “privately looked with favour on the voucher system, whereby each parent would receive a voucher for the year’s cost of a public school education and would have the choice of whether to apply this in public or non-public schools.” (The 1200 Days, 1978, Kavic, Nixon)

    A Vancouver Sun story (School voucher system mulled: plan aimed at choice over schools, Oct 27’87) had then Social Credit Minister of Finance, Mel Couvelier, forming a committee to examine “the total education budget to determine if there are ways to spend money more efficiently.”

    The moment I heard about the $40 idea (July 31, 2014), I immediately could see good policy implications and provided 7 reasons to support the initiative.  I sent my comments to a number of media outlets in early August.  See my blog for “Education Debit Account Idea Explained” http://www.parentsteachingparents.net/2014/08/education-debit-account-idea-explained/

    Apparently there is some pretty frantic bargaining going on right now.  Wonder if the looming $40 payout to parents is front and center or just in the back of the bargainers’ minds. 

    Whatever, the emergence of parents as a third force in BC during these hectic and troubled times is such a welcome sign,. I do hope, for the sake of parents and their desire for long term stability and choice in seeking the best education for their children that the voucher idea sticks around for serious discussion,  promotion and implementation.

    Category Education Reform, Opinions in media, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

  4. What is legal may still be “wrong”

    August 28, 2014 by Tunya

    [comment to various news stories re Teacher Strike negotiations — Vancouver Sun, The Province, Huffington Post (BC).  What I'm  trying to establish is that it is wrongheaded to retain a structure that does harm to its mission (EDUCATION) and to society (DEMOCRACY) as a whole.  What ever differences the two contending sides have, they will not give up their "playpen" the monopoly public education system.  It may be time for serious work on exits via vouchers, charter schools, etc., which give the consumer — the parents — more flixibility to acquire the education that best fits their child.  This conflict in BC raises serious questions of validity, credibility and accountability of the present rigid system.

    Also questions about proper governance:  Should government ROW  or  STEER the boat?  Lots of literature, pro and con, on this topic. How about DIVERSITY of boats?]

     

    TEACHER  STRIKE  NEGOTIATIONS  LEGAL,  BUT  NOT  LEGITIMATE!

    What have you when two competing usurpers clash over stolen booty? It’s a squatters’ dilemma of sorts, isn’t it? Both squatting on someone else’s property, yet because they’ve been there for so long — each in his own way thinks he is the rightful owner by virtue of long occupancy and entrenched footholds. 





    This is the way I characterize this current clash between the BC government and the teacher union. This squatters’ war has been going on for over 40 years. The government-of-the-day, REGARDLESS of its political stripe — socialist, liberal or conservative believes it must govern a monopoly education system — believing they know what’s best for the individual students and parents in the system. The teachers’ union, BECAUSE of its political compass set in the 70s, believes in worker control of the workplace and has through its actions and structuring of reality in effect become a parallel government. 





    The history of the BC public education system has been well documented in the book, Worlds Apart: BC schools, politics & labour relations before and after 1972, (Fleming, 2011, Bendall Bks). Jim MacFarlan, BCTF president in the 70s was described as a “radical Marxist” who “believed schools should be used as instruments of social change”.





    The closing paragraph of Fleming’s book (3 yrs ago!) said prophetically: “ . . .will government and the teachers’ federation finally find ways to behave in a civilized manner, or will the discord of recent decades finally weaken support for old organizational relationships to the point that a new ‘post-public’ universe of schooling will emerge? Sooner or later, these are questions that British Columbians and their government will be obliged to answer.”





    While the book informs the bargainers in these critical talks, we can easily get the gist of the history from this article (go straight to “teacher power”)http://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/454/611





    What I mean to say is this: Parents are the legitimate “owners” of education of their children. They are ultimately responsible to society and their children to obtain the best they can for them. The industry of “public education” that has arisen is an aberration even if most states of the world also run this way. A self-serving rapacious, predatory and parasitic industry thrives on monopoly and threatens to suffocate democracy and education. But, everywhere in the world, this centralization of education is being challenged. The domination by public sector teacher unions and their obstacling of choices and reforms are being confronted and corrected. 





    No doubt the bargainers and the mediator see the writing on the wall. There is a “post public” configuration awaiting. The monopoly is an invisible bargaining chip on the table. It is actually the government side that is reading the cards perfectly — parents ARE a third force in the picture, and will eventually reclaim their prime responsibility which has been so selfishly usurped. That is why the $40 per diem idea is so refreshing — an acknowledgement that parents have the first claim on the education dollar to help educate their children. See more of my argument here “When will the dam burst for parents?”http://www.parentsteachingparents.net/2014/08/when-will-the-dam-burst-for-parents/





    You can bet both sides will try to keep the monopoly intact, but the world picture portends otherwise! See also the literature in public administration, which describes governments as “steering, not rowing the boat”. See also John Fryer’s research on this.

    Category Education Reform, Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Reply to Student Re Teacher Strike

    August 26, 2014 by Tunya

    [In a Teacher Strike it is ultimately the students who are the victims.  It’s great when students can research the issues and come up with an analysis, which can be put down for others to see.  Armand Birk, a university student, had his first published piece in the Huffington Post — For Every Student, There Was A Teacher — http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/armand-birk/bc-teachers-strike-students_b_5703501.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-british-columbia  Aug 24 ’14  After many comments and lively discussion Armand then asked: “Do you believe that the situation at hand would have been so dire if these issues had been fully addressed when they originally arose 12 or so years ago? . .  What are your thoughts?”  Below is my response and would love to hear back.]

    GOVERNANCE VERSUS IDEOLOGY FRAMES THE PRESENT SCHOOL STRIKE

    Armand: After publishing your excellent tribute to teachers you are now probing the larger picture, one of policy and financial management.

    Firstly, let me say that I, as parent and grandparent, do agree that relationships between teachers and their students can be precious and should be valued. But that is not what the current struggle is about.

    Now you ask if things would be different today if proper decisions were made 12 years ago. 

    But, that is not what is informing the two sides — the government and the teacher union — during their secret negotiations. They are immersed in age-old divisions that go back at least 40 years and well documented in the book Worlds Apart: BC Schools, Politics & Labour Relations Before & After 1972, Thomas Fleming (Bendall Bks, 2011). 

    This is key to understanding this “Hatfield/McCoy Feud” being played out today in BC. The closing paragraph of Fleming’s book (3 yrs ago!) said prophetically: “ . . .will government and the teachers’ federation finally find ways to behave in a civilized manner, or will the discord of recent decades finally weaken support for old organizational relationships to the point that a new ‘post-public’ universe of schooling will emerge?” 

    All members of the bargaining teams are well-aware of this 40 year feud and probably have well-thumbed copies of Worlds Apart in their briefcases. To read an article online of this issue go straight to the section “teacher power” http://historicalstudiesineducation.ca/index.php/edu_hse-rhe/article/view/454/611

    You will see how teacher union members, though not directly through BCTF, were instrumental in defeating the government and bringing in the first NDP government in BC. You will read how the BCTF president, “radical Marxist” Jim MacFarlan (misspelled McFarlan in article) “believed schools should be used as instruments of social change”. History records that BC governments of every stripe — socialist, liberal, conservative — struggled with this militant union ever since.

    You ask good questions, but I stress the issues go far beyond 12 years of history. The issues relate to ideology, that is, political agendas and you will find the politics of the inner BCTF circle (Yes, some still there from ’72) are off the continuum of local everyday politics in BC. The current strike rallying cry — As Long As It Takes — is part of the narrative from this extreme left website whose logo proclaims — Agitate, Educate, Organize http://rankandfile.ca/2014/06/28/bc-teachers-keep-your-eyes-on-the-prize/

    [In a Teacher Strike, students are the ultimate victims, so it's great when students actually research, then place their analysis down for others. Here is a university student, Armand Birk, who had his first published article in Huffington Post — For Every Student, There Was A Teacher, Aug 24 '14  http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/armand-birk/bc-teachers-strike-students_b_5703501.html?utm_hp_ref=canada-british-columbia  After many comments, Armand then asked: "Do you believe that the situation at hand would have been so dire if these issues had been fully addressed when they originally arose 12 or so years ago? . . . What are your thoughts?"  My answer below, and would love to hear back!]

    In case you didn’t know, we have TWO School Acts in BC. The Independent Schools Act, which forbids sedition — fostering discontent and overthrow of government, and the BC School Act, which says nothing about sedition. It’s too bad that besides all the active and unconcealed acts of rebelliousness being demonstrated, we now have the BCTF president, Jim Iker, urging members to actively swamp school board elections this Fall. (Lay control?)

    Armand: I appreciate your well-meaning questions and answer from a history that I've lived through. We learned that a military defense system should not be governed by the soldiers and understood education should not be run by teachers. Pasi Sahlberg, the highly revered speaker on behalf of Finnish education and its achievements also believes teachers should not dominate decision-making. http://eltorofulbright.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-interview-with-pasi-sahlberg.html

    Armand: Who manages the education system is probably the biggest issue of the current quarrel, not finances. I hope you’re thinking of going into public administration studies at University. Best wishes.

     

     

    Category Education Reform, Opinions in media, Parent Tribal Memory, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

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