THERE’S something terribly wrong with how the province’s school system is valued.
It begins with the law declaring education as an essential service. No argument here. But things go haywire when teachers then go before the provincial Labour Relations Board asking for permission to withdraw certain services, which they did last fall. That permission is not only granted but the school districts then lose the argument that because teachers are doing less, they should be paid less.
This theme carried on last week when the same Labour Relations Board ruled teachers could strike for up to three days without seriously disrupting a student’s education.
Not good news for the parent of a young student struggling to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic nor for the high school student hoping to earn a scholarship. Nor is it good news for taxpayers to learn that they are paying for some school and teacher services which, in the opinion of the Labour Relations Board, aren’t needed.
Now consider the hours teachers spend on extra curricular activities. It’s work without compensation but generally expected as part of the overall system.
On the one hand, we’re paying teachers for work that isn’t needed and then aren’t paying them for something of actual value.
No wonder no one can make any sense of what’s going on.