DECONSTRUCTING THE SPIN: PART TWO BC Libs have a Q&A on the website. I have posted their question and their answer and then the truth. 2. Why are you appealing the court case? Why not just negotiate class composition now? Despite what you may have heard, we want to deal with class composition now. It’s an important issue, which is why we tabled a proposal to provide more resources in the classroom. Read more about that proposal, “E80”, below. We are appealing the court case because government has a responsibility to balance the interests of BCTF members against what is in the best interest of students and families. Simply put, we do not believe that the BCTF should make fiscal and policy decisions for the government. The BCTF wants to return to a factory model where students are managed through rigid ratios and arbitrary formulas. No other province manages their classrooms this way. And for good reason: it is inefficient, ineffective, and highly discriminatory against students with special needs. It also takes away the ability of boards of education and principals to make appropriate decisions to match resources to meet the needs of students. TRUTH a. If you wanted to deal with class composition, you had 18 months to do it. b. We would have to agree to what you meant by the word deal for this to make sense. Judge Griffens ruling deals with composition. Just because you dont agree with her ruling, does not mean that composition has not been dealt with. c. The interests of BCTF members ( aka teachers) are always in the best interests of the student because kids learning conditions are teachers working conditions. d. In what way is providing more support for vulnerable students NOT good fiscal policy? e. In what way do teachers have any access whatsoever to the levers of government to make any policy decisions at all? Teachers are citizens and only have the access to influencing government policy that all citizens have in a democracy. Thats how it works. In fact influencing government policy is one of the responsibilities of citizenship. f. Teachers have moved centuries away from the factory model There is not enough space here to list all the innovative teaching and programs that teachers have been using in schools. g. The red herring about rigid formulas and ratios are akin to saying that if the rule says that a building needs to have a washroom that is wheelchair accessible that is too rigid. What you call rigid, we call fair. h. I wish parents of students with special needs could take you up on how discriminatory your current funding of their children is. Ill leave that sentence to them. i. If public education was as much a priority as piplelines are for this party, then prinipals and school boards would have no problem at all meeting the needs of students.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 23:33:31 +0000
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