The British Columbia Teachers' Strike is Driving Me Bananas!

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I can't wait until the Strike is over. I listen to the Morning Shows on my local Women's Talk Station. I hear the Public putting all Disabled Students in the same category. They presume that all Students with all Special Needs should all be put into a room of thier own. I disagree with that. I did pretty well in School. I was Mainstreamed 50% of the time in Elementary School and 75% of the time in High School and I did a Jolly Good job keeping up, and I understood everything that was being taught to me. I did have a friend who did need to be in an Isolated Setting for most of the time, and I've had other friends who were between the two extremes. No two Disabled Students are the same and the people where I live just don't seem to get that.

My Dad is a Member of the CUPE Union and he can't cross the Picket Line, so he can't work. Now all of the Unions are going on Strike, so there's even less of a chance of him working and bringning home the Money that my Family despreatly needs. It's a good thing that he has a Day Job, Painting, Pressure Washing and cleaning Gutters.

The third thing that bothers me is the rude Children who are running wild. I can only take Chico for 1 walk a day, in the Early Morning, when it's still dark out. I don't want to be out, when the kids are out being rude to one another and to Seniours and people who are just a little bit different from the Social Norm. I know that I can seriously hurt that one boy who calls my Mentally Handicapped, if he ever calls me that again, and I don't want to take that risk. Chico also has a habit of jumping up on kids, because of their shrill voices, and I keep him from diong that by pulling in his Chain. I feel that I'm hurting him, when I do that. If I don't use the Chain, than I can't keep him out of the Garbage on the Sidewalks.

Word up.

Wow,

Sounds like BC has serious problems. The Teachers contract here in Rochester (individal districts do contracts here in the states rather than a state wide contract) just ratified their contract without much fanfare to the relief of the public in general. Especailly since there have been 2 protracted strikes in Northern MN.

I hate it when teachers have strikes. They go to college in order to be teachers, and they know the range of money that they're going to recieve. I remember last year, in the Marysville school district in Eastern Washington, the teachers held a strike at the end of the year for 2 months or something crazy. Then the students, who were supposed to be on summer break by June, were making up the part of the school year that they missed through July, including the Seniors. I wasn't too pleased, and I think that some teacher unions are just too dang greedy; they shouldn't do that to us students, since I don't want to be spending my whole summer in school when the teachers throw a little fit about their earnings. It's not very fair at all.

Teachers strikes are always attention getters.

We nearly had a strike here in my home town three years ago. 1500 teachers picketed outside my high school for two hour before going into a school board meeting that was held in the fieldhouse due to the large crowd.

And then there was the teachers strike of 1974
http://www.weac.org/AboutWEA/1998-99/horton.htm

It should be over soon, as early as monday is possible according to CBC (news story).

I'm not really a fan of unions (note the subtle understatment).

I know we put quite a bit of blame in the unions but both sides to negotiate.

In the late 80s, the Buffalo Teachers Association (Buffalo NY) neogtiated a contract with the Buffalo Public Schools. The teachers were told the board would approve of it. At the time, the city had a mayor who was extremely powerful and an opponent of public education. He got is cronnies on the school board to vote down the contract.

Rather than strike, the teachers union decided to use the remidies available to them under law because they are really not allowed to strike. The case took 15 years and the teachers won. By that time, the city and school district claimed poverty and they could not pay the teachers what they owed them. Everyone screamed that the teachers we being unrealistic when in reality they were the ones wronged.

When the law allows one side at the negotiation table an advantage over the other, maybe the side at the disadvantage needs to break the law.

I'm keepingmy fingers crossed that it ends, soon. A lot of the Teachers make $3000 to $7000 a Month. They were promissed a Raise in June. A lot of Blue Collar Workers have worked at their Jobs for 15 years without a Raise and they go to work without complaining, and they expect Teachers to do the same. I'm also not very impressed with Jinny Sims. She's probably the one who started the whole mess. Now she's just repeating herself. She was the one who was willing to go to Prison. Or maybe I'm so much like her in other areas, that I just can't stand her. I feel that the Teachers should make up the lost time to their Students. There's a 17 Year Old Boy across the street from where I live. He's in Grade 12, and the Strike is having an impact on him and his Classmates. His whole class of 200 to 300 Students will have to repeat Grade 12 along with the thousands of other Grade 12 Students in B.C. if the Strike goes on.

The other reason is a selfish one. The Strike is messing up my own Set Schedual. I have a rigid Schedual in which I take my Dog for a walk at both 6 in the Morning and 1 in the Afternoon. Than I have Dinner at 4 in the Evening and I go into my Bedroom/Home until I go to Bed. I choose not to walk my Dog, anytime that the Kids are out of School. There are a few Ignorant Youngsters around my neighbourhood, that I'm afraid I might hurt, if they call me sometihg stupid to my face. I also spend my Evening in the Spare Bedroom, upstairs but still on my Laptop. I try to keep out of everybodys' way. If I don't like the way that people treat me, than I stay out of their way.

The Strike is officialy over. Yeah, Baby! The Screaming Terrors will be back in School, tomorrow. I hope that the Teachers get the supports that they need.