Confusing differentiation with adverse discrimination – false logic
George Abbott has picked up on a mistaken theme from a few Victoria parents and a few Victoria Trustees and is now suggesting he might eliminate sections of the School…
Tara Ehrcke
Are BC workers getting wage increases?
The BC government is trying to impose a second round of “net zero” increases for public sector workers. One of the arguments is that other workers are not getting increases.…
Are Principals friends of public education?
The BC Principals and Vice Principals Association has chosen a couple of times to wade in on the teachers’ job action. Unfortunately they have chosen to mostly remain silent, or…
Negotiate, don’t legislate
With the appointment of a so-called “fact finder”, the BC government is apparently orchestrating its plan to legislate BC teachers and impose a contract. I say “so-called” because the government…
BC’s Learning Incentives Fund – 1 minute per student per day
The BC Ministry of Education has announced it’s “Learning Incentives Fund” via radio ads. Rather than put class sizes and class composition limits back into contract, and rather than reinstate…
Go east, young teacher
Ah BC, the greatest place on Earth. Let me count the ways: 1. Highest child poverty rate 2. Greatest inequality 3. Expensive housing The mountains are beautiful, but is it…
Kevin Falcon speaks the Liberal truth – serve the rich
I was gob-smacked this morning to read a quote from Kevin Falcon, the Finance Minister, reacting to the recent BC Statistics report on growing income inequality. The report showed that…
How to reduce income inequality
The last time there was such severe income inequality in Canada and the US was the 1920’s. Political pundits of all stripes lament this fact, and point to the heady…
BC Schools: A decade of choice, a decade of decline
Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of Bills 27 and 28. These two pieces of legislation began a dramatic shift in the framework of BC schooling towards a policy of “choice”…
What is fair and reasonable?
Sadly, BC politics took a turn south this week, with Education Minister George Abbott fueling a backlash against teachers during bargaining. It is frustrating to see so many misconceptions in…
Twitter tale – Consultation, Minister Abbott style
There’s been some online discussion about Minister Abbott’s tweet up…seems he wasn’t actually doing the typing…although he was apparently in the room and directing the typist. Here are a few…
Alberta teachers in negotiations
Details were leaked this week from the talks between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta government. Alberta teachers are currently the highest paid outside of the north, with salaries…
BCTF presents reduced set of proposals
In an effort to get bargaining moving, the BCTF provincial bargaining team is presenting a new set of proposals at the table today. The proposals represent a significant reduction: *…
School boards discuss ‘net zero’
At least two School Boards discussed motions last night to ask the BC government to bring a new mandate to the provincial bargaining table with teachers. Teachers are seeking increases…
Will grouping by ability mean re-segregation?
One of the aspects of the “BC education plan” most touted by the government recently is the notion of grouping students by ability, rather than age. A quick perusal through…
BC teachers describe workload issues at bargaining table
This week, several teachers came to the provincial bargaining table on behalf of the BCTF to share their experiences teaching in BC. Here are some excerpts from the reports: January…
BC public sector enters 2012 bargaining
This week saw the beginning of a new round of public sector bargaining, with most public sector unions entering negotiations for 2012 agreements. The government has already stated their intention…
Superintendent of Greater Victoria received 10% wage increase
The Public Service Employers’ Council (PSEC) recently released the public disclosure of executive compensation for school districts. This comes shortly after we learned in the media that the Greater Victoria…
Should BC teachers get a salary increase? Myths & Realities
BC teachers are in contract negotiations asking for a fair deal. What do we mean by fair exactly? Teachers would like improvements in three areas: class size/composition, salary and benefits,…
A year in review: waking the sleeping giant
Photograph by Richard Hurd via Flickr How apropo. At noon today, halfway through the first working day of the year, Canada’s top CEO’s had already earned an average worker’s…