The rise and fall (?) of the BCTF
Just over one year ago, BC teachers returned to class from what was the longest teacher strike in Canadian history. Teachers, upset with over a decade of deteriorating funding and…
Tara Olivetree
Just more teacher bashing: Deconstructing the Ontario report card debacle
This post appeared first on rankandfile.ca Please visit if you haven't already - an excellent source of labour news you won't find anywhere else. --- The mainstream media wasted no…
Solidarity key to protecting public education
Hundreds of parents, teachers and students will be protesting education cuts in BC on Sunday. Families Against Cuts to Education is hosting the protests in five BC communities after yet…
Bill 11 – Is the BC government privatizing and seizing control of teacher professional development?
Yesterday the BC government introduced Bill 11 - new law that will, among other things, change the system of teacher professional development in BC. Without any consultation with teachers or…
Parents protest BC’s education budget cuts
Parents and education supports will be out on April 12th protesting the latest round of cuts to BC's education budget (details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1550717231856110/). Below is a post I wrote for…
The courts have acknowledged the right to strike: Now it’s time to strike
Trade unionists across the country were delighted to see the Supreme Court of Canada finally recognize a constitutional right to strike. The landmark decision overturned legislation impeding the right to…
What could a Canadian Syriza do?
It has been so inspiring to see the Greek people reject austerity and vote in a government committed to radical change. And what is so radical about Syriza? They want…
Standardized testing: a pillar of privatization
It's FSA season again. Every year in British Columbia, every student in grades 4 and 7 has their regular classroom schedule put on hold for two weeks while they complete…
Badass Book Review: The Future of our Schools, Teachers Unions and Social Justice by Lois Weiner
Badass Book Review: The Future of our Schools, Teachers Unions and Social Justice by Lois Weiner Since the massive public sector upsurge in the 60's and 70's, teachers unions in…
Badass Book Review: Raising Expectations & Raising Hell, by Jane McAlevey
Book Review: Raising expectations (and Raising hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement, by Jane McAlevey It's been a tough couple of decades to be a trade unionist. Since…
BC’s Site C Dam – Another stack in the LNG house of cards
The BC government announced today that they were going ahead with an $8.8 billion commitment to build BC's largest dam - "Site C". A few (even on the left) believe…
The Mind of Christy Clark
My colleagues and I were somewhat perplexed at the lunch table this week to grasp the motivation behind the latest decision of the BC Liberals to end funding for adult…
School Trustees – The citizens’ voice
Tomorrow is voting day for school Trustees in British Columbia. Please take the time to cast your ballot, and hopefully you've had a chance to look at some of the…
Reflections on the BC Teacher Strike
Teachers are reflective practitioners. And just as we reflect on a lesson to judge what worked and what did not, we ought also to reflect on our struggle to improve…
BC Teacher strike – Lessons learned
On the evening of the vote results, I found myself, with great difficulty, repeating the tried and true advice: "Don't mourn, organize." Because it is correct. There is much to…
Response to Sandy Garossino
A number of teachers have pointed to a string of tweets by Sandy Garossino, who spoke so eloquently about the meaning of Justice Griffin's decision during our strike. I very…
Will the Education Fund improve classroom conditions?
The tentative agreement negotiated this week includes an Education Fund which replaces the Learning Improvment Fund (LIF). Will this improve classroom conditions? Not much, if at all. The BCTF did…
Tentative agreement – Yes or No?
Despite what I know was a herculean effort on the part of our bargaining team, I very much hope that BC teachers will vote no to the tentative agreement. After…
Class composition: a human rights perspective
Christy Clark enraged teachers and surprised many when she tweeted that class composition was one of her primary concerns. Those of us working in schools who have for twelve long…
Class size and composition – a short visual history
I put this table together today to share with parents and community members at our information forum this evening, but please feel free to share. It is a slight simplification…