The teachers are going on strike here starting tomorrow It is a terrible situation. The teachers have not had a contract with our government for quite some time, and I can understand their frustration, and class sizes are getting out of control. And our Provincial government is treating the teachers badly. So once again the kids and parents are the ones stuck in the middle (I know you are thinking about that song now ) And for those of us who work at the school, but are not part of the union, we do not get paid, and I have no idea how long this strike is going to last :?

Poor Jess, she was supposed to go on her first volleyball tournament and now that has to be cancelled. I do feel sorry for those poor kids especially the grade 12'* they are the ones who need the class time the most.

Okay I am done ranting.....back to your regular scheduled programming

Teachers all across the coutry are simply not paid enough, and not given enough benefits. I feel very strongly about that.

Personally, I think that sports arenas' incomes should be partially doled out to civil workers, ie teachers, policemen, firefighters, etc. They're all putting thier lives on the line (yes, teachers, too) for peanuts while players are paid millions per year.

K, now I'm done, too. :P

Sorry but I have absolutely no sympathy for teachers.
Anyone who has to strike, is not a professional in my books. They need to suck it up. The economy is tough right now. People in industries across the country are suffering and feel underpaid and overworked.
Teachers care more about themselves and are turning their passion from their job of teaching our future generation to a passion of greed and selfishness.
All for one and one for all..bullcrap!

On the other hand my Grade 12 daughter is overwhelmed with joy.

.....that should stir up some emotion... :P

I take it you haven't been in a public school in some time? my mom works in one and she could make more money working in a fast food restaurant.. that'* sad. you don't even understand the stress of teaching kids now days. Everyday there'* kids who spit at teachers, throw stuff at them, curse at them, and say all kinds of things you can't even imagine. The teachers are powerless to do anything about it, either. My mom has had 1st graders tell her to "suck their dicks" " shut the F*** up" and countless other things. It wouldn't be so bad if this was a rare occurance, but it is not. you're right, teachers should have a passion to teach. But who is going to want to do it when they have to live in near poverty to do it. Even if it is a dream of yours, having barely enough money to get by isn't acceptable. Teachers around here start off making $25,000 a year. You can make more than that being a manager at a fast food restaurant.

My Mother has Been a Teacher for 27 years now and My Mothers Brother (my Uncle) has been a teacher for 30 years now ....I agree with Custom...they are the most grossly underpaid Professional.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE ******* KIDDING ME........... My Mother and Uncle have gone through strikes and have been through them in my schooling system..... FYI its not the teachers is hte SchoolBoard that ***** over the teachers.....if the teachers were able to make the decisions that effect them the School System would be totally different...Dont Blame the teachers Blame the School Boards and the tax payers


And also..if the economy is in a tough time right now how can Pro athletes make Millions upon Millions of dollars for a few hours of 'work' Please Give me a break.

If we paid 1/2 the salary that a Athlete makes and gave it to the teachers, and ALSO THE SCHOOLS our socitey would be totally different

Blaming the teachers.....what a joke

Now hold on a second, folks. Nobody should take anything from professional athletes. If you want to put more money into the schools and withold it from overpaid sports stars, it'* completely within your power. Simply stop attending games, buying official sports merchandise, or paying money for anything that is attached to professional athletics. It'* not some magical force that diverts funds from teachers to athletes; it'* us, the consumers. The only reason athletes get paid the big bucks is because others fork over a ton of money to see them play. The popularity of professional sports is based solely on demand. There'* no conspiracy against the little guy.

yes i would have to agree that teachers are WAY underpaid. for a while in my life i wanted to be a teacher till i found out how much money that they made.

lets put it this way, my last job that i had (was there for about 4 yrs) i was a supervisor for a telemarketing company. ya you know the ones that call you and try to get you to buy something. i was making way WAY more money then the teachers in my area where making. now thats sad right there.

also if a telemarketer EVER calls you DONT buy anything. cause it will never be worth it. or they just tell you all the pretty stuff about it but "forget" to mention the other stuff.
just a big azz legal rip off is all it is. but n e ways just my 3 cents

Okay okay calm down everyone. I do support the teachers to some extent. Yes, teachers are underpaid, and yes they get treated like CRAP by students. However, what kind of profession do you get at least 2 months PAID vacation every year. On the other hand, what about the support staff ( teachers aides, janitors etc) during this time we do not get paid, the teachers still do. When the union that I work for went on strike a few years ago, the teachers did not stand beside us, yet they are expecting us to.

As for better working conditions for the teachers, they deserve to have smaller classes, more respect etc, and you ask how they can get this.....This falls to the parents, parents need to be held accountable for the actions of their children. If your child acts up in class by yelling at the teacher, or swearing at the teacher, the parents should be fined. And I don't mean just a little amount, I mean in the hundreds of dollars. Teachers are trying to make learning conditions of the students better, but in the end the only people who are hurt by this are the kids, parents and support staff!!!

If you can't make the grades and can't get a job coming out of University with a degree in philosophy..or English...or Geography..or math..or history... or chemistry...what do you do....you go to teachers college and become a teacher.

Around here they are making a decent wage of around $75,000 a year working 8-4 with 10 wks paid vacation plus about 3 additional weeks a year for conferences holidays and retreats.... and they take off the one sick day a month, whether they are sick or not....cause it'* in the contract.
When you have tenure, as a teacher, you are untouchable. Even if you are a bad teacher, they can't get rid of you for a younger more capable teacher.

They told my child that they were striking because they were fighting for the janitorial staff who make much less than them and won't do a sanitary job of cleaning the washrooms.....that'* real load of crap!!
On the news, it'* really all about teachers salaries and the 1% a year increase they have been offered.

I see what they drive and where they live and they are not impoverished. In fact some are husband and wife teachers and they are very well off.

I can't say I agree with what you're saying at all - this coming from the viewpoint of a student who graduated HS just last year. I'm offended, even.

My physics/calculus teacher was an electrical engineer for 25 years. This being her third year of teaching - she'* one damned amazing teacher. I can find many more examples like her. Of course, there are the "not so good" teachers, but I still find myself able to appreciate and work with the "worst" labeled teachers. I guess it'* the optimist in me.

It may be a "8-4" job, but I'll be damned if any teacher doesn't spend more time than that for prep work. It'* not uncommon for me to know about teachers staying up till late at night and rise early in the morning just to get marking (or other school-related things) done.

By no means are teachers impoverished - of course not. But I see what they drive. The above physics/calc teacher drives a Ford Escort. There are Corollas, Camrys, Cavaliers, Intrigues, Aleros, Grand Ams, Achievas, and the like. The most loaded teacher drives an Infiniti G35 coupe, but that'* because she'* and older woman who doesn't live with her children, so that extra freed up income goes somewhere...

Maybe it'* because I was privileged enough to go to a good school (yes... it was a public school) in what is by no means a rich area.

I'm standing by PMom on this one. By no means do I intend to flame, however... just my two cents.