Re: Teachers leaving parents in the dark (PNR column, Nov. 4)
Don Descoteau of the Oak Bay News complained about the lack of communication between the teacher(s) of his children and their parents.
Neither Descoteau nor his partner is able to attend a meeting during business hours, ever? Nor are they able to understand written emails?
Hmmm, how about that relatively new invention, the telephone? They should try phoning their teachers. I am sure they will have a conversation that will lay to rest all their concerns about inadequate reporting.
Have they never had to take an extended lunch break or leave work a little early in order to attend a medical or dental appointment, visit a lawyer, meet a banker, attend a funeral?
Methinks Descoteau should vent his spleen on the B.C. Liberal government, which has ruthlessly slashed spending on public education over the last decade by illegally shredding the teachers — legal contract, stripping $275 million a year from educational funding while increasing the already generous subsidies to private schools.
Meanwhile, B.C.’s hard-working teachers are now some of the lowest paid in the country. All they ask is that they be paid a Canadian average salary. How terrible is that?
Teachers in Brandon, Man. are paid more than those in Victoria. The heart of the country, Ontario, pays up to $20,000 more per year, as does Alberta.
As teachers are laughably labeled an essential service, as are those dealing with life-and-death situations, they are able to take only minimal job action. The action they have taken is deemed legal by the Labour Relations Board.
Bert Slater, teacher
North Saanich