This is not a current forum
This is no longer a current blog about the current situation.
This blog is my venting place and a place to put strike info, articles, and pictures. We're standing up for something extremely important - Public Education!
1.Vince Ready's recommendations: not exactly what teachers were looking for. They highlight the fact that the contract imposed by Bill 12 is up in June 2006, which means we'll be back at the bargaining table again in March. Here we go again...
2. Jinny Sims' conditional acceptance of Ready's recommendations. She wants written guarantees from this government, not just talk. Of course, we thought our contracts were written guarantees, too...
3. Gordon Campbell essentially flipping the bird at teachers: He took a nice little dig by saying that teacher's shouldn't consider this a victory, making a point of telling everyone that this "deal" isn't going to cost the government anything, it will just come out of the millions of dollars he's saved by not having to pay the teachers over the last two weeks. Well good for him. In Campbell's speech, he talks about his experience as a teacher himself. SCOFF, SPUTTER, *eyes rolling around in my head* Don't tell ME he has education's best interests in mind. Hogwash!
4. Jim Sinclair backs off professed support of teachers: Even before anyone had even SEEN the recommendations, Sinclair stepped down his support of teachers, calling off the BC Fed's involvement in the rally, and refusing to talk to Jinny Sims until a vote was held. I can't tell you how many teachers are FURIOUS over this.
5. Brenda Brown's fine on the BCTF: Considerably less than we thought it was going to be, actually.
6. Class Action lawsuits pending: Yes, taxpayers pay for a service that they didn't receive. But whose responsibility is it to provide that service? We would not be in this situation if the government had not "abused their legislative authority" (as stated by the government's own lawyers) and had actually sat down and negotiated with teachers.
7. Upcoming vote... will teachers really be back to work on Monday?
I'd like to write more on each of these things, but I've GOT to get away from all this for a while. It's making me crazy!
What a day.
The Best Dentist ---"Absolutely" the Best Dentist
..........My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've got all my teeth, so when I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.
.........."Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of dentists with their young patients?" I said.
.........."No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"
.........."It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as Excellent, Good, Average, Below average, and Unsatisfactory. That way parents will know which are the best dentists. It will also encourage the less effective dentists to get better. Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses to practice."
.......... "That's terrible," he said.
.......... "What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try to improve children's dental health in this state?"
.......... "Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is practicing good dentistry."
.......... "Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."
.......... "Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all work with the same clientele; so much depends on things we can't control. For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper middle class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring their children to see me until there is some kind of problem; I don't get to do much preventive work. Also," he said, "many of the parents I serve let their kids eat way too much candy from an early age, unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship between sugar and decay. To top it all off," he added, "so many of my clients have well water, which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how much difference early use of fluoride can make?"
.......... "It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. I couldn't believe my dentist would be so defensive. He does a great job.
.......... "I am not!" he said. "My best patients are as good as anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose to work where I am needed most."
.......... "Don't get touchy," I said.
.......... "Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red and from the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his teeth. .......... "Try furious. In a system like this, I will end up being rated average, below average, or worse. My more educated patients who see these ratings may believe this so-called rating actually is a measure of my ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"
.......... "I think you are overreacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse making and stonewalling won't improve dental health'... I am quoting from a leading member of the DOC," I noted.
.......... "What's the DOC?" he asked.
.......... "It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved."
.......... "Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it," he said hopefully.
.......... The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you measure good dentistry?"
.......... "Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."
.......... "That's too complicated and time consuming," I said. "Cavities are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an absolute measure."
.......... "That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This can't be happening," he said despairingly.
.......... "Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some."
.......... "How?" he said.
.......... "If you're rated poorly, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent to help straighten you out," I said brightly.
.........."You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have probably had much more experience? Big help."
.........."There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."
.........."You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and teachers on an average score on a test of children's progress without regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that. Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."
..........I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my representatives and senator," he said. "I'll use the school analogy -surely they will see the point." He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger that I see in the mirror so often lately.
So go buy some green ribbon and wear it/display it proudly if you support public education!
"It is our position, right now, that prosecutors are in conflict of interest position when it comes to prosecuting any teachers [...g]iven the striking parallels between the teachers and the government and the prosecutors and the government. [...] As prosecutors we can not condone illegal strikes, but what is happening right now is ultimately the fault of the government. [...] When they don't get what they want at the table they simply legislate. And in essence they are abusing their legislative authority.[emphasis added]"Van Klaveren asserts that the govenment has been acting in bad faith with many unions around the province, including his own. Twice, the BC Crown Council Association has won binding arbitration in relation to wages and working conditions, but with Bill 21, introduced in February, the government ripped up the arbitration, oredered prosecutors back to wrok, imposed a three year wage freeze, and took away theri right to strike. No wonder crown attorneys won't prosecute teachers.
"This Government agreed to and participated in arbitration. When that produced a result the Government didn’t like, it simply passed legislation voiding the decision and tearing up its contractual commitments. [...] The Rule of Law applies to everyone in British Columbia, especially the government. The Rule of Law does not permit bad faith and arbitrary government action. Just because you make the law does not mean you are above the law. This unprecedented legislation violates the Rule of Law and simply cannot be allowed to stand."And that, my friends, is why teachers are on stike. It is still about learning and working conditions. It is still about a fair and quitable salary increase. But it is also about the right to bargain, to stike, and to have legally binding contracts upheld and respected. How can we trust a government who time and time again has ripped up contracts and overturned even supreme court decisions with their new legislation?
"You have to support NAFTA if you want to benefit from the free flow of goods accross the border.... The NAFTA aggreement must be respected."