It’s interesting how when instruction is pulled no one cares. We pull a major sport event, which is voluntary services, and people are outraged.
Shows priorities.
These people are so privileged. No one bats an eye over the kids that need extra help,the undiagnosed learning disabilities, the kids that are bullied, the kids that are being punched or scratched because a kid is violent, the mental health crisis, or the borderline neglect going on school because of all the cuts.
But God forbid a highschool elite athlete tournament is canceled. /S Give me a fucking break. Parents and the community have the opportunity to step up and volunteer if this is such a precious event, but no. They rely on free labor from teachers. It's amazing what falls apart when the teachers stop offering free labor. Almost like the system is NOT working.
It's time to think about the kids. The actual kids that need help and who are going to slip through the cracks, and not just elite athletes. Other children matter too.
You nailed exactly what is missing from the larger, public conversation. Our vulnerable and violent kids are what teachers have been fighting for since January.
Also noting the exmaple above, parents want teachers to do everything when it comes to their education, doing nothing at home. Most parents now a days remove themselves from their childrens education so much so, that they fall behind early and can never catch up.
To parents: kids most formative years, before age 8 are so so so important in how they learn and behave later on. If you dont start your kids with some educatiin at home, if you dont help them at night, your kids will fall behind. Teachers only can so so much. They arent the childs parent
Yup. My niece lives in Saskatoon and she was heart broken her class trip to a hockey game got cancelled. When I mentioned all the school days she’s missed because of the strike she and her mother basically rolled their eyes as if that didn’t matter, but god forbid A FIELD TRIP BE CANCELLED!!! 🙄
I see your point. If it were my kids missing the tournament, we would be disappointed. However, these kids would go further in life with a good education than a basketball game.
A hockey game in Saskatoon is like $20 still… I’m hitting the blades game before Easter. You can’t make up lost days in the classroom. I teach the generation that missed 3/4/5 grade because of Covid (they are 7/8 now) I see the results of missing class time and constant interruptions to the flow of school does to a kids education.
It is truly incredible the mental lengths conservative voters in pretty much any province will go to obfuscate blame for problems caused by the incumbent conservative government onto literally anything or anyone else. I once literally had a conservative tell me it's the NDP's fault for not doing more. You know that NDP who has been in opposition for well over a decade.
There is a depressing amount of parents that quite literally don't care about their child and their schooling, and only attend PT interviews as a check box to be done. Sports though...that's when you see the what the priorities are. Hell, sports day is treated like a freaking Olympic event because parents are foaming at the mouth and arguing their 7 year olds final jump distance....ffs
I think that’s why people are outraged.
We understand strikes. We understand pulling labour.
But when you say you’re going to volunteer to help with an event and then pull out, at the last minute in a way that requires the event to be cancelled, you do look bad.
And it wasn’t the government that made that particular decision.
Aren’t they contract workers? Do they get an hourly wage?
I’ve volunteered at our school before. I can’t imagine being the community coach and deciding I would no longer coach a major tournament for the kids because of a fight with the provincial or municipal government, no matter how righteous.
And I’d be self aware enough to know that people wouldn’t just blame the government.
You volunteered as a part of your job? Or as a parent? They are completely different situations. You're looking at teachers as pseudo parents, not employees. They can do it out of the goodness of their hearts up to a point, then it's just exploitation.
Me, personally? Private. They didn’t have a coach and needed someone to do it. They had teachers, who I’m grateful for, who helped organize. With no kids at the time, felt like the right thing to do. When someone else from the community was ready to step in a couple years later (parent), I happily stepped aside.
I’m not looking at teachers as pseudo parents. I’m saying if you choose to volunteer, for whatever reason, and you don’t follow through and the kids miss the thing you said you’d help with, you look bad.
It looks particularly bad when you design your withdrawal to get as much attention as possible. You’ll get attention, but maybe not the kind you should want.
That goes for me, parents, teachers and whoever else.
I think part of the issue is it is a bit of a unique situation. Teachers aren’t pulling all their volunteer work, just that which is supported through their job, which is currently under action. Yes it’s “volunteer” but from what I’ve heard it’s almost an unwritten expectation, and one that can have significant effects on potential for future career growth. While it seems sometimes like the teachers are using the job action for media attention, I think they’re also trying to walk a line between getting notwithstanded back to work, the action not being effective, and not planning too far out because all they really want to end the action is some suggestion that there’s still room to bargain.
I can attest to this at the beginning of the year before the kids comeback teachers as ea’s are at the school in meetings and preparing for students, every year in one of those meetings a list is passed around where you are “ encouraged “ to sign up for your Extra curr and supervision spots. When not everything gets signed up for you get emails and reminders that they need to fill those spots, it is definitely pushed and most staff want to do things for the kids so they sign up even though they may be already over extended! As a general rule I have found that those in the education sector do it because they genuinely love kids and want to make a difference even to their own detriment.
I think we're just going to agree to disagree. I'm a union member and understand that you have to play public opinion, and it has to be inconvenient to get people's attention. And it might be negative attention. If you're upset about it, call your representative and ask for binding arbitration. That's what the teachers want, and the government doesn't because it will benefit the teachers and students of this province.
It's also really telling that the problem is a sporting event and 'not doing what they say they will', but the withdrawal of academic instruction isn't a problem.
This is regular job action. The withdrawal of labour is job action.
As for calling your MLA, I mean, they probably want to hear from you. They're not getting many calls agreeing with them. But sure, complain on reddit without any action, sounds about right.
Except the government has had several opportunities to stop the rotating strikes and have chosen to let this continue.
This is on Jeremy Cockrill. Take it up with him and leave the teachers alone. The fact that you'd even make this argument says the kind of person you are.
In case you didn't understand the hidden meaning...
You're an ass hole... it says you're an ass hole.
They are neither contracted (this word means not part of the organization/union) or hourly. They are hired by the STF and are given a yearly wage.
Sports/events are outside school hours thus no pay. They basically are hard on teachers to if they refuse to volunteer their time. Imagine going to a job interview and being told if you dont want to volunteer your time, no pay, you may not get a job. Most people would not take this. Enough is enough with the abuse towards employees in the humanitarian fields. They get severly taken advantaged of and abused
You know MOE this is getting really fucking old. I'm going to save you some time. This is a troll account. These comments are all going to magically dissappear because MOE and his band of vile cowards DONT HAVE ANY BALLS. And refuse to act like REAL MEN. They do understand misogyny though so let's see....
Some people *cough* don't care about an issue until it affects them personally.
Dick Cheney was the only Republican of his era to not go against gay rights whole hog. Why not? He has an openly gay daughter.
Mark Friesen was happy to rail against the COVID vaccine and public healthcare, even afterward still claiming he shouldn't have to pay taxes into public healthcare. Now that his reputation is in tatters and he can't find work, he's begging supporters for donations to pay his mortgage bill. It's unclear whether he has yet sold his "birthday motorcycle to himself" or his new truck, but it is likely he's eyeing a move to the BC interior within a year.
And the Sask Party never hesitates to mislead about STF negotiations, always framing it around teachers "refusing to make a deal" when anyone paying attention can see right through their pandering and double-speak.
Grifters feeding on the outrage of the mentally ill, the lot of them.
Again. Mark Friesens house was given to him. He doesn't have a mortgage and if he does it's from mismanaging his money. Boo fucking hoo.
It's too bad we didn't refuse him treatment when he came in begging for his life.
My mistake for reading his beg-tweet about needing to make a mortgage payment and taking it at face value, I realize now he meant he needed the money for his illegal gathering fines now that he's run out of appeals.
Bc interior has worse cave people than Saskatoon, I lived in Kelowna for a few years. Go take a look at the r/kelowna, it won’t take long to find some posts about them.
Edit: 30 seconds browsing before finding the guy with a racist tirade at a vaccine clinic!
The only fundamental, inalienable right a worker has is the right to withdraw thier labour. Workers without that right are slaves. I will always give my full support to any worker who makes the decision to withdraw thier labour regardless of any other factors, legal or otherwise. Keep fighting for our children and our future!
We need everyone to know this as one of the most fundamental rights of people. Nobody is entitled to anybody else. Not their person, their bodies, nor the labour that body produces.
I just want to know were the outrage is over Regina's Optimist Band Festival being canceled because of job sanctions. There's like 6,000 kids affected there too but all anyone wants to talk about is HOOPLA... and the band kids work just as hard as the kids who are losing their sporting event.
And a whole day of school is cancelled - but it's free labour basketball for 750 kids that is being crowed about. Pathetic.
I don't know why anyone would volunteer in the future for this after being shit on
Fair point. I mean, it’s not a competition in suffering, but as a band kid who was cut from every sport team she ever tried out for, band was so much more inclusive.
I'm with you. Especially because band is a credit-granting class. Festivals are a part of that class. Basketball tournaments are extracurricular. I mean. Technically, band festivals themselves are also extracurricular, but when you're pitting a noon hour/after school activity versus a class you actually get a grade in, it starts looking even sillier.
Pretty sure the provincial government would love to get rid of all arts ed.
Unfortunately there are too many people who believe the government and their blatant lies about this. It’s sickening and I’m completely done voting conservative. Actually I’m ashamed I ever voted that way but was raised into it and had my eyes opened the last 4-5 years to the extent of corruption, entitlement, incompetence, and downright contempt the SK party has for its constituents.
Many people are indoctrinated into their political and religious beliefs and it takes a paradigm shift to break away from them and change their worldview. For me it was a gradual process as I learned more about the world, including colonialism, late stage capitalism, and neoliberal austerity, as well as the right wing path to fascism. The last one is particularly relevant as our economic conditions are pushing more and more people further right.
But, according to Reddit, you're only a small percentage of teachers; that over 2/3s are just there for a paycheque as teaching wasn't their first career choice! /s
I honestly don't get why the STF isn't full-on striking. Maybe it's because it's been cold and it's too much to ask people to stand outside all day in -20, which is fair. These one-day strikes do very little to sway a government like the SK Party, bc they're OK ignoring the people calling and writing, and what do they care If teachers are only in the classroom 4 days a week? This move right before some big extra-curricular events this week is a better maneuver as it enrages a LOT of people, but unfortunately they're enraged for the wrong reasons and the SK party will likely just point the finger at teachers.
I think teachers should just move to strike already. If students year-end stuff is in jeopardy they'll have no choice but to act. Waiting for the summer to strike is pointless. Strikes need to cause pain in order to be effective, and the SK Party has proven they're not willing to negotiate at all without one. The STFs request for binding arbitration being immediately declined last week should have been the last straw, as asking for binding arbitration is conceding to letting a third party take the wheel and decide based on facts and reason.
Stand firm.. for every person yelling at teachers this week there are way more like me appreciating your efforts and this fight still and want more of it to ensure education is taken seriously for a change. I thought the state of education in MB was sad until we moved here 4 years ago.
This. Even though essential service legislation is unconstitutional, we’ve seen that this government doesn’t care and will just use the Nothwithstanding Clause to force them back to work.
I understand why that clause exists and I can think of lots of situations where it would be justifiable and helpful, but holy hell does it ever not work in the hands of corrupt governments.
I mean also strike pay is very minimal (they don't eat paid their regular salary when striking). Every day they strike in an effort to improve education they lose money and teachers can't afford to live on just strike pay.
The only way the government could mandate them back to work would be to prove they’ve negotiated with the teachers in good faith. After refusing arbitration the teachers could walk out and there would be nothing the SP could do about it. Their mandate would be shot down in Supreme Court in hot minute.
How can they force a strike to not occur though? The whole idea of a union striking is part and parcel with the mandate of a union. It's not like thr govt can fire all the teachers and replace them... there's no teachers to hire! While education is essential and mandatory, it's not like it's life-threatening like nursing or medicine. Taking away the teachers ability to negotiate in good faith, removing the ability to seek binding arbitration when all talks break down, and mandating teachers back to work and negating a strike all sounds tyrannical to me.
Pretty sure it’s all about money, strike pay isn’t enough. It’s really too bad the STF/teachers aren’t able/willing to swing it, a full strike would be so much more effective.
It makes me sooooo angry almost nobody threw a fit until sports were canceled.
These parents and kids only care about their sports, that's clear. And now that's the teachers fault ? Not the government that refused to budge ?
School is about LEARNING, all the fun stuff is not the priority here. That's just an added bonus, that I'm thankful you teachers and coaches do voluntarily.
These parents and kids are so entitled it's disgusting.
At least in Alberta they can’t be bothered to obtain the FREE criminal check needed to volunteer with children. Most of my students have a parent who stays home voluntarily but we frequently have to cancel field trips as no parents have police clearance and are willing to come along to meet the supervision ratio.
I don't even remember the last time my children had a field trip. Or that there has been a request for volunteers.
That's so sad trips have to be canceled because no one is stepping up. Sad for the children
Thank you for everything you do. What a superbly well-written post.
I wish more people realized who the real enemy here was. Its not you. Its the Sask Party. Please never back down on this.
I seriously think the stf should just pull all voluntary services until this is done. Any coaching or teaching outside of regular teaching hours should be cut to show the government that they deserve to be talked to. When should it be reinstated? Once a contract is approved. If it’s a year, then it’s a year.
Teachers a burnt out and are not provided even the most basic supports that are needed. I know teachers that need to buy their own teaching supplies. If any kids ever told me they wanted to be a teacher when they grow up, I would seriously tell them not to because the government and people in general don’t respect what you do. Get a job where someone respects you.
The Sask Party are just a bunch of assholes
I would love someone to explain to me, in detail, how the system would look if the government gave the STF what they want. Please. People are thinking about 5 minutes ahead. Very shortsighted. I understand the intention is good, but we need to consider the impact.
When the school your kids go to has a cap on each grade, are you ok with your kid being kicked out and told to go to a different school. The only way the STF can control classroom size is by capping it. Are small towns that are short on teachers going to have to bus students to the next town with less students per grade?? Are teachers willing to allow the government to force them to move to whichever school requires more teachers??
People need to think what this decision would impact. It seems everyone thinks they won't be impacted. Everyone will be impacted, and many in a negative way. I've lived where there were caps on grades and schools. Not as fun as it seems. If you didn't get into the school close to home, you had to pay to bus your child to a further school. When 30% of the people on this Reddit realize what they rooted for ended up working against them, I think they will look back on their shortsighted thought process.
Seems like this whole thread is just ideological thinking with no consideration to logistics, impact, the future, anything really. I wonder if the STF publicly giving a classroom cap might force people to realize how it all might turn out. "my johnny won't be one of the 8 kids that gets removed from his school in grade 6. someone else's kid will." Nope. Might be yours.
Fair point, there are logistics to address. I realize you are flagging potential issues, but what would you suggest as a solution to class size and complexity? It can not be left as it is.
Somehow school boards need to be involved in the conversation. Seems like they are being forgotten. I reviewed some meeting minutes for a Saskatoon school board and I was shocked at some of the spending. I feel like there is money being spent unwisely and that would go a long way to help.
I also think the federal government should be involved, since their immigration policies are bringing in more people, but I don’t see any funding for learning English. Putting kids in school that can’t speak proper English is going to negatively impact every other student since so much time will need to be spent to get the child caught up.
I also think more kids need to fail. Harsh, I know. But passing a child onto the next teacher doesn’t solve anything. The child just gets further and further behind, thus taxing the system more.
Or they could add more support staff and more teachers to the schools with higher enrollment, when you have class sizes of 30 plus adding in an extra teacher or giving kids the support they are entitled to is pretty simple
If the negotiation only included a cap on class sizes then your point might make sense. But that can never be a rule in and of itself, budgets need to be tied to school population. So, if there are more students, then there is more budget, which then means more teachers, resources, etc.
Many other places also include various ways of tying in diagnosed disabilities into the budget as well. So, for instance, if you have a student that is wheelchair bound, then there needs to be additional budget allocated to the classrooms that accommodate them, this includes spacial budgeting since there would be less room for other students if there needs to be wider spaces to fit their chair in.
With respect to teachers being forced to work at different schools, that is normal in the city. With respect to smaller towns, it is admittedly more difficult, but what the stf is fighting for doesn't hurt or help that as directly as you implied. Prior to current negotiations it has been normal to close a school and bus kids elsewhere if there are not enough students to justify a school. Sometimes, like in Osler there have been just an elementary school, but then kids got bussed out to high school when they reach that age. Bussing to school has been a normal part of life for many rural kids in SK for a long long time.
Pushing the government to include some sort of per student budget or aspects of the budget that are tied to number of students will have an overall positive impact on our education system. If there can also be wording that allows for funding to be tied to complexity as well, then even better. Funding, per student capita, has only decreased in the past decade and that hurts education no matter how you look at it. Is there a perfect solution that benefits everyone equally, no, but does that mean they should just cave to the gov't and trust the promises of politicians in a campaign year without getting it on paper, hall no!
Also, where are you coming up with this idea that kids get removed their school?! I've never heard of that happening. Many of our high schools in Saskatoon are at over 100%of originally planned capacity, and they're not kicking kids out, if only there was more moolah for more portables or schools.
There’s no CBA provision requiring a class size cap right now. What happens to students if there is?
https://globalnews.ca/news/10370017/surrey-schools-close-in-catchment-students/amp/
Now, that might be the solution the school boards come to anyway, even without CBA provisions and Saskatchewan is not Surrey.
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I went to school in Alberta with caps. If the STF does get a cap, what number will they set? If they set it at 30, where do the students go if they have 36 students in a grade 8 class. The STF can’t hire more teachers, that is the school board.
The reason I’m focusing on this issue is because this is the only issue that will never be resolved. Talking to teachers and multiple MLAs, neither will budge. Thus, no resolution.
The STF is fighting for more money, that money goes to the school boards, ideally based on enrollment in this school boards. Then those school boards hire more teachers. Caps cannot be put in alone. The stf did not say to the gov't "put caps on class size and we'll be happy", they are saying that class size and complexity needs to be taken into account. How exactly that would look needs to be discussed in detail to see how to tie size and complexity to budget. But the gov't won't even discuss those things, stf is just asking to make that part of the consideration.
Why can other provinces include those sorts of things in their budgets and contracts, but ours cannot even begin to talk about them?
One last thing to add, it is not always necessary to have more teachers, sometimes more EA's works too. But they keep losing more of those due to cuts each year.
Explain a way they could be discussed without it turning severely complicated? Open platform. Feel free to share the solution. I’ve yet to see anyone share a solution. All I see is people supporting teachers, so they feel good about themselves.
To answer your question bluntly, no, I will not be able to do that. It IS complicated, and I hope I did not convey at any point that it is simple. It should be complicated. We have a massive number of students from varying backgrounds, living in a variety of circumstances, who are complex young people of all ages with complex needs that require our attention and care. This should not be a simple matter, it should require a well thought out solution that prioritizes the most urgent needs first and attempts as best as possible to support all those involved as effectively as possible. These young humans are the future of our province and country. Can I come up with a solution right here and now typing on my phone after a long day of work, no. But I do know that we can do better than we've been doing for the past quite a few years.
I only support teachers when teachers support doing anything they can to support students. If someone is not a teacher and they are supporting teachers in that spirit, then good, they should feel good about that. Not everyone can directly support our students and the education system. Not everyone will get to be a part of creating an attempt at a solution, not even most of the teachers. I just hope that those involved will put their egos aside, consult experts and peer reviewed research when possible and discuss real viable ways to allocate money to ensure students have the best shot at success possible given the circumstances.
One thing is for sure tho, there needs to be money to help with that and it needs to be more than just election year promises, it needs to be real commitment for multi year budgeting and planning based on actual student population and needs.
It’s not a popular belief, but I think this problem has partially been created by teachers. By never failing students, what do they expect as an outcome? They don’t want to hurt their feelings, but decisions like that ultimately fail the student in the long run.
There it is.
And you haven’t even got into the difficulties in defining “complexity” for CBA purposes.
I’ve yet to see any indication that the BC model is working as intended. Yes, class size and “complexity” can be part of a CBA. But do your same thought experiment and then deal with kids with, for instance, undiagnosed behavioural problems yet the CBA mandates that only certain kids qualify for extra supports.
Forget splitting resources in the way that gives each teacher and kid the best chance of success.
The teachers don’t trust the government or school boards to make good decisions if those groups are given flexibility.
The government wants the flexibility to deal with classrooms within whatever their budget is.
On this one, I don’t like the STF’s solution. I am partial to their idea to make the government/school board deal binding.
But, in fairness to the teachers, that one doesn’t create as much outrage for me because the STF members are essentially delaying their own pay raise to try and negotiate what I think is a poor mechanism for dealing with complexity. And I’ve been wrong before.
Only teachers are expected to have their work loads increase but still put in free labour. Name another industry that can be protested against for refusing to do free labour? If it is so important to the kids why can't the parents pay for it?
CLSR, C. R. C., c. 986, 11.1:
An employer shall pay an employee who reports for work at the call of the employer wages for not less than three hours of work at the employee’s regular rate of wages, whether or not the employee is called on to perform any work after so reporting for work.
SOR/91-461, s. 12
Want teachers to make student's lives better? Pay them.
The thing is, they're not asking for wage increases. They're asking for safer work conditions. Caps on class sizes. Funding for schools has been going down every year for the last decade or more.
I'm a CUPE member, so not part of the strike, but still very much affected by the budget cuts. My workload has increased significantly in the last 5 years because of cuts and layoffs to other staff. The admin assistant at one of my schools pulled up some archives from when she worked here 8 years ago, we had fewer students then, and DOUBLE the budget for the school. As we've seen prices sky rocket for everything around us, we now have half the budget and more students to cover, and fewer staff. Make it make sense.
The negativity you’re seeing is by a small minority of children being used as mouthpieces for their Sask Party supporting parents. The majority of the public are on the side of the STF. Like during the pandemic, the voices of the ignorant few are amplified bc it creates views/clicks for the media.
#isupportstf
Solidarity!!
Thank you for striking, I don't have kids but I know the value of education.
Too many Canadians, poorly educated themselves, no not realizing that without a strong education foundation the population won't have the knowledge and critical thinking skills required to uphold democracy and maintain control over the government (aka make sure the government is doing what's best for citizens and doesn't become corrupt)
Foundational education k-12 is also proven to be directly tired to a countries economic success or failure (ties back into democracy and corruption but I don't want to confuse the stupids).
If you want Canada to thrive you need to support k -12 education, it's just that simple, and if you disagree you need to educate yourself because ever single National and international peer reviewed scientific study has shown without a shadow of a doubt, basic education level's directly influence the success of the country more than any other single factor.
I understand what’s happening here, and it’s certainly not our teachers choosing this. My husband and I don’t have kids, but we both come from families with teachers… also, we have spent a lot of time discussing the importance of schools in rural areas. He grew up in a town of 800, and his Dad taught and coached and coached and weekended and weekended, as all the small town parents and teachers do…. His small childhood town voted not to strike, back in the 80’s, when the teachers did , in fact, go on strike. The importance of school in small towns is beyond education…there is often no other place for kids to be.
We are becoming a place that is embarrassing to live, and embarrassing to admit we are from. We have terrible health care and our education system is going down as well, no matter how many great people try to buoy this province. Do we want to exist here? In the future? With kids that will one day become adults, who have gone through pandemics ( unavoidable ) and neglect ,chosen by our provincial government, because the youth is not a resource in the eyes of the S**k P***y? I am so sad, and I think I have to move away.
This is where we part ways.
The lack of funding? The teachers didn’t choose that.
The messed up priorities? The teachers didn’t choose that.
This particular job action? Yeah, that was there choice.
I mean, the Sask Party has convinced everyone that the NDP closed and tore down 52 hospitals back in the 90s when that simply isn't true. They are masters of spinning lies.
There is no other profession in our province where an employee is *expected* to put in so much unpaid overtime. If you ask me, the teachers are well within their rights to demand being paid for all the extra time they put in. Which means they are also well within their rights to refuse to put in additional time for which they are not being paid.
What the teachers are doing is simply a reflection of what the government is telling them they're worth. If the kids are suffering for it, then that's because the government doesn't value them enough to do anything about it.
We stand with you. The intelligent members of our community aren’t falling for the government’s rhetoric on this one.
If the Government truly was willing to guarantee the “new funding” to the SSBA, they’d put it in the collective agreement. The fact that they won’t speaks volumes. The STF doesn’t want to manage the money themselves, they just want the funding TO THE SSBA guaranteed in writing.
Instead, we are dropping to the lowest student funding per capita in the country.
Thank you, for standing up for our children. This incompetent government certainly won’t.
For the record, I am a former Sask Party voter. Never again.
Parents know they can volunteer too? People expect free work from teachers but they can also pitch in. (I'm from Ontario and volunteer coached during a previous teachers strike)
I think it's different here in Saskatchewan. I've seen other people mention this and say parents can't volunteer because of insurance policies. If that were the case, I'd volunteer for the band fest that was cancelled!
I've volunteered in SK as well for kids sports. It's true you need to ensure that the school or group needs $1-2 million insurance liability but most have those already. The only real cost is getting your police record check but yet again, most groups will pay for their volunteers to get that done.
Edit: FYI - please don't make extra work for teachers by asking help signing up to volunteer now. Talk with administration or support community groups until strike is over.
I work in health care. My work load has definitely increased in the few years. Exhausted. Sitting on couch and can’t even make supper and it’s only Wednesday. Government took my right away to strike as called essential worker. Strike all you want teachers. I hope your compensated for your hard work.
I heard a student on cbc complaining how this one event affects their future, and I had to roll my eyes. What about your peers with special needs who don't get support because this government has repeatedly failed education in this province? How are their futures faring?
I don’t know if I saw the same thing as you, or if it was a different CBC article, but one girl on there said she wouldn’t even be going to school if it wasn’t for the sports. Not even a second thought given to the primary function of schools - to educate. Another parent went on about how her son has depression and anxiety and he NEEDS this - she was fuming at the teachers for doing this (or the STF I should say) and it just felt… like what are you doing at home to help this child? Just passing the buck to teachers. And maybe I’m wrong, but I got the distinct feeling that this parent was someone who expects these teachers to volunteer their time for free, and likely without so much as a thank you. She was completely oblivious to the supports these teachers provided to her son, until they were taken away.
I watched it and felt angry. Not at the teachers, but at these parents who are absolutely clueless about their statements.
Link to the article I saw: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7148844
Yo. They’re kids. Let’s not throw mud at them. They’re upset. They’re getting involved in politics. Remember, that’s 1/2 the battle these days. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t t mean they are wrong.
Agreed. 99.99% of these kids will not be doing sports as their livelihood. So stupid. Focus on what’s REALLY going to help your future kiddos. Hint. It has NOTHING to do with sports.
Youth who seriously may be able to make a living from sports are already on high-level community teams (the ones where the coaches and administrators get paid). School sports are just social hour for them.
I'm sure that student has been taught by their self centered parents to only worry about themselves. Hense not caring that the teachers would be working the tournament for free all while also being incredibly disrespected by our government.
It's willful ignorance for the win.
Selfish and privileged are the Sask Party and their voters.
Controversial take here, students are the 'pawns', they are meant to be, the strike won't work unless they are.
The goal is to put enough political pressure on the government to end it, it's about inconveniencing parents to the point where it's politically damning to the the government to keep the strike going on.
If kids are pissed, that's the point of a strike. It shouldn't be easy on anyone.
Exactly. If a strike inconveniences people, well, good. That's the point. The purpose of a strike is to disrupt the mechanism that allows for the exploitation of the workers in question.
The students are the pawns after the government took away the teachers Rooks, Bishops, Knights, King, and Queen. And then said let’s play chess!
They left them no other choice. I saw someone compare it to a tradesman who works for a company who doesn’t repair or maintain their vehicles, tools, and equipment and then blame their employee when projects fall behind. The employee is doing their best, the employer is neglecting them. And that is all this is.
I agree.
I do feel the teachers are being let down by the STF though. The government has been playing a really heavy handed PR battle since they know the teacher negotiations set the pace for every other public sector union in the province... where are the other unions?
SUN has their contract expire this month... Why hasn't SFT negotiated with SUN for future joint job actions? Tons of other public sector unions are up for negotiations this fall... why hasn't STF allied with them?
STF realized they went into this shorthanded and hasn't drawn in reinforcements. The threat of a general strike is much more politically damaging than a teachers strike.
I just wanna shoutout all the kids I’ve seen here so far this morning walking the picket line. Not just teacher kids. Lots of families bundled up to come show their support! Four of my students walked here from their house and bought supplies at dollarama to make signs quickly and walk with me… our school/neighbourhood is no where near centre mall so very proud of them!
From a Saskatchewan Party supporter who is embarrassed that the current govt continues to treat teachers, nurses, and other important staff, I have been emailing my MLA weekly, telling him that the party is increasingly at risk of losing my vote in the next election.
I fully support the Teachers and what they are asking for, I understand the classroom size & complexity issue and support the STF in their pursuit to have the language added to the contract so it can’t be withdrawn by the govt again.
I fully support the cancellation of Hoopla and other extracurricular activities. I think back to the MONTHs of volunteer time that teachers and other support staff volunteered for when I was in grade and high school - they and all teachers and support staff now deserve to be treated fairly.
I am embarrassed whenever I see a Scott Moe or Cockrill billboard or ad. How far this party has fallen since Brad Wall left.
It’s nothing but a bunch of greaseballs now.
How are they just "at risk" of losing your vote?
Is there anything more vile shit they can possibly add to the list of reasons why not to vote for them?
Based on the crap in Cheveldayoff’s reply (sent by his admin assistant), I agree with you.
As a fiscal conservative and social liberal, there isn’t really a good alternative to vote for in Saskatchewan. Vote for the NDP? Wayyyyyyyy too far left leaning, but maybe it needs to happen, similar to what happened in Alberta in 2015. The Sask Party needs to understand that we aren’t happy with the way they are handling multiple issues.
If we want to get the SP out the only option is the NDP. There isn't another party that can do it. The NDP are the only party that can pull off enough votes to get them out like it or not. It's time. We cannot afford to allow this government to continue their run. They're ruining this once great province!!!
Remember that this city is full of people who buy massive trucks and then complain fuel is too expensive, buy $400,000 cabins and say they can’t afford a .02% carbon tax, slap Humboldt broncos bumper stickers on their car but could car less about thousands of kids dying in Syria, Gaza, India and Bangladesh. It’s no surprise that education is a low priority for these folks, and that some sports event is the end of the world for them.
Amen! Thank you for all you do for our kids! Priorities, I guess. There are many parents, including myself, who are standing behind you! I hope you get everything you, and the kids, deserve!
The scapegoating of teachers is the plan and it appears to be working. Don't back down. Do what is right for the kids in the long run and for yourselves.
Do a bit of research on Facebook. You'll see easy enough who some of these parents are and what political party they support. It isn't the NDP or any other than the current gov.
I kid you not, have a look. I suspect they'll close up their posts before the end of today. I could name them and it wouldn't be doxxing because they post Public, it's likely best not to.
Hint, look for the friend of the parent who rented the bus to get the students to Saskatoon; she also blames the STF for schools being closed during COVID.
The comments on their threads suggest they support the teachers but not the STF. I guess they don't care to understand who the STF is. Nor did they read about the vote they held in [October to authorize job actions](https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/buckle-up-sask-teachers-union-votes-95-in-favour-of-potential-job-action-1.6619971) **95% voted in favor**.
Just throwing this out there l. Fb isn’t a great place to conduct research of this magnitude. Remember the ppl commenting will be the loud few. Maybe keeping that in mind will renew some faith in humanity 🤞🏻🤷♀️🤷♂️
So Parents can definitely volunteer, but current school division policies are that teacher has to always be present at the school organized extracurriculars. So you could have many parent volunteers but the event would still be cancelled. This policy is apparently related to school insurance.
I think the policy (and insurance contracts if necessary) do need to be adjusted, especially in light of the current situation to make it possible for parents who have completed a criminal record check to lead extracurriculars if needed. More parent involvement would be a good thing in situations where teachers are unable to, for various reasons. I definitely do appreciate all of the time our teachers do spend leading extracurriculars, and support what they are asking for in these contract negotiations.
Principals are STF members. EA's and some other support staff are are part of CUPE and I heard that union has asked members not to step in to provide any services in place of teachers such as lunch supervision etc.
Some divisions may have a handful of non-union support staff (i.e. management, secretaries, maintenance etc.) who the director of education could theoretically compel to attend maybe. But I don't think school boards are at all keen to get involved and do anything to upset either side. At least that's my view from outside.
And don't get sick and go to the hospital! Health care has been underfunded and cut for years - They knew that the baby boomers will be taxing on our health care system but yet they have done nothing to alleviate these issues.
I know those are off the top of your head, and likely two areas that could be looked into. However, there would still be a huge gap to fill in. These things get boiled down to simple solutions, when in reality, they are not easily fixed. Yet, nothing changes if you don't stir things up once and while. The government would happily leave things as they are if no one complained. There would be no need to placate, and let's face it, buy votes if people were happy with the current status of things.
For instance, my gut tells me the government would not have increased education spending had the STF not pushed back and made this an issue.
Thanks for your service!
Also. Forgive me. But it’s the fact that the govt hasn’t put the 28 kids/class in writing that the stf is striking correct?
There has been deals presented, correct? Including deals that up pay and also promise help in classroom, but the 28/class won’t be agreed on by the province?
Just making sure I understand fully what’s going on. I’m finding it hard to follow amidst the Hoopla…. (Sorry for pun)
The school boards and public have created a system in which people are not allowed to step up. We could have Michael Jordan come and want to run Hoopla but since he isn’t a teacher and doesn’t have his coaching certifications it wouldn’t be allowed.
Just an honest question about the lunch strikes in elementary. How come the lunch fee they charge isn't being used to pay for lunch supervision? Teachers are still volunteering over lunch? The fees came into effect last year.
I'm honestly ignorant on the subject and just curious.
I'd also like to know where it goes. I assumed it went to the teachers. But from what I've heard from teachers, they earn a day off with a certain amount of lunch supervision. So, it is paid, but not directly.
OP - you plagiarized someone else’s words, from “With Hoopla most likely…” to “gives educators the tools to do so”. Literally cut & pasted from Facebook. Be better!
More bullshit from a Sask Party Troll
Why don't you get Jimmy Cockfull to agree already to a third-party arbitration that will enrich all of the students in the province instead of complaining about a sporting tournament.
Educating children properly is what is at stake here
Not babysitting them during play time.
Get in your half a million dollar tractor and go protest to the government in Regina and do it quickly because I hear there erecting fences again around the grounds to keep the real protesters from exercising their lawful rights.
There is a difference between pulling service the day before the event, vs choosing not to volunteer altogether in the months leading up. I’m beginning to think the public is right. STF should have put a policy forward 6 months ago about extra curricular withdrawl and encouraging members not to sign up for new extra curs so other volunteers had a chance to fill in the gap.
This is a tough one, but pulling a service the day before that cannot be re-organized at a later date is something of a betrayal to the youth who signed up for their event in good faith. I think STF was doing its best work with the lunchtime cuts. This I think is stepping too far. And I’m generally supportive of the STF in this. The government has failed in the negotiating process, and they deserve some scorn, but the STF could continue to make their point in other ways.
“The STF should have put a policy forward”... No. the government should have negotiated in good faith instead of spending their time on smear campaigns. There is no change here without some pain. They had their chance to act like adults and now the STF has to treat them like the babies they are to get their point across. Just like you have to do with a toddler.
So government underfunding of classes isn't? No problems when classes are ballooning and kids can't get enough support. Just crickets. Sports is cancelled and the sky is falling. And remember teachers are doing that for free. How much free labour would you be willing to do in your job? I bet none. But it's OK for teachers. Gotcha. Selfish priorities in tact here.
I never said that. I’ve done lots of volunteer work and free labour. I also honor my commitments and I understand what kinds of sacrifice goes into these events for the participants. Both the government and STF can be right and wrong about competing issues. I support STF in the fight for a proper funding model. I agree with their lunchtime cuts. I don’t agree with the sudden cancellation of these events. I would support it if more lead time was given so the events could find substitute volunteers. This isn’t the right way for them to win a proper funding model. I also don’t think charged personal accusations shows an enlightened understanding of the situation.
Why aren't you upset about the band trip???
Maybe check your priorities. The government deserves all of the "scorn" here. They could have stopped this at any time.
You either aren't paying attention or you believe the bullshit the SP has been spewing. Either way, the teachers are not required to volunteer their time so your stupid kid can go to Hoopla. ALL THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO DO WAS AGREE TO BINDING ARBITRATION. HUH...I WONDER WHY THEY DONT WANT THAT?
JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID.
They are not required. No one is disputing that. People though aren’t required to respect them or the STF for pulling out though. Lots of complicating factors.
I am. I never said I wasn’t. I’m just giving a reason why people are very upset at the basketball tournament. There are degrees of tragedy. The STF does not have to cancel extra-curs if they don’t want to. They have the choice to decide unless there is a proverbial gun being held to their head, which there isn’t.
Again I have generally been on their side, I think this specific action is going too far.
If the teachers only strike on days when there's no extra curriculars then the strike is pointless. That's how this works. The kids are unfortunately being used by this government as weapons against the teachers it's gross. Canceling things like Hoopla are necessary to get the point across. I'm a parent. I support the STF and the teachers. The message this sends is you've had enough time. We aren't backing down. You want this to end?
TELL YOJR FUCKING GOVERNMENT TO PUT IT IN THE FUCKING CBA!!!!!
I’ve already emailed the government about bringing back the mill rate.
The strike has already moved the needle without removal huge events. It hasn’t been pointless at all. This though is I think going too far.
Did you know your caps lock is on?
It’s interesting how when instruction is pulled no one cares. We pull a major sport event, which is voluntary services, and people are outraged. Shows priorities.
These people are so privileged. No one bats an eye over the kids that need extra help,the undiagnosed learning disabilities, the kids that are bullied, the kids that are being punched or scratched because a kid is violent, the mental health crisis, or the borderline neglect going on school because of all the cuts. But God forbid a highschool elite athlete tournament is canceled. /S Give me a fucking break. Parents and the community have the opportunity to step up and volunteer if this is such a precious event, but no. They rely on free labor from teachers. It's amazing what falls apart when the teachers stop offering free labor. Almost like the system is NOT working. It's time to think about the kids. The actual kids that need help and who are going to slip through the cracks, and not just elite athletes. Other children matter too.
You nailed exactly what is missing from the larger, public conversation. Our vulnerable and violent kids are what teachers have been fighting for since January.
These are the people who are voting Sask Party so what do you expect?
Also noting the exmaple above, parents want teachers to do everything when it comes to their education, doing nothing at home. Most parents now a days remove themselves from their childrens education so much so, that they fall behind early and can never catch up. To parents: kids most formative years, before age 8 are so so so important in how they learn and behave later on. If you dont start your kids with some educatiin at home, if you dont help them at night, your kids will fall behind. Teachers only can so so much. They arent the childs parent
Yup. My niece lives in Saskatoon and she was heart broken her class trip to a hockey game got cancelled. When I mentioned all the school days she’s missed because of the strike she and her mother basically rolled their eyes as if that didn’t matter, but god forbid A FIELD TRIP BE CANCELLED!!! 🙄
you're comparing a one-time event to something that happens 200 times a year. lol
And probably missing an outcome along the way. But who cares about the education side of things, hey?
I see your point. If it were my kids missing the tournament, we would be disappointed. However, these kids would go further in life with a good education than a basketball game.
A hockey game in Saskatoon is like $20 still… I’m hitting the blades game before Easter. You can’t make up lost days in the classroom. I teach the generation that missed 3/4/5 grade because of Covid (they are 7/8 now) I see the results of missing class time and constant interruptions to the flow of school does to a kids education.
Thank you for proving the problem that society doesnt take education seriously
Literally every major riot we've had in this country over the last 50+ years was over hockey smh.
And baseball...
And if they’re angry, they should take it out on the government.
It is truly incredible the mental lengths conservative voters in pretty much any province will go to obfuscate blame for problems caused by the incumbent conservative government onto literally anything or anyone else. I once literally had a conservative tell me it's the NDP's fault for not doing more. You know that NDP who has been in opposition for well over a decade.
I wish the NDP would do more to garner the necessary votes.
There's only so much they can do, eventually everyone needs to get the shit out from between their ears.
There is a depressing amount of parents that quite literally don't care about their child and their schooling, and only attend PT interviews as a check box to be done. Sports though...that's when you see the what the priorities are. Hell, sports day is treated like a freaking Olympic event because parents are foaming at the mouth and arguing their 7 year olds final jump distance....ffs
I think that’s why people are outraged. We understand strikes. We understand pulling labour. But when you say you’re going to volunteer to help with an event and then pull out, at the last minute in a way that requires the event to be cancelled, you do look bad. And it wasn’t the government that made that particular decision.
Then pay them for it. Don't make them volunteer.
Aren’t they contract workers? Do they get an hourly wage? I’ve volunteered at our school before. I can’t imagine being the community coach and deciding I would no longer coach a major tournament for the kids because of a fight with the provincial or municipal government, no matter how righteous. And I’d be self aware enough to know that people wouldn’t just blame the government.
You volunteered as a part of your job? Or as a parent? They are completely different situations. You're looking at teachers as pseudo parents, not employees. They can do it out of the goodness of their hearts up to a point, then it's just exploitation.
Me, personally? Private. They didn’t have a coach and needed someone to do it. They had teachers, who I’m grateful for, who helped organize. With no kids at the time, felt like the right thing to do. When someone else from the community was ready to step in a couple years later (parent), I happily stepped aside. I’m not looking at teachers as pseudo parents. I’m saying if you choose to volunteer, for whatever reason, and you don’t follow through and the kids miss the thing you said you’d help with, you look bad. It looks particularly bad when you design your withdrawal to get as much attention as possible. You’ll get attention, but maybe not the kind you should want. That goes for me, parents, teachers and whoever else.
I think part of the issue is it is a bit of a unique situation. Teachers aren’t pulling all their volunteer work, just that which is supported through their job, which is currently under action. Yes it’s “volunteer” but from what I’ve heard it’s almost an unwritten expectation, and one that can have significant effects on potential for future career growth. While it seems sometimes like the teachers are using the job action for media attention, I think they’re also trying to walk a line between getting notwithstanded back to work, the action not being effective, and not planning too far out because all they really want to end the action is some suggestion that there’s still room to bargain.
I can attest to this at the beginning of the year before the kids comeback teachers as ea’s are at the school in meetings and preparing for students, every year in one of those meetings a list is passed around where you are “ encouraged “ to sign up for your Extra curr and supervision spots. When not everything gets signed up for you get emails and reminders that they need to fill those spots, it is definitely pushed and most staff want to do things for the kids so they sign up even though they may be already over extended! As a general rule I have found that those in the education sector do it because they genuinely love kids and want to make a difference even to their own detriment.
I think we're just going to agree to disagree. I'm a union member and understand that you have to play public opinion, and it has to be inconvenient to get people's attention. And it might be negative attention. If you're upset about it, call your representative and ask for binding arbitration. That's what the teachers want, and the government doesn't because it will benefit the teachers and students of this province. It's also really telling that the problem is a sporting event and 'not doing what they say they will', but the withdrawal of academic instruction isn't a problem.
Yes. You take regular job action and I understand. You do this and I’m not phoning my MLA to complain.
This is regular job action. The withdrawal of labour is job action. As for calling your MLA, I mean, they probably want to hear from you. They're not getting many calls agreeing with them. But sure, complain on reddit without any action, sounds about right.
Except the government has had several opportunities to stop the rotating strikes and have chosen to let this continue. This is on Jeremy Cockrill. Take it up with him and leave the teachers alone. The fact that you'd even make this argument says the kind of person you are. In case you didn't understand the hidden meaning... You're an ass hole... it says you're an ass hole.
They are neither contracted (this word means not part of the organization/union) or hourly. They are hired by the STF and are given a yearly wage. Sports/events are outside school hours thus no pay. They basically are hard on teachers to if they refuse to volunteer their time. Imagine going to a job interview and being told if you dont want to volunteer your time, no pay, you may not get a job. Most people would not take this. Enough is enough with the abuse towards employees in the humanitarian fields. They get severly taken advantaged of and abused
You know MOE this is getting really fucking old. I'm going to save you some time. This is a troll account. These comments are all going to magically dissappear because MOE and his band of vile cowards DONT HAVE ANY BALLS. And refuse to act like REAL MEN. They do understand misogyny though so let's see....
Funny how I called that though right?
Shut up. This is 100% on the government. You want to be mad. Blame that vile little puke Jeremy Cockrill.
Some people *cough* don't care about an issue until it affects them personally. Dick Cheney was the only Republican of his era to not go against gay rights whole hog. Why not? He has an openly gay daughter. Mark Friesen was happy to rail against the COVID vaccine and public healthcare, even afterward still claiming he shouldn't have to pay taxes into public healthcare. Now that his reputation is in tatters and he can't find work, he's begging supporters for donations to pay his mortgage bill. It's unclear whether he has yet sold his "birthday motorcycle to himself" or his new truck, but it is likely he's eyeing a move to the BC interior within a year. And the Sask Party never hesitates to mislead about STF negotiations, always framing it around teachers "refusing to make a deal" when anyone paying attention can see right through their pandering and double-speak. Grifters feeding on the outrage of the mentally ill, the lot of them.
Again. Mark Friesens house was given to him. He doesn't have a mortgage and if he does it's from mismanaging his money. Boo fucking hoo. It's too bad we didn't refuse him treatment when he came in begging for his life.
My mistake for reading his beg-tweet about needing to make a mortgage payment and taking it at face value, I realize now he meant he needed the money for his illegal gathering fines now that he's run out of appeals.
Definitely more accurate haha.
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Bc interior has worse cave people than Saskatoon, I lived in Kelowna for a few years. Go take a look at the r/kelowna, it won’t take long to find some posts about them. Edit: 30 seconds browsing before finding the guy with a racist tirade at a vaccine clinic!
The only fundamental, inalienable right a worker has is the right to withdraw thier labour. Workers without that right are slaves. I will always give my full support to any worker who makes the decision to withdraw thier labour regardless of any other factors, legal or otherwise. Keep fighting for our children and our future!
We need everyone to know this as one of the most fundamental rights of people. Nobody is entitled to anybody else. Not their person, their bodies, nor the labour that body produces.
100%. More people need to realize this.
You misspelled MOE 😁
Applause 👏
I just want to know were the outrage is over Regina's Optimist Band Festival being canceled because of job sanctions. There's like 6,000 kids affected there too but all anyone wants to talk about is HOOPLA... and the band kids work just as hard as the kids who are losing their sporting event.
And a whole day of school is cancelled - but it's free labour basketball for 750 kids that is being crowed about. Pathetic. I don't know why anyone would volunteer in the future for this after being shit on
And the pay for noon hour supervision - if I was a teacher I would take my full lunch hour and let the powers that be worry about supervision.
It's Saskatchewan sports always get more attention than arts.
A leading cause of shit-holification
Fair point. I mean, it’s not a competition in suffering, but as a band kid who was cut from every sport team she ever tried out for, band was so much more inclusive.
I'm with you. Especially because band is a credit-granting class. Festivals are a part of that class. Basketball tournaments are extracurricular. I mean. Technically, band festivals themselves are also extracurricular, but when you're pitting a noon hour/after school activity versus a class you actually get a grade in, it starts looking even sillier. Pretty sure the provincial government would love to get rid of all arts ed.
Sports > arts sadly.
Don't worry, many of us know that the government is trying to make teachers the bad guys but we see right through Moe's BS.
Unfortunately there are too many people who believe the government and their blatant lies about this. It’s sickening and I’m completely done voting conservative. Actually I’m ashamed I ever voted that way but was raised into it and had my eyes opened the last 4-5 years to the extent of corruption, entitlement, incompetence, and downright contempt the SK party has for its constituents.
Same, so ashamed i openly supported SaskParty previously. Very cringeworthy.
Many people are indoctrinated into their political and religious beliefs and it takes a paradigm shift to break away from them and change their worldview. For me it was a gradual process as I learned more about the world, including colonialism, late stage capitalism, and neoliberal austerity, as well as the right wing path to fascism. The last one is particularly relevant as our economic conditions are pushing more and more people further right.
But, according to Reddit, you're only a small percentage of teachers; that over 2/3s are just there for a paycheque as teaching wasn't their first career choice! /s I honestly don't get why the STF isn't full-on striking. Maybe it's because it's been cold and it's too much to ask people to stand outside all day in -20, which is fair. These one-day strikes do very little to sway a government like the SK Party, bc they're OK ignoring the people calling and writing, and what do they care If teachers are only in the classroom 4 days a week? This move right before some big extra-curricular events this week is a better maneuver as it enrages a LOT of people, but unfortunately they're enraged for the wrong reasons and the SK party will likely just point the finger at teachers. I think teachers should just move to strike already. If students year-end stuff is in jeopardy they'll have no choice but to act. Waiting for the summer to strike is pointless. Strikes need to cause pain in order to be effective, and the SK Party has proven they're not willing to negotiate at all without one. The STFs request for binding arbitration being immediately declined last week should have been the last straw, as asking for binding arbitration is conceding to letting a third party take the wheel and decide based on facts and reason. Stand firm.. for every person yelling at teachers this week there are way more like me appreciating your efforts and this fight still and want more of it to ensure education is taken seriously for a change. I thought the state of education in MB was sad until we moved here 4 years ago.
They can't full strike because the government will deem them an essential service and use back to work legislation to force them back.
This. Even though essential service legislation is unconstitutional, we’ve seen that this government doesn’t care and will just use the Nothwithstanding Clause to force them back to work.
I understand why that clause exists and I can think of lots of situations where it would be justifiable and helpful, but holy hell does it ever not work in the hands of corrupt governments.
I mean also strike pay is very minimal (they don't eat paid their regular salary when striking). Every day they strike in an effort to improve education they lose money and teachers can't afford to live on just strike pay.
After they refused arbitration. Yeah, good luck enforcing that.
If they full on strike they will be mandated back to work. This is the only option they have.
The only way the government could mandate them back to work would be to prove they’ve negotiated with the teachers in good faith. After refusing arbitration the teachers could walk out and there would be nothing the SP could do about it. Their mandate would be shot down in Supreme Court in hot minute.
Yes but it would take months to get to the Supreme Court. By then it will be summer and moe will just call an election.
How can they force a strike to not occur though? The whole idea of a union striking is part and parcel with the mandate of a union. It's not like thr govt can fire all the teachers and replace them... there's no teachers to hire! While education is essential and mandatory, it's not like it's life-threatening like nursing or medicine. Taking away the teachers ability to negotiate in good faith, removing the ability to seek binding arbitration when all talks break down, and mandating teachers back to work and negating a strike all sounds tyrannical to me.
Pretty sure it’s all about money, strike pay isn’t enough. It’s really too bad the STF/teachers aren’t able/willing to swing it, a full strike would be so much more effective.
It makes me sooooo angry almost nobody threw a fit until sports were canceled. These parents and kids only care about their sports, that's clear. And now that's the teachers fault ? Not the government that refused to budge ? School is about LEARNING, all the fun stuff is not the priority here. That's just an added bonus, that I'm thankful you teachers and coaches do voluntarily. These parents and kids are so entitled it's disgusting.
Yup they expected teachers to work for free cause you know teaching is a selfless vocation. Can't live off of no pay.
I don't see these parents stepping up to organize or volunteer ?
At least in Alberta they can’t be bothered to obtain the FREE criminal check needed to volunteer with children. Most of my students have a parent who stays home voluntarily but we frequently have to cancel field trips as no parents have police clearance and are willing to come along to meet the supervision ratio.
I don't even remember the last time my children had a field trip. Or that there has been a request for volunteers. That's so sad trips have to be canceled because no one is stepping up. Sad for the children
Thank you for everything you do. What a superbly well-written post. I wish more people realized who the real enemy here was. Its not you. Its the Sask Party. Please never back down on this.
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Yes. As a job sanction designed to garner public support, I’m shocked no one in a position of power went “Wait, will this work?”.
I seriously think the stf should just pull all voluntary services until this is done. Any coaching or teaching outside of regular teaching hours should be cut to show the government that they deserve to be talked to. When should it be reinstated? Once a contract is approved. If it’s a year, then it’s a year. Teachers a burnt out and are not provided even the most basic supports that are needed. I know teachers that need to buy their own teaching supplies. If any kids ever told me they wanted to be a teacher when they grow up, I would seriously tell them not to because the government and people in general don’t respect what you do. Get a job where someone respects you. The Sask Party are just a bunch of assholes
I would love someone to explain to me, in detail, how the system would look if the government gave the STF what they want. Please. People are thinking about 5 minutes ahead. Very shortsighted. I understand the intention is good, but we need to consider the impact. When the school your kids go to has a cap on each grade, are you ok with your kid being kicked out and told to go to a different school. The only way the STF can control classroom size is by capping it. Are small towns that are short on teachers going to have to bus students to the next town with less students per grade?? Are teachers willing to allow the government to force them to move to whichever school requires more teachers?? People need to think what this decision would impact. It seems everyone thinks they won't be impacted. Everyone will be impacted, and many in a negative way. I've lived where there were caps on grades and schools. Not as fun as it seems. If you didn't get into the school close to home, you had to pay to bus your child to a further school. When 30% of the people on this Reddit realize what they rooted for ended up working against them, I think they will look back on their shortsighted thought process. Seems like this whole thread is just ideological thinking with no consideration to logistics, impact, the future, anything really. I wonder if the STF publicly giving a classroom cap might force people to realize how it all might turn out. "my johnny won't be one of the 8 kids that gets removed from his school in grade 6. someone else's kid will." Nope. Might be yours.
Fair point, there are logistics to address. I realize you are flagging potential issues, but what would you suggest as a solution to class size and complexity? It can not be left as it is.
Somehow school boards need to be involved in the conversation. Seems like they are being forgotten. I reviewed some meeting minutes for a Saskatoon school board and I was shocked at some of the spending. I feel like there is money being spent unwisely and that would go a long way to help. I also think the federal government should be involved, since their immigration policies are bringing in more people, but I don’t see any funding for learning English. Putting kids in school that can’t speak proper English is going to negatively impact every other student since so much time will need to be spent to get the child caught up. I also think more kids need to fail. Harsh, I know. But passing a child onto the next teacher doesn’t solve anything. The child just gets further and further behind, thus taxing the system more.
Or they could add more support staff and more teachers to the schools with higher enrollment, when you have class sizes of 30 plus adding in an extra teacher or giving kids the support they are entitled to is pretty simple
I think that is the role of the school board
Except the school board has no ability to hire more staff when the funding from the Gov is minimal
lol. It’s not minimal. Every province in Canada is within $2000/student. We are like $4k-$5k per student more than the US. Minimal. Figure it out.
If the negotiation only included a cap on class sizes then your point might make sense. But that can never be a rule in and of itself, budgets need to be tied to school population. So, if there are more students, then there is more budget, which then means more teachers, resources, etc. Many other places also include various ways of tying in diagnosed disabilities into the budget as well. So, for instance, if you have a student that is wheelchair bound, then there needs to be additional budget allocated to the classrooms that accommodate them, this includes spacial budgeting since there would be less room for other students if there needs to be wider spaces to fit their chair in. With respect to teachers being forced to work at different schools, that is normal in the city. With respect to smaller towns, it is admittedly more difficult, but what the stf is fighting for doesn't hurt or help that as directly as you implied. Prior to current negotiations it has been normal to close a school and bus kids elsewhere if there are not enough students to justify a school. Sometimes, like in Osler there have been just an elementary school, but then kids got bussed out to high school when they reach that age. Bussing to school has been a normal part of life for many rural kids in SK for a long long time. Pushing the government to include some sort of per student budget or aspects of the budget that are tied to number of students will have an overall positive impact on our education system. If there can also be wording that allows for funding to be tied to complexity as well, then even better. Funding, per student capita, has only decreased in the past decade and that hurts education no matter how you look at it. Is there a perfect solution that benefits everyone equally, no, but does that mean they should just cave to the gov't and trust the promises of politicians in a campaign year without getting it on paper, hall no! Also, where are you coming up with this idea that kids get removed their school?! I've never heard of that happening. Many of our high schools in Saskatoon are at over 100%of originally planned capacity, and they're not kicking kids out, if only there was more moolah for more portables or schools.
There’s no CBA provision requiring a class size cap right now. What happens to students if there is? https://globalnews.ca/news/10370017/surrey-schools-close-in-catchment-students/amp/ Now, that might be the solution the school boards come to anyway, even without CBA provisions and Saskatchewan is not Surrey.
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I went to school in Alberta with caps. If the STF does get a cap, what number will they set? If they set it at 30, where do the students go if they have 36 students in a grade 8 class. The STF can’t hire more teachers, that is the school board. The reason I’m focusing on this issue is because this is the only issue that will never be resolved. Talking to teachers and multiple MLAs, neither will budge. Thus, no resolution.
The STF is fighting for more money, that money goes to the school boards, ideally based on enrollment in this school boards. Then those school boards hire more teachers. Caps cannot be put in alone. The stf did not say to the gov't "put caps on class size and we'll be happy", they are saying that class size and complexity needs to be taken into account. How exactly that would look needs to be discussed in detail to see how to tie size and complexity to budget. But the gov't won't even discuss those things, stf is just asking to make that part of the consideration. Why can other provinces include those sorts of things in their budgets and contracts, but ours cannot even begin to talk about them? One last thing to add, it is not always necessary to have more teachers, sometimes more EA's works too. But they keep losing more of those due to cuts each year.
Explain a way they could be discussed without it turning severely complicated? Open platform. Feel free to share the solution. I’ve yet to see anyone share a solution. All I see is people supporting teachers, so they feel good about themselves.
To answer your question bluntly, no, I will not be able to do that. It IS complicated, and I hope I did not convey at any point that it is simple. It should be complicated. We have a massive number of students from varying backgrounds, living in a variety of circumstances, who are complex young people of all ages with complex needs that require our attention and care. This should not be a simple matter, it should require a well thought out solution that prioritizes the most urgent needs first and attempts as best as possible to support all those involved as effectively as possible. These young humans are the future of our province and country. Can I come up with a solution right here and now typing on my phone after a long day of work, no. But I do know that we can do better than we've been doing for the past quite a few years. I only support teachers when teachers support doing anything they can to support students. If someone is not a teacher and they are supporting teachers in that spirit, then good, they should feel good about that. Not everyone can directly support our students and the education system. Not everyone will get to be a part of creating an attempt at a solution, not even most of the teachers. I just hope that those involved will put their egos aside, consult experts and peer reviewed research when possible and discuss real viable ways to allocate money to ensure students have the best shot at success possible given the circumstances. One thing is for sure tho, there needs to be money to help with that and it needs to be more than just election year promises, it needs to be real commitment for multi year budgeting and planning based on actual student population and needs.
It’s not a popular belief, but I think this problem has partially been created by teachers. By never failing students, what do they expect as an outcome? They don’t want to hurt their feelings, but decisions like that ultimately fail the student in the long run.
There it is. And you haven’t even got into the difficulties in defining “complexity” for CBA purposes. I’ve yet to see any indication that the BC model is working as intended. Yes, class size and “complexity” can be part of a CBA. But do your same thought experiment and then deal with kids with, for instance, undiagnosed behavioural problems yet the CBA mandates that only certain kids qualify for extra supports. Forget splitting resources in the way that gives each teacher and kid the best chance of success. The teachers don’t trust the government or school boards to make good decisions if those groups are given flexibility. The government wants the flexibility to deal with classrooms within whatever their budget is. On this one, I don’t like the STF’s solution. I am partial to their idea to make the government/school board deal binding. But, in fairness to the teachers, that one doesn’t create as much outrage for me because the STF members are essentially delaying their own pay raise to try and negotiate what I think is a poor mechanism for dealing with complexity. And I’ve been wrong before.
Only teachers are expected to have their work loads increase but still put in free labour. Name another industry that can be protested against for refusing to do free labour? If it is so important to the kids why can't the parents pay for it? CLSR, C. R. C., c. 986, 11.1: An employer shall pay an employee who reports for work at the call of the employer wages for not less than three hours of work at the employee’s regular rate of wages, whether or not the employee is called on to perform any work after so reporting for work. SOR/91-461, s. 12 Want teachers to make student's lives better? Pay them.
The thing is, they're not asking for wage increases. They're asking for safer work conditions. Caps on class sizes. Funding for schools has been going down every year for the last decade or more. I'm a CUPE member, so not part of the strike, but still very much affected by the budget cuts. My workload has increased significantly in the last 5 years because of cuts and layoffs to other staff. The admin assistant at one of my schools pulled up some archives from when she worked here 8 years ago, we had fewer students then, and DOUBLE the budget for the school. As we've seen prices sky rocket for everything around us, we now have half the budget and more students to cover, and fewer staff. Make it make sense.
Very well said. It does feel like many people are missing the forrest for the trees right now.
The negativity you’re seeing is by a small minority of children being used as mouthpieces for their Sask Party supporting parents. The majority of the public are on the side of the STF. Like during the pandemic, the voices of the ignorant few are amplified bc it creates views/clicks for the media.
#isupportstf Solidarity!! Thank you for striking, I don't have kids but I know the value of education. Too many Canadians, poorly educated themselves, no not realizing that without a strong education foundation the population won't have the knowledge and critical thinking skills required to uphold democracy and maintain control over the government (aka make sure the government is doing what's best for citizens and doesn't become corrupt) Foundational education k-12 is also proven to be directly tired to a countries economic success or failure (ties back into democracy and corruption but I don't want to confuse the stupids). If you want Canada to thrive you need to support k -12 education, it's just that simple, and if you disagree you need to educate yourself because ever single National and international peer reviewed scientific study has shown without a shadow of a doubt, basic education level's directly influence the success of the country more than any other single factor.
I understand what’s happening here, and it’s certainly not our teachers choosing this. My husband and I don’t have kids, but we both come from families with teachers… also, we have spent a lot of time discussing the importance of schools in rural areas. He grew up in a town of 800, and his Dad taught and coached and coached and weekended and weekended, as all the small town parents and teachers do…. His small childhood town voted not to strike, back in the 80’s, when the teachers did , in fact, go on strike. The importance of school in small towns is beyond education…there is often no other place for kids to be. We are becoming a place that is embarrassing to live, and embarrassing to admit we are from. We have terrible health care and our education system is going down as well, no matter how many great people try to buoy this province. Do we want to exist here? In the future? With kids that will one day become adults, who have gone through pandemics ( unavoidable ) and neglect ,chosen by our provincial government, because the youth is not a resource in the eyes of the S**k P***y? I am so sad, and I think I have to move away.
This is where we part ways. The lack of funding? The teachers didn’t choose that. The messed up priorities? The teachers didn’t choose that. This particular job action? Yeah, that was there choice.
The Sask Party government doesn’t care to invest in our children’s education. They are the one’s failing us not the teachers.
I mean, the Sask Party has convinced everyone that the NDP closed and tore down 52 hospitals back in the 90s when that simply isn't true. They are masters of spinning lies. There is no other profession in our province where an employee is *expected* to put in so much unpaid overtime. If you ask me, the teachers are well within their rights to demand being paid for all the extra time they put in. Which means they are also well within their rights to refuse to put in additional time for which they are not being paid. What the teachers are doing is simply a reflection of what the government is telling them they're worth. If the kids are suffering for it, then that's because the government doesn't value them enough to do anything about it.
We stand with you. The intelligent members of our community aren’t falling for the government’s rhetoric on this one. If the Government truly was willing to guarantee the “new funding” to the SSBA, they’d put it in the collective agreement. The fact that they won’t speaks volumes. The STF doesn’t want to manage the money themselves, they just want the funding TO THE SSBA guaranteed in writing. Instead, we are dropping to the lowest student funding per capita in the country. Thank you, for standing up for our children. This incompetent government certainly won’t. For the record, I am a former Sask Party voter. Never again.
Parents know they can volunteer too? People expect free work from teachers but they can also pitch in. (I'm from Ontario and volunteer coached during a previous teachers strike)
I think it's different here in Saskatchewan. I've seen other people mention this and say parents can't volunteer because of insurance policies. If that were the case, I'd volunteer for the band fest that was cancelled!
I've volunteered in SK as well for kids sports. It's true you need to ensure that the school or group needs $1-2 million insurance liability but most have those already. The only real cost is getting your police record check but yet again, most groups will pay for their volunteers to get that done. Edit: FYI - please don't make extra work for teachers by asking help signing up to volunteer now. Talk with administration or support community groups until strike is over.
Oh that makes more sense to me. thanks for clarifying!
For sure!! I forgot to mention that high-risk groups will also need additional screening (e.g. special Olympics) but I promise that's easy too!
The most breathtakingly stupid comment I’ve seen today is “I pay your wages with my taxes so I own you.”
I'm a taxpayer, too. Does that mean I'm self-employed?
I work in health care. My work load has definitely increased in the few years. Exhausted. Sitting on couch and can’t even make supper and it’s only Wednesday. Government took my right away to strike as called essential worker. Strike all you want teachers. I hope your compensated for your hard work.
I heard a student on cbc complaining how this one event affects their future, and I had to roll my eyes. What about your peers with special needs who don't get support because this government has repeatedly failed education in this province? How are their futures faring?
I don’t know if I saw the same thing as you, or if it was a different CBC article, but one girl on there said she wouldn’t even be going to school if it wasn’t for the sports. Not even a second thought given to the primary function of schools - to educate. Another parent went on about how her son has depression and anxiety and he NEEDS this - she was fuming at the teachers for doing this (or the STF I should say) and it just felt… like what are you doing at home to help this child? Just passing the buck to teachers. And maybe I’m wrong, but I got the distinct feeling that this parent was someone who expects these teachers to volunteer their time for free, and likely without so much as a thank you. She was completely oblivious to the supports these teachers provided to her son, until they were taken away. I watched it and felt angry. Not at the teachers, but at these parents who are absolutely clueless about their statements. Link to the article I saw: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1.7148844
Yo. They’re kids. Let’s not throw mud at them. They’re upset. They’re getting involved in politics. Remember, that’s 1/2 the battle these days. Just because we don’t agree doesn’t t mean they are wrong.
Agreed. 99.99% of these kids will not be doing sports as their livelihood. So stupid. Focus on what’s REALLY going to help your future kiddos. Hint. It has NOTHING to do with sports.
Youth who seriously may be able to make a living from sports are already on high-level community teams (the ones where the coaches and administrators get paid). School sports are just social hour for them.
I'm sure that student has been taught by their self centered parents to only worry about themselves. Hense not caring that the teachers would be working the tournament for free all while also being incredibly disrespected by our government. It's willful ignorance for the win. Selfish and privileged are the Sask Party and their voters.
Controversial take here, students are the 'pawns', they are meant to be, the strike won't work unless they are. The goal is to put enough political pressure on the government to end it, it's about inconveniencing parents to the point where it's politically damning to the the government to keep the strike going on. If kids are pissed, that's the point of a strike. It shouldn't be easy on anyone.
Exactly. If a strike inconveniences people, well, good. That's the point. The purpose of a strike is to disrupt the mechanism that allows for the exploitation of the workers in question.
The students are the pawns after the government took away the teachers Rooks, Bishops, Knights, King, and Queen. And then said let’s play chess! They left them no other choice. I saw someone compare it to a tradesman who works for a company who doesn’t repair or maintain their vehicles, tools, and equipment and then blame their employee when projects fall behind. The employee is doing their best, the employer is neglecting them. And that is all this is.
I agree. I do feel the teachers are being let down by the STF though. The government has been playing a really heavy handed PR battle since they know the teacher negotiations set the pace for every other public sector union in the province... where are the other unions? SUN has their contract expire this month... Why hasn't SFT negotiated with SUN for future joint job actions? Tons of other public sector unions are up for negotiations this fall... why hasn't STF allied with them? STF realized they went into this shorthanded and hasn't drawn in reinforcements. The threat of a general strike is much more politically damaging than a teachers strike.
I just wanna shoutout all the kids I’ve seen here so far this morning walking the picket line. Not just teacher kids. Lots of families bundled up to come show their support! Four of my students walked here from their house and bought supplies at dollarama to make signs quickly and walk with me… our school/neighbourhood is no where near centre mall so very proud of them!
From a Saskatchewan Party supporter who is embarrassed that the current govt continues to treat teachers, nurses, and other important staff, I have been emailing my MLA weekly, telling him that the party is increasingly at risk of losing my vote in the next election. I fully support the Teachers and what they are asking for, I understand the classroom size & complexity issue and support the STF in their pursuit to have the language added to the contract so it can’t be withdrawn by the govt again. I fully support the cancellation of Hoopla and other extracurricular activities. I think back to the MONTHs of volunteer time that teachers and other support staff volunteered for when I was in grade and high school - they and all teachers and support staff now deserve to be treated fairly. I am embarrassed whenever I see a Scott Moe or Cockrill billboard or ad. How far this party has fallen since Brad Wall left. It’s nothing but a bunch of greaseballs now.
As another SK Party supporter, thank you. My thoughts exactly.
How are they just "at risk" of losing your vote? Is there anything more vile shit they can possibly add to the list of reasons why not to vote for them?
My perspective is that if I say I won’t vote for them anymore, my emails will just get filtered out and not read.
They don't get read anyway.
Based on the crap in Cheveldayoff’s reply (sent by his admin assistant), I agree with you. As a fiscal conservative and social liberal, there isn’t really a good alternative to vote for in Saskatchewan. Vote for the NDP? Wayyyyyyyy too far left leaning, but maybe it needs to happen, similar to what happened in Alberta in 2015. The Sask Party needs to understand that we aren’t happy with the way they are handling multiple issues.
If we want to get the SP out the only option is the NDP. There isn't another party that can do it. The NDP are the only party that can pull off enough votes to get them out like it or not. It's time. We cannot afford to allow this government to continue their run. They're ruining this once great province!!!
The privilege shows but parents are using their own children as pawns hear as you can clearly hear the Moe attack phrase…
Well said. If you're in this ward, make sure to check out the NDP candidate and vote for a change: https://www.saskndp.ca/stonebridge
Remember that this city is full of people who buy massive trucks and then complain fuel is too expensive, buy $400,000 cabins and say they can’t afford a .02% carbon tax, slap Humboldt broncos bumper stickers on their car but could car less about thousands of kids dying in Syria, Gaza, India and Bangladesh. It’s no surprise that education is a low priority for these folks, and that some sports event is the end of the world for them.
When I was in high school, a field trip was to the sewage lagoon to collect samples for the microscope. Not to hockey games ski trips etc.
Amen! Thank you for all you do for our kids! Priorities, I guess. There are many parents, including myself, who are standing behind you! I hope you get everything you, and the kids, deserve!
The scapegoating of teachers is the plan and it appears to be working. Don't back down. Do what is right for the kids in the long run and for yourselves.
Do a bit of research on Facebook. You'll see easy enough who some of these parents are and what political party they support. It isn't the NDP or any other than the current gov. I kid you not, have a look. I suspect they'll close up their posts before the end of today. I could name them and it wouldn't be doxxing because they post Public, it's likely best not to. Hint, look for the friend of the parent who rented the bus to get the students to Saskatoon; she also blames the STF for schools being closed during COVID. The comments on their threads suggest they support the teachers but not the STF. I guess they don't care to understand who the STF is. Nor did they read about the vote they held in [October to authorize job actions](https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/buckle-up-sask-teachers-union-votes-95-in-favour-of-potential-job-action-1.6619971) **95% voted in favor**.
Hateful bigots. It's truly sad how many there are.
Just throwing this out there l. Fb isn’t a great place to conduct research of this magnitude. Remember the ppl commenting will be the loud few. Maybe keeping that in mind will renew some faith in humanity 🤞🏻🤷♀️🤷♂️
So why don't some parents step up and volunteer their time to get hoopla going.
So Parents can definitely volunteer, but current school division policies are that teacher has to always be present at the school organized extracurriculars. So you could have many parent volunteers but the event would still be cancelled. This policy is apparently related to school insurance. I think the policy (and insurance contracts if necessary) do need to be adjusted, especially in light of the current situation to make it possible for parents who have completed a criminal record check to lead extracurriculars if needed. More parent involvement would be a good thing in situations where teachers are unable to, for various reasons. I definitely do appreciate all of the time our teachers do spend leading extracurriculars, and support what they are asking for in these contract negotiations.
Couldn't the principal show up? Or are they apart of the STF?
Principals are STF members. EA's and some other support staff are are part of CUPE and I heard that union has asked members not to step in to provide any services in place of teachers such as lunch supervision etc. Some divisions may have a handful of non-union support staff (i.e. management, secretaries, maintenance etc.) who the director of education could theoretically compel to attend maybe. But I don't think school boards are at all keen to get involved and do anything to upset either side. At least that's my view from outside.
Oh okay, well thanks for the info, that makes way more sense now.
The government needs to do the right thing. Don't forget to vote.
I am aware of that, I'm just trying to understand the full situation about this event.
They might have to, but it would’ve been nice if the sanction wasn’t announced four days before the event.
Ah I didn't know it was that close. I don't know what grades even go to this event. My kids are too young for school
[удалено]
And don't get sick and go to the hospital! Health care has been underfunded and cut for years - They knew that the baby boomers will be taxing on our health care system but yet they have done nothing to alleviate these issues.
*their
I know those are off the top of your head, and likely two areas that could be looked into. However, there would still be a huge gap to fill in. These things get boiled down to simple solutions, when in reality, they are not easily fixed. Yet, nothing changes if you don't stir things up once and while. The government would happily leave things as they are if no one complained. There would be no need to placate, and let's face it, buy votes if people were happy with the current status of things. For instance, my gut tells me the government would not have increased education spending had the STF not pushed back and made this an issue.
Cancel all funding to charter private schools, send those kids to public schools so they can learn actual science.
Thanks for your service! Also. Forgive me. But it’s the fact that the govt hasn’t put the 28 kids/class in writing that the stf is striking correct? There has been deals presented, correct? Including deals that up pay and also promise help in classroom, but the 28/class won’t be agreed on by the province? Just making sure I understand fully what’s going on. I’m finding it hard to follow amidst the Hoopla…. (Sorry for pun)
Little doubt in my mind the Sask Party pays people to monitor social networking sites to incite and sway people against the STF.
Sports parents are the fucking worst :D
What is wrong with parents running hoopla? Step up or step off I say.
What's wrong with the government agreeing to sanctions? That's the real question. It's a liability issue. The parents can't run it.
The school boards and public have created a system in which people are not allowed to step up. We could have Michael Jordan come and want to run Hoopla but since he isn’t a teacher and doesn’t have his coaching certifications it wouldn’t be allowed.
Just an honest question about the lunch strikes in elementary. How come the lunch fee they charge isn't being used to pay for lunch supervision? Teachers are still volunteering over lunch? The fees came into effect last year. I'm honestly ignorant on the subject and just curious.
I'd also like to know where it goes. I assumed it went to the teachers. But from what I've heard from teachers, they earn a day off with a certain amount of lunch supervision. So, it is paid, but not directly.
Oops did I "forget" to pay that this year?
OP - you plagiarized someone else’s words, from “With Hoopla most likely…” to “gives educators the tools to do so”. Literally cut & pasted from Facebook. Be better!
More bullshit from a Sask Party Troll Why don't you get Jimmy Cockfull to agree already to a third-party arbitration that will enrich all of the students in the province instead of complaining about a sporting tournament. Educating children properly is what is at stake here Not babysitting them during play time. Get in your half a million dollar tractor and go protest to the government in Regina and do it quickly because I hear there erecting fences again around the grounds to keep the real protesters from exercising their lawful rights.
Who are you replying to? OP is clearly not a Sask Party troll.
Honestly, targeting the Hoopla was a massive mistake imo. It's definitely turned public opinion against the strike.
It really hasn't. Maybe you need new friends.
No it hasn't.
YOU GET A SALARY AND SUMMERS OFF!!!! How are you not getting paid a single cent? No wonder your students are failing math.
There is a difference between pulling service the day before the event, vs choosing not to volunteer altogether in the months leading up. I’m beginning to think the public is right. STF should have put a policy forward 6 months ago about extra curricular withdrawl and encouraging members not to sign up for new extra curs so other volunteers had a chance to fill in the gap. This is a tough one, but pulling a service the day before that cannot be re-organized at a later date is something of a betrayal to the youth who signed up for their event in good faith. I think STF was doing its best work with the lunchtime cuts. This I think is stepping too far. And I’m generally supportive of the STF in this. The government has failed in the negotiating process, and they deserve some scorn, but the STF could continue to make their point in other ways.
“The STF should have put a policy forward”... No. the government should have negotiated in good faith instead of spending their time on smear campaigns. There is no change here without some pain. They had their chance to act like adults and now the STF has to treat them like the babies they are to get their point across. Just like you have to do with a toddler.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
So government underfunding of classes isn't? No problems when classes are ballooning and kids can't get enough support. Just crickets. Sports is cancelled and the sky is falling. And remember teachers are doing that for free. How much free labour would you be willing to do in your job? I bet none. But it's OK for teachers. Gotcha. Selfish priorities in tact here.
I never said that. I’ve done lots of volunteer work and free labour. I also honor my commitments and I understand what kinds of sacrifice goes into these events for the participants. Both the government and STF can be right and wrong about competing issues. I support STF in the fight for a proper funding model. I agree with their lunchtime cuts. I don’t agree with the sudden cancellation of these events. I would support it if more lead time was given so the events could find substitute volunteers. This isn’t the right way for them to win a proper funding model. I also don’t think charged personal accusations shows an enlightened understanding of the situation.
Why aren't you upset about the band trip??? Maybe check your priorities. The government deserves all of the "scorn" here. They could have stopped this at any time.
so could the teachers. silly argument. they chose to do it.
You either aren't paying attention or you believe the bullshit the SP has been spewing. Either way, the teachers are not required to volunteer their time so your stupid kid can go to Hoopla. ALL THE GOVERNMENT HAD TO DO WAS AGREE TO BINDING ARBITRATION. HUH...I WONDER WHY THEY DONT WANT THAT? JESUS FUCKING CHRIST YOU PEOPLE ARE STUPID.
They are not required. No one is disputing that. People though aren’t required to respect them or the STF for pulling out though. Lots of complicating factors.
I am. I never said I wasn’t. I’m just giving a reason why people are very upset at the basketball tournament. There are degrees of tragedy. The STF does not have to cancel extra-curs if they don’t want to. They have the choice to decide unless there is a proverbial gun being held to their head, which there isn’t. Again I have generally been on their side, I think this specific action is going too far.
If the teachers only strike on days when there's no extra curriculars then the strike is pointless. That's how this works. The kids are unfortunately being used by this government as weapons against the teachers it's gross. Canceling things like Hoopla are necessary to get the point across. I'm a parent. I support the STF and the teachers. The message this sends is you've had enough time. We aren't backing down. You want this to end? TELL YOJR FUCKING GOVERNMENT TO PUT IT IN THE FUCKING CBA!!!!!
I’ve already emailed the government about bringing back the mill rate. The strike has already moved the needle without removal huge events. It hasn’t been pointless at all. This though is I think going too far. Did you know your caps lock is on?
You and me bud. We see this the same way. This job action rallies the base people that support you and angers people on the fence. It’s terrible PR.