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Opinion: B.C. Liberals want nothing less than a makeover of the education system
By Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun March 12, 2012
VICTORIA – As the legislature entered the sixth day of debate on Bill 22, the B.C. Liberals wielded their legislative majority to cut off debate on one of the most controversial aspects of the legislation, the form of mediation that will be used in the teachers’ contract dispute.
The measure at hand was an Opposition amendment favouring the appointment of “an independent mediator to resolve the dispute without legislation,” and with no strings attached in terms of what the mediator could and could not address.
It contrasted sharply with the Liberal approach of a mediator hand-picked by Education Minister George Abbott and acting on restrictive terms of reference.
Some of those terms were to be expected. Having secured more than 130 public sector contract settlements on the net-zero mandate — including 30 in the education sector — the Liberals weren’t about to make an exception for the teachers.
The mediator has the option of helping the teachers to explore the option that other unions have taken, which is negotiating trade-offs that can then be costed to pay for a wage increase.
Read THE VANCOUVER SUN full article here.
vpalmer@vancouversun.com
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Teachers to plan anti-Bill 22 measures Sunday
The legislature gave final approval Thursday to the controversial Bill 22 and it will become law Saturday. That’s the same day teacher activists from around the province will gather in Vancouver for the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) annual general meeting at the Hyatt Regency.
The main business at this year’s meeting will be crafting a response to Bill 22 that will demonstrate teacher anger while not splitting the union or alienating the public. It will be a difficult balance. BCTF executive members spent long hours this week drafting recommendations for action, and those will be presented to the 700 delegates Sunday for an in-camera debate. The decisions during the AGM are expected to be taken to the broader membership for ratification.
We know delegates will discuss the possibility of BCTF members withdrawing from extracurricular activities, such as coaching sports teams, directing drama productions and sponsoring student clubs. Some locals are already moving in that direction. I’m told some teachers are pushing for a wildcat walkout, but I doubt that will fly, given the bill’s stiff penalties for illegal job action. There could also be proposals for political action to defeat the Liberals during the 2013 election, although the BCTF, as a union, does not usually get involved in that way. At least, not officially.
There will also be a leadership vote Tuesday, with Rick Guenther challenging Susan Lambert for the presidency. There is a third contender – Chris Drouillard, a teacher from 100 Mile House – but he’s not well known and won’t win (although he might draw support from Guenther). Read my story here.
I asked Guenther on Thursday what change he wants to see in the BCTF leadership.
Read THE VANCOUVER SUN full article here.
By Janet Steffenhagen, THE VANCOUVER SUN
March 15, 2012. 6:17 pm • Section: Report Card, STAFF
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
UBC may use Grade 11 transcripts to assess applicants
VANCOUVER SUN MARCH 13, 2012
The University of B.C. says it might use Grade 11 transcripts this year in assessing B.C. applicants who do not have a Grade 12 report card due to teacher job action.
But it’s reassuring students who didn’t do as well last year as this year that Grade 11 marks will not replace Grade 12 marks.
“No student will be disadvantaged by the use of Grade 11 grades,” Andrew Arida, director of undergraduate admissions, said in an interview. “If the substitution of Grade 11 grades works and gets you in, great. If it doesn’t we will not make a final decision on you until we see your full Grade 12 grades in May so there is no detrimental effect of this change in policy – if it’s approved.”
The UBC Senate is expected to decide Wednesday whether the university should accept students based on Grade 11 marks. A similar decision will be made for the UBC Okanagan campus.
As a result of job action, B.C. teachers have not written report cards this year. Their union, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), says students who need marks for post-secondary or scholarship applications need only ask for them.
Read The Vancouver Sun full article here.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
New Book- Leadership Under Fire: The Challenging Role of the Canadian University President
From the publisher’s website:
An insightful commentary on the leadership challenges faced by university presidents and a comprehensive survey of the changing university landscape.
While the role of the university president has evolved dramatically in recent years, the recruitment pool and selection process have changed little since the 1960s. In Leadership Under Fire, Ross H. Paul combines leadership theory, interviews with eleven of Canada’s most successful presidents, and thirty-five years of personal experience to shed light on the complexity and importance of leading a university and identifies some of the critical challenges and opportunities facing Canadian universities today.
Ross H. Paul has held senior leadership positions in four post-secondary institutions in three Canadian provinces over the past thirty-five years, including tenures as president of Laurentian and Windsor Universities.
B.C. teachers promised more money for big classes
Bill 22 would give some teachers in primary grades $2,500 per student
VANCOUVER — Public-school teachers are being promised financial compensation next year if they have extra-large classes.
A controversial bill now working its way through the legislature would give Grades 4-7 teachers an extra $2,500 a year for every student beyond 30 in their classrooms while secondary school teachers, who teach many courses per day, would receive $312 for every student beyond 30 in their courses, the B.C. Education Ministry told The Vancouver Sun.
Furthermore, the ministry is promising to amend school regulations to require principals to consult with teachers, and teachers to advise principals, on all matters related to classroom organization, including the placement of special-needs students. Those discussions will become “core duties” for principals and teachers, a ministry spokesman said.
Teachers in primary grades won’t be eligible for the compensation because their classes will continue to be capped at a maximum of 22 children in kindergarten and 24 students in Grades 1-3.
Teachers for courses such as band and drama, where large student numbers are sometimes desirable, are also not expected to qualify for additional pay.
The ministry says the extra money for teachers would not only compensate them for an added workload but would encourage school administrators to keep classes at 30 students or fewer in order to control costs.
The challenges of large classes with many special-needs students has been a long-standing concern of B.C. teachers, especially since 2002, when the Liberals stripped their union of its right to bargain class size and composition. Last April, the B.C. Supreme Court found the government had violated teachers’ rights and ordered it to remedy the situation within a year.
Read THE VANCOUVER SUN full article here.
By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun March 9, 2012
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com