The solution to the BC Teachers strike

As I write this, the public school teachers in B.C. are undergoing a serious work strike. I don't have time to go into all the details, but you can read about them here. An oversimplified explanation is that teachers are striking because they want smaller class sizes, and a limit to how many students with learning and behavior challenges are in the same class. This is referred to as “class size and composition”. They are also calling for wage increases.

I am a private school teacher, and although the teachers at my school were not on strike, I can empathize with the plight of the public school teachers. I have thought about the issues surrounding the strike, and I think I have a solution to the problem

Here is what should happen:
1. Teachers should be given their demands for class sizes and composition.
2. Teachers should NOT be given a raise, but funding to the education sector should be increased to allow for hiring more teachers and EA's.
3. Extra curricular activities should be paid positions with a small hourly wage.

Point 1. Teachers should be given their demands for class sizes and composition.

Teachers are being asked to do more with less in terms of educating students. It is the ultimate goal of a teacher in BC to be 'all things to all people'. They are attempting to do their best to teach all students in their class in ways that will benefit all the different learning styles, as well as all the different learning levels and abilities.

This is not the education system of the 1950's. For the most part these days, students do not fail and repeat grades, and the goal is to make every student feel successful. Every student is welcome in the classroom, regardless of learning challenges or physical disabilities. This in turn causes the grade 6 teacher to become essentially the grade 3-9 teacher who is attempting to adapt content so that every student can understand it or not be bored by it. They are also adapting content in order to make it 'engaging', which in some ways means making it entertaining so as to keep the attentions of students of whom many have been raised in an entertainment culture of internet, tv, and video games. Instead of teaching the grade 6 content, they become the entertainer, the parent, the care-aid, and the disciplinarian.

Additionally, teachers these days do not hit students with rulers when they are being disruptive or disrespectful. Often students are asked by teachers to follow classroom rules that will foster healthy learning environments. However, many times when students fail to follow these rules, they find that the disciplinary actions that follow are weak or powerless. I have witnessed a teacher reprimand a student, and the student's parent defend their child's actions, and accuse the teacher of poor classroom management skills. In the 1950's, this was not the case for the most part. I am not at all suggesting going back to a corporal punishment style of discipline, but in general, teachers were more respected by students and parents in the past. With this respect (or maybe fear), it was likely more possible for a teacher to manage a classroom of 30-40 children. With a general lack of respect for authority these days, a class size that large would not be manageable.

Point 2. Teachers should NOT be given a raise, but funding to the education sector should be increased to allow for hiring more teachers and EA's.

There have been many studies done on the effectiveness of learning environments, and one of the main things they all have in common is that smaller class sizes equals better instruction. If you look to the Renaissance Period, much of the model of education was a tutor/pupil model where a wealthy person would hire a tutor for their son or daughter. This 1 to 1 ratio is ideal. In the classroom, it would be amazing for a teacher to sit down and help one student through all their learning challenges, but there are still 20-30 other students with their own challenges. This is why many parents send their child for after school tutoring.

It is fiscally impossible for the B.C. Ministry of Education to adapt a tutoring style of education. However, funding could potentially be increased to the education sector, which in turn could be used to hire more teachers and EA's. This would also increase job openings for recently graduated teachers looking for work. These new teachers may have fresh insight and passion for teaching, and could be a welcome addition to the education system. The better the teacher (or EA) to student ratio, the better the education.

Point 3. Extra curricular activities should be paid positions with a small hourly wage.

Extra curricular programs such as after school sports, or drama or musical productions are very important parts of a school system. For some students, it is these activities that inspire life-long passions for the arts or sports. However, they are not part of the job requirements of a teacher. If a teacher is very passionate about basketball, for example, and if they have parent support and student dedication to the team, they can have a successful program. This is often not the case though, and sometimes teachers are 'volun-told', or pressured, to coach a team or run a drama production. Without passion for the activity, the teacher will feel even more overworked, and will likely quit being in charge as soon as they can pass the responsibility on to someone else.

Extra curricular programs should be a paid position where the person in charge is paid something like 15 dollars an hour. This could be any mature, responsible person who is passionate about the activity, who has experience in that area (not necessarily formal education), and has a spotless, current criminal record. If a teacher wants to take on more responsibility, they could coach the basketball team and get paid a little bit of money to do so. Or, a parent could take on the job and get paid. Either way, this would eliminate the 'volun-told' problem.