EDITOR,
I would like to say I disagree with some rather ignorant and offensive statements made by Mr. Phillip Trueman in his letter "No Pay for 'Sick' Days" in the Dec. 24 edition of The Chief.
Firstly, it is wrong to fathom that teachers as professionals use professional development days for "union meeting," considering that most private and non-unionied schools hold these days, too. Also, these days are not for them to "re-learn how to teach," but to learn how to teach better, and as the name would suggest, develop. Teaching, learning, and education are complex subjects; for example not even every child learns in the same way. Additionally, an educated populous (no doubt done through schools) generally translates for a country into better economic performance: according to Statistics Canada, a one per cent increase in literacy alone equals an $18.4 billion GDP advance. So for me, I like the idea of well-trained teachers who like learning (which is lifelong) in an ever-changing, advancing world in order to develop themselves and their students. Importantly, teachers as per the B.C. College of Teachers, seventh standard, should "engage in career-long learning."
Furthermore, the notion of teacher salaries he has conceived is grossly incorrect. Teacher salaries are not "$50,000 to $90,000" per annum, but rather (as of June 30, 2010) in our school district start at $42,802 and go to $81,488. Moreover, teacher salaries are not at all "pro-rated." Teachers are paid only for the months that school is in session, which is 10 months, not nine as he indicated.
When teachers went on strike, they did so for many important reasons that were for the students. One major concern then was for class-size caps. If Mr. Trueman has ever been in a university class (with a professor who does not really know how to teach, but rather, lectures) of a couple hundred, he may learn to appreciate the efforts of teachers, who took a loss in salary for the cause.
Lastly, if Mr. Trueman believes that school is "daycare," I am curious if he has been in a classroom lately, because it is truly more than that, considering that prior to primary school, most children cannot read nor write. I invite him to move to a country where education is not as present (e.g. Somalia) and let us know how pleasant it is.
Hayden Drygas
Squamish/Prince George
