Taking to the street for kids – Day One

Walking home from my errands today, I spotted this wonderful sign at my feet. It’s a leftover from the action many BC students took on Friday on behalf of their teachers.

Today is the first day of the three-day-strike the government is permitting teachers (the BC Liberals' plan to reap enough to recoup funds?). I spoke with some of the staff who teach at the nearby high school. To a person, it seems that they’re out on behalf of the kids -- learning conditions, class size, basic supplies.

Cutbacks to education have been going on here in BC since the early 1980s, but in 2002 things got even worse, as teacher contracts were stripped of clauses that referred to class size and working conditions. Much of this has since been declared unconstitutional; nonetheless, the refusal to negotiate towards meeting student/classroom needs continues.

What our government doesn't seem to get is that there’s only so far any system can survive in light of such enduring drastic cuts, especially when any supposed 'fat' is long gone. It’s time for our government's priorities to shift: They need to end the special treatment they grant corporate forces and start investing real dollars in the only future that matters -- students.

The most exciting part of my visit with the teachers outside the school had to be when the firetruck thundered past, sirens a-blare and lights flashing. As the firefighters rolled past the school on their emergency call, the driver honked the truck’s impressive-sounding horn in what could only be heard as a loud blast of support. Hear, hear!