Why Layton won't get my vote.

[BigGunner]

The class size debate shouldn't be a debate really. Smaller classes means higher quality education - especially at the critical elementary stage of learning.

Whether it should be set inside collective agreements, mandated by government policy, or averaged out, that is debatable, and I'd be open to ideas.

But as a principle, class sizes should be lowered. This might mean a dramatic expansion of school construction, hiring more teachers, or reconfiguring the school calendar to accomodate more classrooms, but if the plan is to lower class size, then taxpayers *should* be ok with the expenditures it requires to facilitate such a plan.

[August1991]

But as a principle, class sizes should be lowered.

What about the government paying for "home-schooling"? How about paying private schools (as happens in Quebec)? What about schools hiring non-union teachers? (Teachers that haven't met certification?) What about school districts negotiating salaries on a case-by-case basis?

I think young kids deserve the best protection/the best chance we all can offer. Older, they'll manage on their own. IMV, Canada should start this as a base line - and make it happen.

There are young kids in Canada with alcoholic parents. Who should help those kids? Civil servants? Union teachers? I don't know. But I suspect the best is someone who cares about people; not someone who cares about public service union negotiations.

[BigGunner]

But as a principle, class sizes should be lowered.

What about the government paying for "home-schooling"? How about paying private schools (as happens in Quebec)? What about schools hiring non-union teachers? (Teachers that haven't met certification?) What about school districts negotiating salaries on a case-by-case basis?

I think young kids deserve the best protection/the best chance we all can offer. Older, they'll manage on their own. IMV, Canada should start this as a base line - and make it happen.

There are young kids in Canada with alcoholic parents. Who should help those kids? Civil servants? Union teachers? I don't know. But I suspect the best is someone who cares about people; not someone who cares about public service union negotiations.

Home Schooling..

I'd be in favour of gov't support of home schooling. This makes sense for two reasons...One, if the student lives in a remote area, then it saves $$$ in transportation, etc. and second, if the family has serious objections to some aspects of the officially secular education and wish their child to have religious instruction on non-core subjects, then I think that is acceptable. By support, I mean of course that the gov't should provide books and materials and a parental teaching guide too. Gov't could then assign an out-reach instructor to touch base and monitor progress of the student...but this is somewhat established already through provincial correspondent systems and would need little tinkering to facilitate it.

Teachers without Certificates

...are not teachers. Would you trust that your child is getting a quality education from an unqualified teacher?

And attacking the unions that teachers belong to is not productive. The teachers have gone from virtual slaves in wages/benefits, to a decent middle class income. What would you pay them? Certainly not minimum wage...you'd probably offer them a salary that is attractive and is compensation for the hundreds of extra hours they put in on a volunteer basis with extra curricular activities.

Kids at risk

Most teachers have training to identify kids at risk. Teachers become surrogate parents in many occasions and kids turn to them when in need. Teachers, administrators are in close contact with police, child protection services, and other org's for that reason.

I know where you are going with this, but attacking teachers unions and collective agreements and such is not productive and not fair. The teachers that are in my family work from sunrise to sunset and beyond preparing classes, marking exams, talking to (occasionally unfit) parents, and trying to teach an always changing provincially mandated curriculum.

There are bad apples in every group, but casting this shadow on an entire profession is a sickening stereotype bordering on bigotry.

With all their responsibilities and obligations, they get paid a salary. What do you think is fair?

[Argus]

I'll save the right wingers the trouble.

It's Trudeau's fault!!

It's Rae's fault!

It's Glen Clark's fault!

See, isn't being a right winger easy? It's always someone elses's fault.

 

But isn't that what you and your fellow traveller are doing in these posts? Blaming Mulroney, when we all know Trudeau ran up a big deficit during good times and left Mulroney saddled with it during bad times. Blaming Harris for a deficit when he inherited a much bigger one from Rae, blaming the Tories for "gutting" health care when he actually increased funding while Paul Martin and the federal Liberals were slashing billions from health and education transfer payments.

[Argus]

Teachers without Certificates

...are not teachers. Would you trust that your child is getting a quality education from an unqualified teacher?

The fact is that you don't need a university degree and teachers college to be a damned good teacher. All you need is the right combination of communications skills and patience. In most cases you either have the right personality or you don't. Teaching college can 'teach" you what you're supposed to know, but it won't make you the natural teacher that some people are. It will just help make up for your lack of natural skills. The right personality type could teach most primary and high school classes even without a degree or teaching certificate, and do it very well indeed.

I wish I was on my other computer. I read a post by a parent there which is relevent here. His daughter had been a straigh A, honour roll student right through HS and graduated with high enough marks to get her into UWO. But she went to work for dad that summer. And he learned she couldn't write very well, knew nothing of history, couldn't add without a calculater... this is the product of your "qualified" teachers?

I think maybe we should get back to the old days of the 3Rs, and failing those who don't pass the tests. And I think if we didn't have to pay $60k and more for teachers we'd be able to hire a lot more of them and have smaller classes.