When I saw the article in the paper that the teachers were planning a strike I nearly hit the roof.
They do this every couple of years only because they have a powerful union. I know they actually believe that they deserve more compensation, but let’s be honest, they don’t deserve it any more than anyone else. The teachers are spoiled and I wish they knew how good they have it.
They want to be compensated more while everybody else is having their wages rolled back. This includes educated professionals where people’s health and lives actually depend on their services. The teachers complain about classroom size while other workers are understaffed to a point where lives are at stake.
Now people are going to say that our future depends on our teachers. Well I hope that they are doing a better job than when I went to school. Back in the day, the teachers all hung out in the smoking room while classrooms were unsupervised and students were bullied (to put it mildly).
My parents taught me how to read and spent more time with me attempting to teach me math than any teacher ever did. Luckily I excelled at English which enabled me to master many subjects on my own.
I do have an enormous amount of respect for those teachers who do a great job. Many of them are doing this work because they love what they do, and being able to serve and help others is more important than monetary compensation.
The rest of the teachers who make no effort, and do things like playing videos instead of teaching, should be fired. These people are only thinking of themselves and about how difficult their job is while waiting for their summer vacation.
If other industries had unions like the teachers do then we would be hearing about strike action far more often. There are many employees out there who we depend on and are taken advantage of. If these employees were to complain, I would understand and sympathize with them, but I do not feel sorry for teachers.
Robert Kennedy
Penticton
