Editor:
It appears as the first talking point in Bill22 is a cooling off period.
Does this imply that not only the BCTF but the government has a problem with constructive consultation? Isn’t it the government that has eliminated a judicial decision by rewriting legislation to suit their desires? Isn’t it the government that thinks that consultation with teachers concerning their classes isn’t relevant to the quality of education for all students in a classroom?
Do any of the children from the MLAs on the government side go to public school? If so how many of their children’s classrooms have not three but four, five, six, seven or more designated special needs students in them?
Does this government really propose that going back to the time of the 1950’s is how school should be run? At that time frame when I was in school no one, and I mean no one, was designated as special needs. There were, to the best of my knowledge, no FAS, ADHD, HA, ODD, OCD etc. students around who required medication-by the way getting a designation for these students has become almost impossible in some districts thanks to changes made by the government.
Oh and by the way autism wasn’t heard of and if you had a physical disability you went to a special school in our area. My cousin who was in a wheelchair was given the option of attending regular school or his special setting and he let his mother know that under no circumstances did he want to be in a regular classroom despite his intellectual capabilities. You see he required care with toileting and the thought of not having a family member meeting his personal needs didn’t sit well with him. He was totally integrated in our community but he wanted some shred of dignity when dealing with his personal needs.
I am not suggesting that we should go back to separate but equal schools but rather that we consider the needs of each student not only academically but emotionally as well.
Another note, those who are LD -learning disabled - or MI - Mildly Intellectually disabled supposedly receive their funding in the block funding to all students. This simply is a joke. We have so many tools at our disposal to assist students in both of these categories. However, without proper funding they don’t have these tools at their disposal which can alleviate many of the struggles they face academically.
Finally we were in classes of over 30 and if you didn’t learn you failed. Failure wasn’t such a stigma back then, however, few actually failed and those that did ended up in special schools for their further education at the High School level where they learned skills that would assist them in getting a job. What happens to these students now ???
Also when students had a problem at home the parents didn’t arrive at the school ready to do battle with the teacher or principal. Children were held accountable for their actions.
Frankly this whole situation has nothing to do with children or finances or developing a better learning environment for all. This has to do with arrogance and the desire to punish those seen as the opposition.
It is assumed that all teachers are rabid NDPERS. Thus get back at teachers and harm the NDP. Well I wasn’t an NDPER nor aligned with any other party but the actions of this arrogant government has made me convinced that it will be, as the saying goes, a cold day in hell before I vote for the Liberals in this province.
Janet Anderson