From the letter in the March 14 Nelson Star (“Sounding off on BC teachers”), it is obvious that M.Coles has never been in a classroom — even as a volunteer.
You should know all the facts the facts and conditions before you throw out your opinion.
Big holidays and short working hours are not part of the picture. The truth is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. are only the hours when the students are there. Teachers go to work much earlier and stay much later. They spend at least one to one and a half hours for every hour school is in session. In other words, a ten to 12 hour day.
The time is spent in preparation, marking and evaluation among other chores. They also take shifts of supervision on the playground and in the halls and the lunch room. They take work home if they aren’t done in a reasonable time, and many work weekends as well. If they were paid by the hour, we really could not afford them.
This strike is not about about wages. It is about teaching conditions: overcrowded classrooms, helping special needs students, and poor working conditions. This is about giving all our children the best education possible, regardless of their learning capacity or grade level. Don’t they deserve it?
Please, M. Coles — do your homework.
Colleen Hearne
Retired teacher
Nelson