sure; teachers spend the summer months off 'planning' how much do you have to 'plan'? isnt that what all those pro-d days are for?

if you add it up youre looking at 12weeks off with stats..
and whether its $39k (as stated in the Vancouver Sun) or $35k as stated by Dianavan, it still not bad for starting..

'businessmen who have easier jobs and get paid millions'..
sure maybe the odd CEO.. but the vast majority of business owners in Canada are small businesses and
most business owners work longer hours than any teachers I know and are lucky to take a couple of weeks off a years.

(but hey, you can start your own business and be a millionaire too..)

the fact is that a number of issues are distorted by the BCTF,
and its not just the Liberal Govt, they havent had a contract in 12years - even under the Leftist pro-labour NDP - who totally mismanaged the economy and were totally obliterated in the 2001 election. (They've only started to get back some seats in the last election)

namely, that Education funding under the Liberal govt. has decreased, whereas in fact there are 30,000 less students than 2001 and per/student funding is actually as high as it has ever been (from today's paper)..

no other province in Canada has class size as a bargaining issue.
and under the current govt. there are class size limits ie. up to 22

the real issue is the right to strike, theyve been declared an essential service, and if you feel everyone has the right to strike
then you should be prepared to watch your house burn down while the firefighters are on strike, or your car stolen while the police are on strike etc...

iF as you say, diana that the BC students are doing well(ranking thirdin nationwide tests) then whats the problem?

'you get what you pay for' not true, I came from a small European country and came to canada as a child only to see an inferior education system, (2years behind in math), gym class only once a week,when we had it every day in Europe, and I know my country didnt have a bigger education budget than Canada - they just made time for it.

Case in point as well: Americans spend more on medical care than anywhere else in the world but are ranked about 10th in the world for the actual care they get.

and yeah I dont expect teachers to be babysitters, and I expect parents to be active in their kids education.