Teachers at a rally in front of MLA Shirley Bond's office called out for the government to enter mediated negotiations with the B.C. Teachers' Federation - but they cried out for more resources in the classroom.
The noon-hour event was held in an open-mike format where participants could go up and address the crowd.
Bond wasn't present at the event, but she later sent an email statement saying as a former student board trustee, she valued the teachers' role in education and wanted to see a long-term negotiated settlement.
"Earlier this month the BCPSEA and the BCTF engaged in discussion about mediation with Justice Stephen Keller. Through these discussions it was determined that the current circumstances would not result in successful mediation," she said. "Government wants the dispute to be resolved so that education services return to normal. I support the parties continuing to negotiate with the goal of reaching a negotiated settlement at the bargaining table."
"People think everything is okay - it's not okay," said Richard Giroday, the vice-president of the Prince George and District Teachers' Association. "As you've heard stories across this province - and more and more stories are coming out - the dirty little secrets, the real things that are taking place in classrooms, the burnout that's taking place across the province with teachers, as we try to prop up a system that is beyond propping up. The time has come to change that."
The stories coming from the teachers at the microphone supported that assessment. Brenda Gangon, a home economics teacher at Duchess Park secondary, took the audience if the strike was about wages, it would be settled.
"I had two special needs students in my classroom, the home ec teacher next door had two special needs students in her classroom and I don't know how many two special needs students the woodwork teacher had," she said, adding there was only one educational assistant between them. "This is where we prop up. I said [to the assistant] the students and I will stop these two students from injuring themselves in my classroom. I can't say what's going to happen in the woodwork room, so you start them and if your not needed there, then you can go and help in the other rooms when you're needed."
"It's wrong for the other kids to have to be the support for the special needs students."
Brent Pataky, a Prince George secondary teacher, told the crowd he has to buy equipment out of his own pocket to ensure the classroom has the items it needs.
"I'm sick and tired of doing that with our after tax dollars. It's disgusting that we need to do that." he said.
Pataky also discussed how far behind technology was in the schools.
"I was told this year, when my VCR broke, that that's an old technology and we're not going to replace that VCR," he said. "Yet two-thirds of our [resource] centre has tapes."
He had to buy one himself.
"Just think about what we can do if we had $1,000 per student, just like the rest of Canada," he said.
Tina Cousins, the president of the association, recalled a story related to a lack of resources.
"Jessica was one of those students you remember and the reason why I remember her was because she needed a lot of support in my classroom and she wasn't funded for any further support so it was up to me to make the decisions for her and to make it work in the classroom," she said. "Jessica required a lot of extra time, but she was worth it - and our kids were worth it."
Which is why, she said, she was on the picket lines.
