r : Page 26, January 31, 1979 - North Shore News. Dear Editor: . The column, **Speck- ulations’’, appearing in the January 21 issue of. the Sunday News appears to me to be a prejudiced editorial comment, containing both error and blatant generaliz- ations. I disagree most strongly with his appraisal of teachers and the educational organiz- ation. I base my opinion on a forty-year career in B.C. education. Mr. Speck has done little research for his column otherwise the following glaring errors would not have occurred: _- eames t -- The British Columbia Teachers’ Federation has no authority for the hiring or Dear Editor: “Bleating teachers” is it now? Your Speckulations of January. 21 certainly do not portray us as sheep, but as fat cats preying on the unsuspecting public purse. Be it known to you: that teachers’ salaries are set, for the fourth year in a row, substantially below both current inflation and present and projected in- dustrial settlements; *that typically we work a 50- hour week, and many work far more; *that over 10 per cent of us annually put in 6 weeks or Ss dismissal of ‘teachers. Teachers are employed by the local School Board. Furthermore many teachers who are employed may disagree with Federation — policy. 2. What person employed in industry today works 251 days? Even if one works a five-day week, gets two weeks annual leave, he also gets statutory holidays and, this reduces his working year to less than 2s1 days. The length of the school year, including holidays and professional days, is estab- lished by the Ministry of Education in Victoria and not by teachers. Historically, the school year, as is the. length of the school day, was and is determined by the ability of - the child to be-a productive teamer. A few words from the ‘fat cats’ more of Summer Session study; — ethat the stresses of working with large numbers of the children all the time send many of our number to the wall; ethat Administration staff in this School District No. 44 has in fact decreased since six years ago. Changed titles . did not lead to new jobs, just re-organized ones; ethat the number of prescribed school days (196) is not the number of days a teacher works; *ethat “non-instructional days” require by statute that teachers attend school’ Blame the tight people 3. Mr. Speck mentions senior administration and compares 1973 with 1979. In 1973 with *3,000 more pupils senior administration ‘consisted of a/ Superintendent, an Assistant Superintendent and two Directors of Instruction. These latter two persons did ‘much the same work (but without the same authority) as two of the present Assistant Superintendents. Hence senior administrat- ion has only increased by one (from four to five) and the work of this additional Assistant Superintendent ‘was never undertaken in 1973. The Board of School Trustees is ‘the elected body who sets policy within the school district. The Board determines the number of ethat lunch i in a restaurant is a rare privilege for teachers, but obviously not un- common to publishers and those with whom they associate; *that all too frequentiy teachers and trustees find themselves at odds, but that trustees are usually con- cerned with education, which is our concern too; ethat most of us are here because we are concerned about your kids; that the children of this district are getting as good an education as you'll find in any system, anywhere; ethat the local taxpayer is being shafted, not by e . Send for National’s 1. National's new 1979 Catalogue of Homes 1S sure to have the style of home you're looking for over 120 plans NATIONAL HAS FAST BUILDING AND DELIVERY SERVICE 1979 Homes Catalogue weenee a NAME B ADDRESS . ! own a building lo or PHONE ! ae Plan to butig about (date). (Why wait