Now that the summer is over, nearly half a million children in British Columbia (B.C.) should be in school–but they aren’t. That’s because teachers there are on strike.
“On strike” is when workers who are part of a “union” stop working in order to get or not lose something from the people they work for. In this case, the teachers’ union wants the government to increase their salary and the ability to negotiate the number of students in each class.
Many people hoped that there would be an end to the strike before school started on Sept. 2. The strike has been going on since June.
But the teachers’ union and the provincial government could not come to an agreement. Experts say the strike could continue for weeks.
In the meantime, parents are scrambling to find childcare for their young children who would normally be in school during the day.
B.C.’s premier, Christy Clark, said the teachers want too much money. She said on Twitter that teachers are “demanding twice as much money as everyone else in the public service has received.”
Meanwhile, the teachers’ union, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, said it is trying to come to a compromise and has lowered its proposal by $125 million to show it’s committment to finding a resolution.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
When a group of workers disagee with their employer one of the most extreme things they can do is go on strike. That’s because the lives of the people involved are greatlyaffected by them.
What is an extreme thing that you do when you disagree with someone? Does this help you get what you want?
Reading Prompt: Responding to and Evaluating Texts
What feelings do you have about today’s article? Do you agree with the teachers union or the government of British Columbia? Why or why not?
Junior
Make judgements and draw conclusions about the ideas and information in texts and cite stated or implied evidence from the text to support their views (OME, Reading: 1.8).
Intermediate
Evaluate the effectiveness of both simple and complex texts based on evidence from the texts (OME, Reading: 1.8).
Language Feature: Months
In news articles, calendar months are often written in their abbreviated forms. However, some months do not. Like in the example below:
Many people hoped that there would be an end to the strike before school started on Sept. 2. The strike has been going on since June.
Can you guess why?
Make a list that shows each month and its abbreviated form.
