The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 12, 2000 - AS
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Education unions
are not to blame

Dear Sir:

I was concerned to read in last week's edition a
statement by Debra Stokes that unions are toc
powerful, that parents are defenceless in the face*
of union actions, and that education should be
deemed an essential service, ;

Contrary !o Ms. Stokes’ opinion, working condi- -
lions for teachers and support workers have deter- -
iorated significantly in recent years to the point’ ~
where meeting the needs of children has demanded
tremendous personal and voluntary sacrifices. ©
Were the unians as powerful as Ms. Stokes claims,
working conditions, and consequently learning
conditions, would be very much better.

Parents are represented in the contractual rtela-
tionship by the school board and have the ability to-
influence board negotiators. The contract-stripping
positions taken by this board were direct attacks on
the work force. It wasn't the workers who led the ‘
district into debt in recent years, nor have new
contract provisions dramatically affected the finan- -
cial status of the district. .

Removing the right of workers to withhold their

we tei vires services, except in occupations having to do with’:
r RAAL a public health and safety, erodes their ability.to re-__
PRACTICE: MAKES PERFEGT: sist such management aggression. A good contract,

we TE a _ _ fairly implemented, is the best way to ensure sta-

bility and quality for our children in our schools.
Ms. Stokes claim that teachers and support staff.
je t
: f : ° ]

are getling more for doing less is outrageous and.
wrong. I have been a teacher in the school system,
Competitors from across the Northwest converged in Terrace March
28 to April 8 to compete in the Pacific Northwest Music Festival.

ay

for 30 years. I started with a grade 7 class with 39°
students, .

Comparing such a class in such a time to clas-
ses of today is invalid, Expectations of schools are
very different now than they were then, Societal.
pressures and family structures have changed vast- .
ly. I can say with certainty that today's teachers °
and support workers are no less dedicated, no less
skilled, and no less hard-working than they used to‘
be.

Ms. Stokes states that non-instructional days —
were unheard of when she went to school. NIDs’
have been a fact of life in B.C. since 1973, but in-
structional time has not been lost. The school! year,
was lengthened to accommodate the extra days for
teacher self-improvement and that pattern persists
today.

It may be true as she says that most classes in‘
past years did not have special needs students, but
that was the thinking of the time. Integration is the
prevailing philosophy today, based on principles of
social justice, and is mandated by governments, —
not by unions.

Perhaps the strangest objection I] have to Ms.
Stokes letter is her statement that the teachers’
union refused admittance of her child to her neigh-
bourhood school. It would be improper of me ta’
discuss, this in'any detail. Suffice to: say-there ig: 0 ();
more to this incident, than has been Tevealed.. Cur.
ious too is Ms. Stokes insistence that the union.
should waive the provisions of the contract be-
tween us and the district to accommadate her re-
quest.
As Ms. Stokes surely knows from her experience
in the private sector, a contract is an agreed-to,
legally binding relationship. Waiving its provisions
is a risky business and, if done too often, the con-
tract soon becomes meaningless.

Our insistence on respecting the contract is not
the reason her child was unable to attend. her
neighbourhood school. That resulted from the fi-
nancial difficulties this district finds itself in and
the lack of flexibility they have built in to their
staffing model at all schools. I agree that kids
should be able to attend their neighbourhood
school, and, perhaps if the new elementary school
is ever built on the bench, the squeeze can be al- :
leviated.

GETTING PREPARED: Dancer Kari Hystad, of Terrace, stretches
with the help of her instructor Leah Correia, before competing in
the modern solo dance category.

Frank Rowe, President,
Terrace District Teachers Union

Letter writer issues pee
. : ii
abortion challenge — a
Dear Sir: , .

In response to “Abortion Providers Appreciated”
(Sarah de Leeuw column, March 15, 2000), the
Websters Encyclopedic Dictionary defines “hero”
as “a man of exceptional quality who wins admira- ;
tion by noble deeds, esp. deeds of courage”, - feat

If Sarah deLeeuw and others truly believe the
actual deed of killing a living fetus (“young one”)
jis courageous and of service to our local commun-
ity, I challenge you and the local aborlionists to
display your deed in public demonstrating your
collective heroic efforts to heal women suffering |
from pregnancy and to present the “offending.
growths” publicly to affirm your great service to_
all.

As Canadian citizens we are all both individu-
ally and collectively accountable for the deeds we
permit and support within our democratic society.
Often second trimester babies are aborted here in
Terrace, | am willing to accompany Miss Sarah!
and the heroic abortionist and any other pra-abor-
tionists in wittnessing one of these heroic events.

And if the by-product of this intervention pro-.
duces a chunk of unidentifiable tissue, 1 will be the.
first to commend this heroic deed. But, if the pro- -
cedure produces a head, torso and four small limbs
I will be bound by human logic to ask “Why and.
when does a woman produce a second, though
miniature body?” and what is the difference be-
tween the heroic intervention of the abortionist and
the natural birth of a baby?

The lady who submitted to the “procedure” will
never be the same, mentally, emotionally, spiritu-. . ‘os
ally or possibly physically. The baby who sho,iiieaiagliy ss
have grown to walk or cycle along the streetf°Or”

Terrace or Thornhill on a sunny, spring day with a
joyfull and care-free disposition, attend school,
contribute their unique individual gifts for the good
of our city, are now exterminated in our “hospital.”

Richard Hassett, Terrace, B.C,

BEAUTIFUL VOICE: Theresa Fenger, of Terrace, won the junior
Terrace Water Polo Association Scholarship worth $250 for sing-
ing. ;

aay PURE,

GREAT SPEECH:
arts, won the senior Northern Drugs.Scholarship worth $1,000 for

HE CAN DANCE: Hans Siedemann, of Prince Rupert, won the in-

her speech. termediate Knights of Calumbus Scholarship worth $500,