For those that have posted that teachers only work 9 months of the year have just proven why we should not roll back teacher wages. There are 12 months in a year. A school year runs from beginning of September to the end of June leaving only July and August with no school. 12-2 = 10 not 9. Perhaps you should go back to school and upgrade your math basic facts.
If you want to include vacation time in the equation, please consider that although school does not start until September, teachers are required back at the school in August to set up classrooms, do paperwork for the upcoming year, gather supplies textbooks, attend district meetings/school meeting, etc. Most return mid August so that this can be completed before the students arrive. During the year, 30 plus hours outside of teaching time is spent on IPP's and report cards per term. Then there is the late hours meeting with parents, calling parents, filing notes on behavouirs or coded kids, meeting with consultants and psychiatrists to ensure that every student's learning needs are met. Then to come home and be berated by the news on how teachers are lazy and don't deserve to have any compensation for raising your children.
However, you are right, if we don't like it we can leave and someone else can do the job. If there are no teachers to teach how will someone learn to become a teacher and be able to take over the job the teachers left. For those that can read this, are working, living in today's society, etc. Thank a teacher because someone had to teach you how to become a functioning person in today's society. You didn't learn it by osmosis.
Then again, what do I know. I'm just a teacher.
Genevieve Campbell - 8 years ago
Who is this 25 year old, whose brain is still developing? Seriously, this is a little girl, who is incomprehensible! How dare she not request government officials take a pay cut, instead she goes after teachers!? She needs to have a pay cut! Holy, who hired her to represent the Tax Payers Association? This is getting absolutely ridiculous! Government officials are getting rich, not us?!?!
Bill Nicoll - 8 years ago
Hello Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
New Sheriff in the province who doesn't respond to economic conditions with knee jerk reactions like the old Tories did--that's why this province elected her and her team. The old strategy of gut education, gut health care, and then spend twice as much rebuilding it down the road--no! not any more with my tax dollars.
And why should civil servants bear the cost as in past. Who made the civil service bloated, not the provincial NDP. What Rachael and team are doing is called planning, respect and a measured response. I for one am tired of CTF's bleating and do not appreciate its medieval approach for the previous gutting of our public services in knee jerk response to the economic flavour of the day. This organization mistakes a lot of us in Alberta with someone who cares about its opinion. Get with the program or change functions--this type of thinking belongs with buggy whips and only contributes to additional global warming ultimately.
A native born 71 year old Albertan, and who has been damn disappointed by Post Lougheed wannabe provincial governments. Read my words--I am not party focused; I'm good government focused. Would I support the federal NDP--not a chance. But I support Rachael Notley and her team--are they doing it perfectly; there are always areas for learning and I think they've found a couple. Are they doing it intelligently; yep, and as long as that happens my wife and I will continue to financially support the Alberta NDP.
Cameron - 8 years ago
Did teachers overspend government money the last 5 years? MLA's got a hefty raise in the last two years. , so did my Caldary Alderman. People think our education is expensive , should we make further cuts to staff that mould our future leaders? Calculate all you want, my teacher friends are up till 11 almost every night making lesson plans , and not one , but 3-4 for the same lesso, because learning has been individualized. My teacher friends pull money out of their own pockets for crafts, for learning supplies. I have yet to see an accountant , or business person pull money out of his pocket to give to his boss , or other employees. Want quality teachers , give the quality pay. Want dead heads to tech your kids, keep reducing the salaries, and take away more text books , take away music, drama, shop, art, take away computers. The lack of planning in this province is amazing. So ... Cut teachers , cut EMT's , cut Police, while you are at it , shut down a few hospitals , cause those things are really expensive. Cut all the billing rates for doctors, cut the salaries for nurses, close down a few water treatment plants. Anything to make up for the overspending , and poor budgeting from a few meatheads. In stead , run it like a business, MLA's don't get a pension, they earn a bonus if they do a good job, keep the province in the black & provide tier one essential services, let's start with that.
gina - 8 years ago
The Tax Payers Federation should get there facts straight.....Teachers get paid by a salary grid. Depending on how many years of school a teacher has had, we all DO NOT make 90,000 a year!! It takes at least 14 years of service to reach that salary...and even then most teachers do not see that kind of money.......ever!!
Dominique - 8 years ago
On 95.9 KISS FM this morning they were talking about the possibility of teacher salary rollbacks to help with the provincial cash flow due to the downturn in the oil sector. A person (who worked in accounting) phoned into the morning show and said: "...teachers know what they are getting into when they enter the profession..."THIS IS MY RESPONSE: …I don’t think anybody who starts a job for the first time (in any profession or job) knows what it will be like until they are the ones there doing that job day in and day out. Teachers’ jobs have changed so much over the years…every year there are changes and depending on the provincial budget you do this with the right amount of funding or you are under funded!! You do the work of a counsellor, nurse, paper pusher, snack/lunch provider, accountant, tutor, social worker…then you support the work of the occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists…on top of that teachers volunteer for many after school programs and activities that are beyond their daily assignment. Teachers spend their own money to buy school supplies, snacks, reading books and other items to help their program and students flourish. They spend countless hours (on their own time), every year, on learning new curriculum, teaching techniques, keeping up with the latest in technology and pedagogy. It is a never-ending process that can be very exciting and also very exhausting, physically, emotionally and financially (many teachers attend conferences they pay for out of their own pockets). Yes, good teachers, do these things willingly because they love their students!
Teachers are not immune to this downturn…they are married to those that are in the oil sector or in jobs affected by the oil sector…teachers have to comfort those children that come from homes where the stress level is high due to job loss while comforting their own family in similar situations.
If you are discussing rollbacks for teachers…wouldn’t it be better to spread that around and have less of a roll back for all employees and professionals, whose salaries are paid for with public money? Political positions, public union workers, nurses, doctors, judges….etc! Then the hit would be spread over everyone not just one group of workers – teachers! Wouldn’t that be fair!
Rob - 8 years ago
Here are the Facts for Calgary Catholic School District which i believe would be mirrored throughout the province. Source: Alberta Teachers Association Collective Agreements (http://www.teachers.ab.ca/For%20Members/Salary%20Benefits%20and%20Pension/CollectiveAgreements/Pages/Collective%20Agreements.aspx)
REMEMBER!! ALL OF THE FOLLOWING FIGURES STATE THEY ARE "ANNUAL" HOWEVER TEACHERS ONLY HAVE TO WORK 9 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, NOT 12. THEREFORE INCREASE ALL VALUES BY 25%.
September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016
Categories of Teacher Qualification and Applicable Salary
Years of Teacher Experience Years of University Training
(0-10) (One - Six)
One Two Three Four Five Six
0 49,461 49,461 49,461 58,933 62,471 66,633
1 49,461 49,461 49,461 62,471 65,597 69,765
2 51,747 51,747 51,747 65,597 69,247 73,301
3 53,939 53,939 53,939 69,247 72,776 76,946
4 56,649 56,649 56,649 72,776 76,007 80,076
5 58,933 58,933 58,933 76,007 79,548 83,709
6 61,534 61,534 61,534 79,548 83,187 86,843
7 63,832 63,832 63,832 83,187 86,321 90,373
8 66,534 66,534 66,534 86,321 89,963 94,014
9 68,827 68,827 68,827 89,963 93,501 97,149
10 72,613 72,613 72,613 93,916 97,149 101,199
REMEMBER THESE FIGURE ARE "ANNUAL" HOWEVER TEACHERS ONLY WORK 9 MONTHS.
September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016 CALCULATED FOR 12 MONTHS INSTEAD OF 9
Categories of Teacher Qualification and Applicable Salary
Years of Teacher Experience Years of University Training
(0-10) (One - Six)
One Two ThreeFourFive Six
060,61460,61460,61472,22176,55881,658
160,61460,61460,61476,55880,38985,496
263,41563,41563,41580,38984,86189,830
366,10166,10166,10184,86189,18694,296
469,42369,42369,42389,18693,14698,133
572,22172,22172,22193,14697,485102,585
675,40975,40975,40997,485101,945106,425
778,22578,22578,225101,945105,785110,751
881,53681,53681,536105,785110,249115,214
984,34684,34684,346110,249114,585119,055
1088,98688,98688,986115,094119,055124,019
PLUS
4. SALARY ALLOWANCES
4.1 Allowance
In addition to salary under Article III, the District shall pay to teachers an additional sum (in this Agreement called an "Allowance") at a rate per annum payable during the period from September 1st to August 31st, as more particularly set forth in the following provisions of this Article IV.
4.2 Pupil Count
For purposes of this Article IV, numbers of pupils in a school shall be determined by count on September 30th, to establish the rate of Allowance payable for the school year.
4.3 Principals
The District shall pay to each school Principal an Allowance as follows:
Effective September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2015
$16,875.00 plus $20.83 per pupil for each pupil over 150 pupils to maximum of $44,622.00. Notwithstanding the formula, the minimum Allowance will be $24,863.00.
Effective September 1, 2015
$17,212.00 plus $21.25 per pupil for each pupil over 150 pupils to maximum of $45,514.00. Notwithstanding the formula, the minimum Allowance will be $25,360.00.
4.3.1 Principals and Vice-Principals who change schools at the request of the District shall be paid the greater of (a) or (b):
(a) the Allowance received by the Principal or Vice Principal at the school in the year he/she is leaving,
(b) the Allowance that the Principal or Vice Principal could receive at the new school.
The Allowance in (a), will never be increased.
4.4 Vice-Principals
The District shall pay to each Vice-Principal an Allowance equal to one-half (1/2) of that payable under clause 4.3 to the Principal of the school in which the Vice-Principal is assigned.
4.5 Assistant Principals
The District shall pay to each Assistant Principal an
Start with provincial and municipal government first! MPs (who raise their salaries and budgets at will), mayors (stop privatizing public services), administration at universities who earn $150,000+...why does a school need a president, vice president, provost & vice provost, plus each one has a handful of assistants not to mention offices on multiple campuses. Oh and then there are directors, deans and all of them have their vices and assistants as well!
Upper management continue to add new managerial/admin positions that professors can and are willing to do with only a small addition to their salary. It's a total commercialization/corporatization of post-secondary education. The president of many universities alone makes $1,000,000+ luxury home rental, what does s/he do to deserve that? Start there, not with educator's salaries. Always find it funny how people entrust their children's futures to educators for 18+ years of their lives yet want to pay them as little as possible, but $500,000 for the CEO of a public hydro corp. (who is basically interchangeable) is just fine!
Then there are taxpayer subsidies for private entities (cough OIL) which as we all know have created nothing but the largest pile of stale cash or 'dead money' in history: "Suncor Energy Inc. has $5.2-billion, Teck Resources Ltd. has $3.6-billion, Inmet Mining Corp. has $2.7-billion, and Bombardier Inc. has $2.5-billion" but people continue to believe against all evidence to the contrary that they are "the job creators" who incidentally have bailed on Canadian workers because oil is back at its 2000 level of $30 barrel but wait what, it averaged only half of that at about $18/barrel in the 1990s. Only from 2005-2014 did it rise above $50 but all those CEOs adjusted their bonuses and golden parachutes and were too concerned with boosting shareholder's profits instead of reinvesting the profits from over-inflated oil prices, tax-breaks and subsidies into a refinery, which could have been their saving grace today.
Meanwhile Noway who did not kowtow to their oil industry and charged them much higher taxes are laughing with $1,000,000,000,000 (1-TRILLION) saved for their country.
Canadian Taxpayer Federation your recommendations are a maligned joke.
Norm Labonne - 8 years ago
You do not run a company or a government that way. The Taxpayers federation is just a training ground for future politicians. Teachers have not had a raise for five years. Their class sizes are expanding exponentially and the government is doing nothing about it except wasting money on all kinds of stupid things like $24 million for a funicular. Edmonton got along quite well without one since the inception of the Province in 1905 and can do quite well without that monstrosity.
My daughter has been a teacher for the last 15 years and now she has to pay out of her pocket to keep things interesting with crafts, etc. for her class since there is no allowance to cover this expense. She also lost her two assistants who were there because of this inclusion and diversity stuff which includes students with serious disabilities in the general school population. As a result, the rest of the class misses out big time!
When do you think teachers mark homework, exams and report cards? On their own time at home on weekends when you are probably out partying with your friends!
I bet you were hired at a rate proportionate with Alberta wages for similar jobs not on the arte paid to people in other provinces? Would YOU have accepted anything less?
Lets be fair and call a spade a spade here and stop playing games with peoples lives and earnings. Taxpayers Federation spokeperson Paige M.
Fildebrandt, Carpay, Hennig, MacIntyre, Swift, etc. have all come out of your organization and look where they have got us to?
Jenn - 8 years ago
Can I remind everyone that during the high on the hog oil days the teachers took the following pay raise: 0, 0, 0, 1%. Are you seriously asking us to now take a pay cut when times are tough? Is it honestly teacher salaries that are bankrupting Alberta? NO!! It is not. It was the Progressive Conservatives and all the people who continued to vote for them that got us into this mess. It was not teachers. Tell you what; I will agree to a pay cut when times are tough if you can go back and pay me retroactively for the years Alberta was rolling in the dough. Stop attacking teachers. Go after the real source of the deficit; government mismanagement.
Dennis - 8 years ago
When I heard what the salaries are set at now I was shocked. Unions have taken advantage of their influence and instead of protecting the rights of workers are now exercising entitlement at it's highest form. Ironically , those students they are teaching will live with crippling tax bills to continue to feed this system.
Dave - 8 years ago
Anytime a government is in a deficit situation, there should not be pay increases for government employees. In private industry, you don't get a raise when the company is losing money so why should government employees be any different.
Kristina - 8 years ago
The government officials and prime minister need wage cuts before the rest of us. Especially teachers who hold our futures minds in their hands.
Carl Parton - 8 years ago
I feel the teachers of Alberta deserve a raise not a reduction in wages.. Alberta government officials need to take a cutback in wages.. Why do officials need $250 000 wages??? They should earn what they deserve.. $50 000 a yr is to much for people who take advantage of Alberta tax payers...
John - 8 years ago
Yes! Roll them back already. The teachers in this province are ridiculous. They are overpaid and have more time off then anyone should. If they don't like it they can step aside. There are more than enough young teachers that would love a full time contract and they would do it cheaper. Come up north and I'll show you what a hard job looks like. We earn our money.
ED - 8 years ago
Absolutely! Everyone's feeling the pinch why shouldn't teachers or public servants for that matter. If we are all Albertans lets' fight this together and get thru this together. Families are going bankrupt and working three jobs, while teachers have a base salary of 80,000? They live in Alberta too, we share the wealth and we share the pain.
Kenton - 8 years ago
Start with the Premier and all parliament.
Steph McKee - 8 years ago
I remember back in the early 90's when I was a high school student during the Ralph Klein era cuts to education. I remember that some of the teachers (particularly those in English and Social Studies i.e. liberal arts) actually used some of their classroom time whining & venting about the Klein government's fisical cuts to education, calling Alberta the next dystopia. These so called "professional" teachers were actually using classroom time in trying to influence and shape the minds of their students to be leftist thinking liberal libtards and socialists. I can't believe some of things they got away with back in the day. One thing that has not changed is that this so called "profession" of teachers is still heavily infilled with liberals and socialists who have never worked a day out in the real world (i.e. the private sector) and they are still as whiny as ever.
Randy - 8 years ago
I have absolutely no respect for a so-called "profession" that constantly whines when only working 9 months a year, collects a hefty government pension on top of a six figure salary, and then holds children as hostages in negotiations when they go out on strike every time they don't get their pay raises, hiring increases, and other benefits they want. They like to think of themselves as a profession, but in the real world real professionals don't strike. It's no coincidence that the only 2 so called professions that strike are teachers and nurses, both of which are dominated by lefty liberals and women.
Zoe Ciccarelli - 8 years ago
I am a mother with a kid with a behavioral disorder. Her teachers keep in close contact with me, in to the evening, and on weekends. That is on top of the other students in the class who have difficulties, multiple meetings, grading, working one on one with students, etc. Her teacher from last year still treats us like a close friend, 8 months after my daughter finished in her class. If you ask me, teachers don't make nearly enough for what they do! They are shaping the minds of the next generations.
Teacher - 8 years ago
I wish society valued teachers. For the past 27 years I have helped raise about 600 students. I use the word raise because not only have I taught them how to read, write and become brilliant problem solvers in math, but I have taught them to be responsible and respectful citizens. I have, on countless occasions, been the first ‘parent’ to enthusiastically celebrate a child’s first lost tooth. I have held and comforted sick children as they wait for their parents to come and retrieve them. I have comforted hurt feelings and damaged souls caused by dysfunctional parents. I have built self-esteem when families have destroyed them. I have fed, clothed, and bought gifts for children never asking for reimbursement. The mom in me has scolded and gave consequences to children who didn’t have the structure at home to know what was right and wrong. I have worried and cried so many nights because I knew…. I know…of children who go home every night to a home without love, support or the necessities of life. I have experienced classes filled with so many diverse needs (physical, behavioural, social, educational) that when I enter my home all I can do is fall to the couch in pure exhaustion. Using up all my positive energy to fill every child’s needs not just because it is expected but because I demand it of myself. My inner voice that encircles my thoughts are: ‘My children’ are important and deserve it. I have given my soul and connected with children so deeply that when they leave my class, at the end of the year or move away, I have to stop myself from collapsing and crying.
And yet, society doesn’t deem teacher’s as important or valued enough to protect their jobs, provide adequate compensation or even simply saying…..thank you.
Thank you for loving my child and protecting them daily. Thank you for spending countless hours finding new and exciting ways to motivated and engage them. Thank you for all that you do.
Bob - 8 years ago
That's right. When the going gets tough cut the public sector wages. But When the private sector is making millions, do you see the public sector benefiting?
Heather - 8 years ago
I notice that the long hours, bullying of parents and behaviour of students are all labelled under the "part of the territory" for teachers in some comments. The summers off are the focus. I drive past my kids school hours after the day is done and see a full parking lot of teachers's cars. The summers are time in lieu as I see it for the evening emails, marking, writing report cards, Christmas concerts, coaching teams, parent meetings, time spent setting up classrooms, making gifts for kids, etc. it is easy for the public to see only the 6 hour day but all of these happen after hours. Sure the economy is hurting now but public servants including teachers didn't enjoy the boom financially the same way that private sector workers did. My husband worked as a mechanic for the city in the boom making half of what mechanics at a dealership were making and a third of those in Fort Mac. Should we cutting all of those who didn't prosper then? The way it usually works is private sector workers get to cash out when the economy is good and then they have setbacks in bad financial years and the public sector stays constant so that we can maintain services.
Peter - 8 years ago
From the looks of some of the comments looks like a lot of teachers voting. having many friends who are teachers, i am not aware of many other sectors where you can work six months and get that kind of salary.
Yes I agree teaching is a very tough profession, but many of them are aware of this before they enter the education field and should be aware of the pitfalls. Many Albertans are suffering with the slow down and we should all be part of the solution not the problem I have seen many take pay cuts or be laid off through no fault of their own and therefore I think that we all should have to help in any way we can to build a stronger future for both this province and this country . Not many jobs offer the security a teacher gets once they reach tenure and maybe its time we looked at who brings value to the profession and not just hand them a cheque.
Cliff - 8 years ago
I wish people would avoid making uneducated, unfounded judgments about teachers when they have absolutely no idea of how hard and how long teachers work. At my school, the teachers arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. and work until 4:00 - 4:30. That's already 9 hours before the school day is done. Most are lucky to get a half an hour off for lunch. Bathroom breaks are often unheard of especially when one has supervision at recess. Once teachers get home, they have dinner, take a break and start their evening job (at least 2 hours/evening) which can be any of the following: marking, planning, doing report cards, IPPs, PLPs, test making or any other work that cannot be done during the day. Let's not forget all the time spent differentiating instruction for a whole array of learning and behavior disorders. Every weekend 2 - 3 more hours are spent organizing activities for the classroom, doing bulletin boards etc. That pretty well makes a work week of about 57 or 58 hours. Not many other public employees work that many hours I'm sure! Firefighters, police, nurses are all public servants too, correct? So why do we pick on teachers every single time there are budget cuts? I don't understand that?
The teachers I know LOVE kids and LOVE their job. They are smart, educated and caring. They coach for no pay. They run all kinds of school sport teams and clubs on their own time. Come on, people! Give teachers a break! This is not whining or complaining, it is merely providing the correct information.
Graham (who commented above) says his old aunt, now in her eighties, taught for 35 years in Toronto. She has commented saying teaching is not a rewarding career and that most teachers are in it for all the days off and the summer holidays. Shame on auntie! Teaching is the best profession in the world! Teachers look forward to their days off and summer holidays because they are EXHAUSTED with all that they do and NEED A REST!
Before you judge, walk a mile in someone else's shoes no make that a block in a teacher's shoes. See how it feels before you dream up what you think you know about someone.
Again, get your facts straight before you comment - teachers do NOT make $99,000.00/year. That is ridiculous! A teacher in Alberta starts at $58,500 - a far cry from $99,000.00. It takes a teacher about 10 years of experience and 6 years of post secondary education to actually make $99,000.00. So who are we kidding?
My rant is done... try to get it right before you give your opinion. Things are not always what they appear to be.
J - 8 years ago
The work a teacher does during the day (simply teaching and working with the students) from 8:30-3:30 is the easy part. Having a classroom of 27 students with all different grade levels and special needs is what increases the workload of a teacher. On top of planning for each minute of the day, teachers must complete tons of administrative work, participate in extra curricular activities, they work closely with students' family doctors, psychiatrists, speech and physical therapists etc. Teachers often miss out on breaks during the day and work MANY weekends. It is a known fact that the first 2-3 weeks in July teachers get sick because their body can finally relax and many teachers work in the summer to improve and change their program. As a teacher I have been a part of numerous connersationa with people and often hear "you don't appreciate the work of a teacher until you have lived with one" or what I often hear is "you don't appreciate the work of a teacher until your son/daughter needs special programming and attention to be successful, develop academically and socially". The work of a teacher is often physically and mentally draining, however, when you are a teacher it is all worth it because you have passed on good to others. Those who choose this profession for the holidays are apart of the 1 in every 5 teachers who don't make it. To all who underestimate the work of a teacher and think we are underpaid I dare you to become one. It's the best!
Matt - 8 years ago
My wife and I are subject to wage freezes in our positions but we both count our lucky stars that we have jobs. We are not directly in the Oil industry but have seen layoffs and co-workers asked to work 4 days per week (20% pay cuts). I don't doubt teaching is a tough and demanding profession but we have demanding jobs as well, we work through the summer and have limited vacation time. All industry is looking for efficiency and this is reality. It should be no different for the public sector. Taxes from my wages that have been frozen (which I'm thankful for) and the taxes from many colleagues around us which have been drastically reduced (or are non existent because their job doesn't exist) still have to support all the infrastructure and services in this province. How?
In the bigger picture, maybe the public sector does have it right to allow Albertan's to prosper versus the profit driven private sector which restricts expenses including wages for employees to give to to executives, CEO's, and shareholders and does no truly allow for stable prosperity. But can that societal problem be solved when there is little to go around? Right now we ALL may need to compromise. (Upper Management, Superintendents, board members, executives, public or private - that means you too)
Donna - 8 years ago
I am so fed up with teachers whining they are underpaid and overworked. These people work not much more than half a year and are paid from $55,000 to $100,000+ for this part-time job. And don't try to tell me that they work 70 or 80+ hours a week. Compare teachers' hours to those of a police officer (whose salary runs from $50,000 for a constable to $104,000 for a Staff Sergeant). Police officers normally work 4 out of 7 weekends, evenings and midnight shifts. They spend years working evenings and midnight shifts, and don't get to stay home because the temperature is below a certain degree or there's excess snow on the roads! They have to respond to highway accidents in raging winter storms, they have to pick body parts off a roadway, and they basically risk their lives whenever they answer a call. The incidents of PTSD and depression are extremely high in police forces. How can we possibly justify paying a teacher the same or more than those who serve us daily as policemen and firefighters? After enjoying two weeks off at Christmas, a high school near to us put classes on hold for 10 days in January for exams. They then had a week off in February, and the following Monday as a 'Professional Development' day. It is beyond me how the teachers in this province can publicly stand and say they deserve these salaries and want more. We have witnessed classrooms of children at our local fitness centre, apparently having Phys. Ed. classes (or whatever they call it nowadays). We have observed the fitness centre staff running the classes while the teacher(s) remove themselves to sit elsewhere in the building, spending the entire time on their phones. I agree with Allan's statement - - teachers have gone from being students to teaching students. They have never held a job where you work 52 weeks a year (with vacation time allowed, of course). Rollback by 10%? How about a 1/3-salary cut? It's time our provincial government take a stand against this bullying union and let them know who's boss. If they threaten to walk, let them walk. Kids are out of school so much these days that missing a few more probably won't hurt. Oh, I could go on and on, but my time's up.
Ed Hagan - 8 years ago
My son is a teacher and on an average day he puts in 4 to 5 hours a day past closing hours. He also works most weekends and this is not counting the weekends he is at school for camps or for clinicians for his students. He is available most of the time for his students whenever they need help. He is also taking his Masters degree on top of the degrees he already has to become a better teacher and be more qualified. Do you really want to cut a teachers wage that is as dedicated as this? He may be one of your son's or daughter's educators!!!
Holly - 8 years ago
Hearing that the teachers are making the most wages in the province of Alberta makes me question ...Why don't we have comparable student average in grades?? I think that teachers make too much money which is displayed in their attitudes. Just like the nurses. It is hard to find a kind, loving and compassionate patient; rather than just a number!
john o - 8 years ago
Yes teachers wages need to be rolled back at least 20% BUT 1st.....every level of gov't especially MLA's need to roll back their wages 25% immediately, WE ARE BANKRUPT, we need to institute fixed costs for all the trades - can you believe that it costs $150/hr to just get your car looked at Dealerships, what robbery
Winston - 8 years ago
I see the self serving, divisive group, Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
is once again trying to BULLY the teachers of our province.
CTF is on another membership drive are they? Shame on them!
I respectfully suggest that any Albertan who has a membership in this
Canadian Taxpayers Federation return that membership and help put
an end to such a distasteful attack on my child's teacher.
Graham - 8 years ago
I have issues with bloated salaries being paid to people who work only nine months a year. Some teachers do work extra hours. It goes with the territory. The taxpayer is held hostage by the ATA saying that somehow if a teacher makes more money, our children will get a better education. Then the ATA has the audacity to say it's all about the children. The private sector understands that they do what is required to get the job done. Teachers know what they're signing up for. Salaried workers in the private sector do not receive the kind of compensation that teachers do. My aunt, now in her eighties, taught for 35 years in Toronto. She has commented saying teaching is not a rewarding career and that most teachers are in it for all the days off and the summer holidays. Most people could only dream about a massive pension upon retirement, but yet are required to pay into a pension on behalf of people who are already in the top 10% of wage earners in the country.
Stephan - 8 years ago
It is easy to look at tax dollar spending and see that most of it goes to education and health care. Therefore, it is assumed that the easiest way to reduce a provincial budget is to cut in these areas. There have been several independent surveys in the recent past that show that the discrepancy between official work hours and actual work hours of an "average" teacher to be large. On average, a teacher will put in a 40-50 hour work week over a 12 month calendar. This is the same for most occupations. Teaching also comes in as one of the 10 highest stress jobs. Just below soldiers in combat. Stop looking at education as a cushy job with huge vacation time.
Shelagh - 8 years ago
How much more do teachers have to do? They have already had their wages frozen for three years. Teachers love children and that is why they spend well over 40 hours a week at their job. I bet it is close to 60 or even 70 hours a week including teaching planning marking and coaching. They deserve every cent they earn and should be paid more. Maybe before the CTF makes a statement they should check their facts.
Karly - 8 years ago
Time you introduce PST like other Provinces ... and maybe learn from this, when the going is good, instead of sending cheques out to everyone why not save some in reserve for when times are tough. It's not rocket science..
Tom - 8 years ago
The entire public sector including crown corporations need to share the pain. Starting with a 30%/reduction at the political / senior mgmtl level , 20% middle mgrs and 10% front line, including teachers. Additionally a realignment all benefits including the defined benefit pension programs must happen. The "suckers" in the private sector should not be alone in shouldering the burden of our devastating circumstances.
Karen B - 8 years ago
How about rolling back the salaries of the Politicians; CEOs and members of the Health Superboard; School board members, superintendents etc? Why teachers? The cry for educated workers is an ongoing thing yet the first place that gets cut when there is an economic downturn is Nurses and teachers, the people that help us all out the most. This is Ludacris. How about cutting the huge pensions that politicians get for only serving 8 years (which is more than people who have worked 30 years at a company receive). Cut back City council members salaries, provincial government salaries and FREEZE the current wages of the teachers and nurses if need be.
Margaret - 8 years ago
I am a counsellor in a school. I don't make a salary anywhere near what the teachers make. I believe teachers deserve every penny they make. They work incredibly long hours, at times well in to the evening, often don't take breaks in their day, and deal with large class sizes. It seems to me that the diverse needs that we are seeing in our classrooms are increasing every year and our teachers are working hard to differentiate learning and ensure all those needs are met.
Perhaps looking at the estimated $200 million we waste in inefficiency every year operating two duplicate school systems would be a better place for the CTF to start?
Kandis - 8 years ago
I just checked some stats (2014. Couldn't find any stats from 2015 yet) and Alberta teachers make $4-5000 more than teachers in all other provinces (not including territories). The teachers in other provinces are doing fine and we have no PST to add on to the daily cost of living. I think they can take a cut. Plus as the article said, if the money saved is invested in hiring new teachers, then the classroom sizes will shrink reducing their so called "workload" and allowing for more one-on-one time between teacher and student. A win win for everyone...
Allan - 8 years ago
I can speak with some authority in this regard. I have worked both sides of the fence as a teacher and as a contractor in private industry. My take on the teaching personel is that there is too great a lack of personal life experience in the real world this group of "professionals". Generally the majority go from being a student to teaching students I heard a lot of whining and complaining when I taught school from these Professionals---always looking for the "handouts:: the holidays; the smaller class size; and more resources. Without real life experiences what knowledge is being passed on to students that is of value to them in the work force? I can personally say that the work load borne by this profession is nothing compared to my experience in the Oil and Gas Industry and others I have been employed in. Granted there are a small minority that do put forth a great and valued effort but my observations are this is a small percentage of the whole group.lam glad that I took the route I did and spent the majority of my time hands down and butt up as opposed to sitting back and whining-------something that is all too common in the teaching profession! How would these professionals last in a country like China or Japan where school days are generally 6 or 7 days a week and 10 or 11 months a year I think the teaching profession needs to be a little more realistic in their demands----4 or five years of university does not a teacher make!!
Jennifer - 8 years ago
I am an aide(assistant) within our school system. The task that confronts our teachers everyday is enormous and it continues to grow exponentially every day. Our students in each class have a wide range of ability and needs. Until I started working in the school system I did not have an appreciation for the job our teachers do. I. sure do now! and believe me they are underpaid for the work they do!! Even having an aide full time in a classroom is not always enough. I think perhaps if the CTF wants to continue making these recommendations, they would best serve them to spend at least a week in classrooms in this province. Then I dare them to come back and make the same recommendation.
For those that have posted that teachers only work 9 months of the year have just proven why we should not roll back teacher wages. There are 12 months in a year. A school year runs from beginning of September to the end of June leaving only July and August with no school. 12-2 = 10 not 9. Perhaps you should go back to school and upgrade your math basic facts.
If you want to include vacation time in the equation, please consider that although school does not start until September, teachers are required back at the school in August to set up classrooms, do paperwork for the upcoming year, gather supplies textbooks, attend district meetings/school meeting, etc. Most return mid August so that this can be completed before the students arrive. During the year, 30 plus hours outside of teaching time is spent on IPP's and report cards per term. Then there is the late hours meeting with parents, calling parents, filing notes on behavouirs or coded kids, meeting with consultants and psychiatrists to ensure that every student's learning needs are met. Then to come home and be berated by the news on how teachers are lazy and don't deserve to have any compensation for raising your children.
However, you are right, if we don't like it we can leave and someone else can do the job. If there are no teachers to teach how will someone learn to become a teacher and be able to take over the job the teachers left. For those that can read this, are working, living in today's society, etc. Thank a teacher because someone had to teach you how to become a functioning person in today's society. You didn't learn it by osmosis.
Then again, what do I know. I'm just a teacher.
Who is this 25 year old, whose brain is still developing? Seriously, this is a little girl, who is incomprehensible! How dare she not request government officials take a pay cut, instead she goes after teachers!? She needs to have a pay cut! Holy, who hired her to represent the Tax Payers Association? This is getting absolutely ridiculous! Government officials are getting rich, not us?!?!
Hello Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
New Sheriff in the province who doesn't respond to economic conditions with knee jerk reactions like the old Tories did--that's why this province elected her and her team. The old strategy of gut education, gut health care, and then spend twice as much rebuilding it down the road--no! not any more with my tax dollars.
And why should civil servants bear the cost as in past. Who made the civil service bloated, not the provincial NDP. What Rachael and team are doing is called planning, respect and a measured response. I for one am tired of CTF's bleating and do not appreciate its medieval approach for the previous gutting of our public services in knee jerk response to the economic flavour of the day. This organization mistakes a lot of us in Alberta with someone who cares about its opinion. Get with the program or change functions--this type of thinking belongs with buggy whips and only contributes to additional global warming ultimately.
A native born 71 year old Albertan, and who has been damn disappointed by Post Lougheed wannabe provincial governments. Read my words--I am not party focused; I'm good government focused. Would I support the federal NDP--not a chance. But I support Rachael Notley and her team--are they doing it perfectly; there are always areas for learning and I think they've found a couple. Are they doing it intelligently; yep, and as long as that happens my wife and I will continue to financially support the Alberta NDP.
Did teachers overspend government money the last 5 years? MLA's got a hefty raise in the last two years. , so did my Caldary Alderman. People think our education is expensive , should we make further cuts to staff that mould our future leaders? Calculate all you want, my teacher friends are up till 11 almost every night making lesson plans , and not one , but 3-4 for the same lesso, because learning has been individualized. My teacher friends pull money out of their own pockets for crafts, for learning supplies. I have yet to see an accountant , or business person pull money out of his pocket to give to his boss , or other employees. Want quality teachers , give the quality pay. Want dead heads to tech your kids, keep reducing the salaries, and take away more text books , take away music, drama, shop, art, take away computers. The lack of planning in this province is amazing. So ... Cut teachers , cut EMT's , cut Police, while you are at it , shut down a few hospitals , cause those things are really expensive. Cut all the billing rates for doctors, cut the salaries for nurses, close down a few water treatment plants. Anything to make up for the overspending , and poor budgeting from a few meatheads. In stead , run it like a business, MLA's don't get a pension, they earn a bonus if they do a good job, keep the province in the black & provide tier one essential services, let's start with that.
The Tax Payers Federation should get there facts straight.....Teachers get paid by a salary grid. Depending on how many years of school a teacher has had, we all DO NOT make 90,000 a year!! It takes at least 14 years of service to reach that salary...and even then most teachers do not see that kind of money.......ever!!
On 95.9 KISS FM this morning they were talking about the possibility of teacher salary rollbacks to help with the provincial cash flow due to the downturn in the oil sector. A person (who worked in accounting) phoned into the morning show and said: "...teachers know what they are getting into when they enter the profession..."THIS IS MY RESPONSE: …I don’t think anybody who starts a job for the first time (in any profession or job) knows what it will be like until they are the ones there doing that job day in and day out. Teachers’ jobs have changed so much over the years…every year there are changes and depending on the provincial budget you do this with the right amount of funding or you are under funded!! You do the work of a counsellor, nurse, paper pusher, snack/lunch provider, accountant, tutor, social worker…then you support the work of the occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists…on top of that teachers volunteer for many after school programs and activities that are beyond their daily assignment. Teachers spend their own money to buy school supplies, snacks, reading books and other items to help their program and students flourish. They spend countless hours (on their own time), every year, on learning new curriculum, teaching techniques, keeping up with the latest in technology and pedagogy. It is a never-ending process that can be very exciting and also very exhausting, physically, emotionally and financially (many teachers attend conferences they pay for out of their own pockets). Yes, good teachers, do these things willingly because they love their students!
Teachers are not immune to this downturn…they are married to those that are in the oil sector or in jobs affected by the oil sector…teachers have to comfort those children that come from homes where the stress level is high due to job loss while comforting their own family in similar situations.
If you are discussing rollbacks for teachers…wouldn’t it be better to spread that around and have less of a roll back for all employees and professionals, whose salaries are paid for with public money? Political positions, public union workers, nurses, doctors, judges….etc! Then the hit would be spread over everyone not just one group of workers – teachers! Wouldn’t that be fair!
Here are the Facts for Calgary Catholic School District which i believe would be mirrored throughout the province. Source: Alberta Teachers Association Collective Agreements (http://www.teachers.ab.ca/For%20Members/Salary%20Benefits%20and%20Pension/CollectiveAgreements/Pages/Collective%20Agreements.aspx)
REMEMBER!! ALL OF THE FOLLOWING FIGURES STATE THEY ARE "ANNUAL" HOWEVER TEACHERS ONLY HAVE TO WORK 9 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, NOT 12. THEREFORE INCREASE ALL VALUES BY 25%.
September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016
Categories of Teacher Qualification and Applicable Salary
Years of Teacher Experience Years of University Training
(0-10) (One - Six)
One Two Three Four Five Six
0 49,461 49,461 49,461 58,933 62,471 66,633
1 49,461 49,461 49,461 62,471 65,597 69,765
2 51,747 51,747 51,747 65,597 69,247 73,301
3 53,939 53,939 53,939 69,247 72,776 76,946
4 56,649 56,649 56,649 72,776 76,007 80,076
5 58,933 58,933 58,933 76,007 79,548 83,709
6 61,534 61,534 61,534 79,548 83,187 86,843
7 63,832 63,832 63,832 83,187 86,321 90,373
8 66,534 66,534 66,534 86,321 89,963 94,014
9 68,827 68,827 68,827 89,963 93,501 97,149
10 72,613 72,613 72,613 93,916 97,149 101,199
REMEMBER THESE FIGURE ARE "ANNUAL" HOWEVER TEACHERS ONLY WORK 9 MONTHS.
September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016 CALCULATED FOR 12 MONTHS INSTEAD OF 9
Categories of Teacher Qualification and Applicable Salary
Years of Teacher Experience Years of University Training
(0-10) (One - Six)
One Two ThreeFourFive Six
060,61460,61460,61472,22176,55881,658
160,61460,61460,61476,55880,38985,496
263,41563,41563,41580,38984,86189,830
366,10166,10166,10184,86189,18694,296
469,42369,42369,42389,18693,14698,133
572,22172,22172,22193,14697,485102,585
675,40975,40975,40997,485101,945106,425
778,22578,22578,225101,945105,785110,751
881,53681,53681,536105,785110,249115,214
984,34684,34684,346110,249114,585119,055
1088,98688,98688,986115,094119,055124,019
PLUS
4. SALARY ALLOWANCES
4.1 Allowance
In addition to salary under Article III, the District shall pay to teachers an additional sum (in this Agreement called an "Allowance") at a rate per annum payable during the period from September 1st to August 31st, as more particularly set forth in the following provisions of this Article IV.
4.2 Pupil Count
For purposes of this Article IV, numbers of pupils in a school shall be determined by count on September 30th, to establish the rate of Allowance payable for the school year.
4.3 Principals
The District shall pay to each school Principal an Allowance as follows:
Effective September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2015
$16,875.00 plus $20.83 per pupil for each pupil over 150 pupils to maximum of $44,622.00. Notwithstanding the formula, the minimum Allowance will be $24,863.00.
Effective September 1, 2015
$17,212.00 plus $21.25 per pupil for each pupil over 150 pupils to maximum of $45,514.00. Notwithstanding the formula, the minimum Allowance will be $25,360.00.
4.3.1 Principals and Vice-Principals who change schools at the request of the District shall be paid the greater of (a) or (b):
(a) the Allowance received by the Principal or Vice Principal at the school in the year he/she is leaving,
(b) the Allowance that the Principal or Vice Principal could receive at the new school.
The Allowance in (a), will never be increased.
4.4 Vice-Principals
The District shall pay to each Vice-Principal an Allowance equal to one-half (1/2) of that payable under clause 4.3 to the Principal of the school in which the Vice-Principal is assigned.
4.5 Assistant Principals
The District shall pay to each Assistant Principal an
Start with provincial and municipal government first! MPs (who raise their salaries and budgets at will), mayors (stop privatizing public services), administration at universities who earn $150,000+...why does a school need a president, vice president, provost & vice provost, plus each one has a handful of assistants not to mention offices on multiple campuses. Oh and then there are directors, deans and all of them have their vices and assistants as well!
Upper management continue to add new managerial/admin positions that professors can and are willing to do with only a small addition to their salary. It's a total commercialization/corporatization of post-secondary education. The president of many universities alone makes $1,000,000+ luxury home rental, what does s/he do to deserve that? Start there, not with educator's salaries. Always find it funny how people entrust their children's futures to educators for 18+ years of their lives yet want to pay them as little as possible, but $500,000 for the CEO of a public hydro corp. (who is basically interchangeable) is just fine!
Then there are taxpayer subsidies for private entities (cough OIL) which as we all know have created nothing but the largest pile of stale cash or 'dead money' in history: "Suncor Energy Inc. has $5.2-billion, Teck Resources Ltd. has $3.6-billion, Inmet Mining Corp. has $2.7-billion, and Bombardier Inc. has $2.5-billion" but people continue to believe against all evidence to the contrary that they are "the job creators" who incidentally have bailed on Canadian workers because oil is back at its 2000 level of $30 barrel but wait what, it averaged only half of that at about $18/barrel in the 1990s. Only from 2005-2014 did it rise above $50 but all those CEOs adjusted their bonuses and golden parachutes and were too concerned with boosting shareholder's profits instead of reinvesting the profits from over-inflated oil prices, tax-breaks and subsidies into a refinery, which could have been their saving grace today.
Meanwhile Noway who did not kowtow to their oil industry and charged them much higher taxes are laughing with $1,000,000,000,000 (1-TRILLION) saved for their country.
Canadian Taxpayer Federation your recommendations are a maligned joke.
You do not run a company or a government that way. The Taxpayers federation is just a training ground for future politicians. Teachers have not had a raise for five years. Their class sizes are expanding exponentially and the government is doing nothing about it except wasting money on all kinds of stupid things like $24 million for a funicular. Edmonton got along quite well without one since the inception of the Province in 1905 and can do quite well without that monstrosity.
My daughter has been a teacher for the last 15 years and now she has to pay out of her pocket to keep things interesting with crafts, etc. for her class since there is no allowance to cover this expense. She also lost her two assistants who were there because of this inclusion and diversity stuff which includes students with serious disabilities in the general school population. As a result, the rest of the class misses out big time!
When do you think teachers mark homework, exams and report cards? On their own time at home on weekends when you are probably out partying with your friends!
I bet you were hired at a rate proportionate with Alberta wages for similar jobs not on the arte paid to people in other provinces? Would YOU have accepted anything less?
Lets be fair and call a spade a spade here and stop playing games with peoples lives and earnings. Taxpayers Federation spokeperson Paige M.
Fildebrandt, Carpay, Hennig, MacIntyre, Swift, etc. have all come out of your organization and look where they have got us to?
Can I remind everyone that during the high on the hog oil days the teachers took the following pay raise: 0, 0, 0, 1%. Are you seriously asking us to now take a pay cut when times are tough? Is it honestly teacher salaries that are bankrupting Alberta? NO!! It is not. It was the Progressive Conservatives and all the people who continued to vote for them that got us into this mess. It was not teachers. Tell you what; I will agree to a pay cut when times are tough if you can go back and pay me retroactively for the years Alberta was rolling in the dough. Stop attacking teachers. Go after the real source of the deficit; government mismanagement.
When I heard what the salaries are set at now I was shocked. Unions have taken advantage of their influence and instead of protecting the rights of workers are now exercising entitlement at it's highest form. Ironically , those students they are teaching will live with crippling tax bills to continue to feed this system.
Anytime a government is in a deficit situation, there should not be pay increases for government employees. In private industry, you don't get a raise when the company is losing money so why should government employees be any different.
The government officials and prime minister need wage cuts before the rest of us. Especially teachers who hold our futures minds in their hands.
I feel the teachers of Alberta deserve a raise not a reduction in wages.. Alberta government officials need to take a cutback in wages.. Why do officials need $250 000 wages??? They should earn what they deserve.. $50 000 a yr is to much for people who take advantage of Alberta tax payers...
Yes! Roll them back already. The teachers in this province are ridiculous. They are overpaid and have more time off then anyone should. If they don't like it they can step aside. There are more than enough young teachers that would love a full time contract and they would do it cheaper. Come up north and I'll show you what a hard job looks like. We earn our money.
Absolutely! Everyone's feeling the pinch why shouldn't teachers or public servants for that matter. If we are all Albertans lets' fight this together and get thru this together. Families are going bankrupt and working three jobs, while teachers have a base salary of 80,000? They live in Alberta too, we share the wealth and we share the pain.
Start with the Premier and all parliament.
I remember back in the early 90's when I was a high school student during the Ralph Klein era cuts to education. I remember that some of the teachers (particularly those in English and Social Studies i.e. liberal arts) actually used some of their classroom time whining & venting about the Klein government's fisical cuts to education, calling Alberta the next dystopia. These so called "professional" teachers were actually using classroom time in trying to influence and shape the minds of their students to be leftist thinking liberal libtards and socialists. I can't believe some of things they got away with back in the day. One thing that has not changed is that this so called "profession" of teachers is still heavily infilled with liberals and socialists who have never worked a day out in the real world (i.e. the private sector) and they are still as whiny as ever.
I have absolutely no respect for a so-called "profession" that constantly whines when only working 9 months a year, collects a hefty government pension on top of a six figure salary, and then holds children as hostages in negotiations when they go out on strike every time they don't get their pay raises, hiring increases, and other benefits they want. They like to think of themselves as a profession, but in the real world real professionals don't strike. It's no coincidence that the only 2 so called professions that strike are teachers and nurses, both of which are dominated by lefty liberals and women.
I am a mother with a kid with a behavioral disorder. Her teachers keep in close contact with me, in to the evening, and on weekends. That is on top of the other students in the class who have difficulties, multiple meetings, grading, working one on one with students, etc. Her teacher from last year still treats us like a close friend, 8 months after my daughter finished in her class. If you ask me, teachers don't make nearly enough for what they do! They are shaping the minds of the next generations.
I wish society valued teachers. For the past 27 years I have helped raise about 600 students. I use the word raise because not only have I taught them how to read, write and become brilliant problem solvers in math, but I have taught them to be responsible and respectful citizens. I have, on countless occasions, been the first ‘parent’ to enthusiastically celebrate a child’s first lost tooth. I have held and comforted sick children as they wait for their parents to come and retrieve them. I have comforted hurt feelings and damaged souls caused by dysfunctional parents. I have built self-esteem when families have destroyed them. I have fed, clothed, and bought gifts for children never asking for reimbursement. The mom in me has scolded and gave consequences to children who didn’t have the structure at home to know what was right and wrong. I have worried and cried so many nights because I knew…. I know…of children who go home every night to a home without love, support or the necessities of life. I have experienced classes filled with so many diverse needs (physical, behavioural, social, educational) that when I enter my home all I can do is fall to the couch in pure exhaustion. Using up all my positive energy to fill every child’s needs not just because it is expected but because I demand it of myself. My inner voice that encircles my thoughts are: ‘My children’ are important and deserve it. I have given my soul and connected with children so deeply that when they leave my class, at the end of the year or move away, I have to stop myself from collapsing and crying.
And yet, society doesn’t deem teacher’s as important or valued enough to protect their jobs, provide adequate compensation or even simply saying…..thank you.
Thank you for loving my child and protecting them daily. Thank you for spending countless hours finding new and exciting ways to motivated and engage them. Thank you for all that you do.
That's right. When the going gets tough cut the public sector wages. But When the private sector is making millions, do you see the public sector benefiting?
I notice that the long hours, bullying of parents and behaviour of students are all labelled under the "part of the territory" for teachers in some comments. The summers off are the focus. I drive past my kids school hours after the day is done and see a full parking lot of teachers's cars. The summers are time in lieu as I see it for the evening emails, marking, writing report cards, Christmas concerts, coaching teams, parent meetings, time spent setting up classrooms, making gifts for kids, etc. it is easy for the public to see only the 6 hour day but all of these happen after hours. Sure the economy is hurting now but public servants including teachers didn't enjoy the boom financially the same way that private sector workers did. My husband worked as a mechanic for the city in the boom making half of what mechanics at a dealership were making and a third of those in Fort Mac. Should we cutting all of those who didn't prosper then? The way it usually works is private sector workers get to cash out when the economy is good and then they have setbacks in bad financial years and the public sector stays constant so that we can maintain services.
From the looks of some of the comments looks like a lot of teachers voting. having many friends who are teachers, i am not aware of many other sectors where you can work six months and get that kind of salary.
Yes I agree teaching is a very tough profession, but many of them are aware of this before they enter the education field and should be aware of the pitfalls. Many Albertans are suffering with the slow down and we should all be part of the solution not the problem I have seen many take pay cuts or be laid off through no fault of their own and therefore I think that we all should have to help in any way we can to build a stronger future for both this province and this country . Not many jobs offer the security a teacher gets once they reach tenure and maybe its time we looked at who brings value to the profession and not just hand them a cheque.
I wish people would avoid making uneducated, unfounded judgments about teachers when they have absolutely no idea of how hard and how long teachers work. At my school, the teachers arrive between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. and work until 4:00 - 4:30. That's already 9 hours before the school day is done. Most are lucky to get a half an hour off for lunch. Bathroom breaks are often unheard of especially when one has supervision at recess. Once teachers get home, they have dinner, take a break and start their evening job (at least 2 hours/evening) which can be any of the following: marking, planning, doing report cards, IPPs, PLPs, test making or any other work that cannot be done during the day. Let's not forget all the time spent differentiating instruction for a whole array of learning and behavior disorders. Every weekend 2 - 3 more hours are spent organizing activities for the classroom, doing bulletin boards etc. That pretty well makes a work week of about 57 or 58 hours. Not many other public employees work that many hours I'm sure! Firefighters, police, nurses are all public servants too, correct? So why do we pick on teachers every single time there are budget cuts? I don't understand that?
The teachers I know LOVE kids and LOVE their job. They are smart, educated and caring. They coach for no pay. They run all kinds of school sport teams and clubs on their own time. Come on, people! Give teachers a break! This is not whining or complaining, it is merely providing the correct information.
Graham (who commented above) says his old aunt, now in her eighties, taught for 35 years in Toronto. She has commented saying teaching is not a rewarding career and that most teachers are in it for all the days off and the summer holidays. Shame on auntie! Teaching is the best profession in the world! Teachers look forward to their days off and summer holidays because they are EXHAUSTED with all that they do and NEED A REST!
Before you judge, walk a mile in someone else's shoes no make that a block in a teacher's shoes. See how it feels before you dream up what you think you know about someone.
Again, get your facts straight before you comment - teachers do NOT make $99,000.00/year. That is ridiculous! A teacher in Alberta starts at $58,500 - a far cry from $99,000.00. It takes a teacher about 10 years of experience and 6 years of post secondary education to actually make $99,000.00. So who are we kidding?
My rant is done... try to get it right before you give your opinion. Things are not always what they appear to be.
The work a teacher does during the day (simply teaching and working with the students) from 8:30-3:30 is the easy part. Having a classroom of 27 students with all different grade levels and special needs is what increases the workload of a teacher. On top of planning for each minute of the day, teachers must complete tons of administrative work, participate in extra curricular activities, they work closely with students' family doctors, psychiatrists, speech and physical therapists etc. Teachers often miss out on breaks during the day and work MANY weekends. It is a known fact that the first 2-3 weeks in July teachers get sick because their body can finally relax and many teachers work in the summer to improve and change their program. As a teacher I have been a part of numerous connersationa with people and often hear "you don't appreciate the work of a teacher until you have lived with one" or what I often hear is "you don't appreciate the work of a teacher until your son/daughter needs special programming and attention to be successful, develop academically and socially". The work of a teacher is often physically and mentally draining, however, when you are a teacher it is all worth it because you have passed on good to others. Those who choose this profession for the holidays are apart of the 1 in every 5 teachers who don't make it. To all who underestimate the work of a teacher and think we are underpaid I dare you to become one. It's the best!
My wife and I are subject to wage freezes in our positions but we both count our lucky stars that we have jobs. We are not directly in the Oil industry but have seen layoffs and co-workers asked to work 4 days per week (20% pay cuts). I don't doubt teaching is a tough and demanding profession but we have demanding jobs as well, we work through the summer and have limited vacation time. All industry is looking for efficiency and this is reality. It should be no different for the public sector. Taxes from my wages that have been frozen (which I'm thankful for) and the taxes from many colleagues around us which have been drastically reduced (or are non existent because their job doesn't exist) still have to support all the infrastructure and services in this province. How?
In the bigger picture, maybe the public sector does have it right to allow Albertan's to prosper versus the profit driven private sector which restricts expenses including wages for employees to give to to executives, CEO's, and shareholders and does no truly allow for stable prosperity. But can that societal problem be solved when there is little to go around? Right now we ALL may need to compromise. (Upper Management, Superintendents, board members, executives, public or private - that means you too)
I am so fed up with teachers whining they are underpaid and overworked. These people work not much more than half a year and are paid from $55,000 to $100,000+ for this part-time job. And don't try to tell me that they work 70 or 80+ hours a week. Compare teachers' hours to those of a police officer (whose salary runs from $50,000 for a constable to $104,000 for a Staff Sergeant). Police officers normally work 4 out of 7 weekends, evenings and midnight shifts. They spend years working evenings and midnight shifts, and don't get to stay home because the temperature is below a certain degree or there's excess snow on the roads! They have to respond to highway accidents in raging winter storms, they have to pick body parts off a roadway, and they basically risk their lives whenever they answer a call. The incidents of PTSD and depression are extremely high in police forces. How can we possibly justify paying a teacher the same or more than those who serve us daily as policemen and firefighters? After enjoying two weeks off at Christmas, a high school near to us put classes on hold for 10 days in January for exams. They then had a week off in February, and the following Monday as a 'Professional Development' day. It is beyond me how the teachers in this province can publicly stand and say they deserve these salaries and want more. We have witnessed classrooms of children at our local fitness centre, apparently having Phys. Ed. classes (or whatever they call it nowadays). We have observed the fitness centre staff running the classes while the teacher(s) remove themselves to sit elsewhere in the building, spending the entire time on their phones. I agree with Allan's statement - - teachers have gone from being students to teaching students. They have never held a job where you work 52 weeks a year (with vacation time allowed, of course). Rollback by 10%? How about a 1/3-salary cut? It's time our provincial government take a stand against this bullying union and let them know who's boss. If they threaten to walk, let them walk. Kids are out of school so much these days that missing a few more probably won't hurt. Oh, I could go on and on, but my time's up.
My son is a teacher and on an average day he puts in 4 to 5 hours a day past closing hours. He also works most weekends and this is not counting the weekends he is at school for camps or for clinicians for his students. He is available most of the time for his students whenever they need help. He is also taking his Masters degree on top of the degrees he already has to become a better teacher and be more qualified. Do you really want to cut a teachers wage that is as dedicated as this? He may be one of your son's or daughter's educators!!!
Hearing that the teachers are making the most wages in the province of Alberta makes me question ...Why don't we have comparable student average in grades?? I think that teachers make too much money which is displayed in their attitudes. Just like the nurses. It is hard to find a kind, loving and compassionate patient; rather than just a number!
Yes teachers wages need to be rolled back at least 20% BUT 1st.....every level of gov't especially MLA's need to roll back their wages 25% immediately, WE ARE BANKRUPT, we need to institute fixed costs for all the trades - can you believe that it costs $150/hr to just get your car looked at Dealerships, what robbery
I see the self serving, divisive group, Canadian Taxpayers Federation,
is once again trying to BULLY the teachers of our province.
CTF is on another membership drive are they? Shame on them!
I respectfully suggest that any Albertan who has a membership in this
Canadian Taxpayers Federation return that membership and help put
an end to such a distasteful attack on my child's teacher.
I have issues with bloated salaries being paid to people who work only nine months a year. Some teachers do work extra hours. It goes with the territory. The taxpayer is held hostage by the ATA saying that somehow if a teacher makes more money, our children will get a better education. Then the ATA has the audacity to say it's all about the children. The private sector understands that they do what is required to get the job done. Teachers know what they're signing up for. Salaried workers in the private sector do not receive the kind of compensation that teachers do. My aunt, now in her eighties, taught for 35 years in Toronto. She has commented saying teaching is not a rewarding career and that most teachers are in it for all the days off and the summer holidays. Most people could only dream about a massive pension upon retirement, but yet are required to pay into a pension on behalf of people who are already in the top 10% of wage earners in the country.
It is easy to look at tax dollar spending and see that most of it goes to education and health care. Therefore, it is assumed that the easiest way to reduce a provincial budget is to cut in these areas. There have been several independent surveys in the recent past that show that the discrepancy between official work hours and actual work hours of an "average" teacher to be large. On average, a teacher will put in a 40-50 hour work week over a 12 month calendar. This is the same for most occupations. Teaching also comes in as one of the 10 highest stress jobs. Just below soldiers in combat. Stop looking at education as a cushy job with huge vacation time.
How much more do teachers have to do? They have already had their wages frozen for three years. Teachers love children and that is why they spend well over 40 hours a week at their job. I bet it is close to 60 or even 70 hours a week including teaching planning marking and coaching. They deserve every cent they earn and should be paid more. Maybe before the CTF makes a statement they should check their facts.
Time you introduce PST like other Provinces ... and maybe learn from this, when the going is good, instead of sending cheques out to everyone why not save some in reserve for when times are tough. It's not rocket science..
The entire public sector including crown corporations need to share the pain. Starting with a 30%/reduction at the political / senior mgmtl level , 20% middle mgrs and 10% front line, including teachers. Additionally a realignment all benefits including the defined benefit pension programs must happen. The "suckers" in the private sector should not be alone in shouldering the burden of our devastating circumstances.
How about rolling back the salaries of the Politicians; CEOs and members of the Health Superboard; School board members, superintendents etc? Why teachers? The cry for educated workers is an ongoing thing yet the first place that gets cut when there is an economic downturn is Nurses and teachers, the people that help us all out the most. This is Ludacris. How about cutting the huge pensions that politicians get for only serving 8 years (which is more than people who have worked 30 years at a company receive). Cut back City council members salaries, provincial government salaries and FREEZE the current wages of the teachers and nurses if need be.
I am a counsellor in a school. I don't make a salary anywhere near what the teachers make. I believe teachers deserve every penny they make. They work incredibly long hours, at times well in to the evening, often don't take breaks in their day, and deal with large class sizes. It seems to me that the diverse needs that we are seeing in our classrooms are increasing every year and our teachers are working hard to differentiate learning and ensure all those needs are met.
Perhaps looking at the estimated $200 million we waste in inefficiency every year operating two duplicate school systems would be a better place for the CTF to start?
I just checked some stats (2014. Couldn't find any stats from 2015 yet) and Alberta teachers make $4-5000 more than teachers in all other provinces (not including territories). The teachers in other provinces are doing fine and we have no PST to add on to the daily cost of living. I think they can take a cut. Plus as the article said, if the money saved is invested in hiring new teachers, then the classroom sizes will shrink reducing their so called "workload" and allowing for more one-on-one time between teacher and student. A win win for everyone...
I can speak with some authority in this regard. I have worked both sides of the fence as a teacher and as a contractor in private industry. My take on the teaching personel is that there is too great a lack of personal life experience in the real world this group of "professionals". Generally the majority go from being a student to teaching students I heard a lot of whining and complaining when I taught school from these Professionals---always looking for the "handouts:: the holidays; the smaller class size; and more resources. Without real life experiences what knowledge is being passed on to students that is of value to them in the work force? I can personally say that the work load borne by this profession is nothing compared to my experience in the Oil and Gas Industry and others I have been employed in. Granted there are a small minority that do put forth a great and valued effort but my observations are this is a small percentage of the whole group.lam glad that I took the route I did and spent the majority of my time hands down and butt up as opposed to sitting back and whining-------something that is all too common in the teaching profession! How would these professionals last in a country like China or Japan where school days are generally 6 or 7 days a week and 10 or 11 months a year I think the teaching profession needs to be a little more realistic in their demands----4 or five years of university does not a teacher make!!
I am an aide(assistant) within our school system. The task that confronts our teachers everyday is enormous and it continues to grow exponentially every day. Our students in each class have a wide range of ability and needs. Until I started working in the school system I did not have an appreciation for the job our teachers do. I. sure do now! and believe me they are underpaid for the work they do!! Even having an aide full time in a classroom is not always enough. I think perhaps if the CTF wants to continue making these recommendations, they would best serve them to spend at least a week in classrooms in this province. Then I dare them to come back and make the same recommendation.