[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

I had lunch with a teacher today. Was super interesting getting the perspective, even if it's anecdotal and just the perspective of 1 out of 50,000 educators.

1) he said anecdotally, every teacher he talked to was fine with the pay offer of 12%. He said the final number over four years comes in between 12%-18%. The outlier numbers within this range were possible in a mediated solution, while a negotiated outcome comes in somewhere in the middle (14%-16%). He suggested any accepted offer in the range was fair. He suggested the province does not want to risk 18% via a mediated solution, so they have an incentive to reach an agreement sooner than later.

2) said it sucks not to be at work because he likes his job and routine. Said the first couple weeks don't really matter as much for student outcomes, but after that it's almost impossible to catch up. He said this gives the ATA pressure to get a deal done.

3) he said a lot of teachers - including himself - don't actually have a recollection of what normal class sizes are like because this is all they know. He said it's not a left vs right issue, but that education has been underfunded for over a decade and it was going to reach a breaking point in terms of lack of physical space and class sizes if the province doesn't get a handle on it. Too many getting bussed, not building enough schools

4) he seemed to think the lower class sizes wouldn't make a huge difference in terms of pure "teaching" or reduce their hours spent at work, but it would allow them to spend more time providing guidance to kids who need it. So in his head, it's more about "doing the job they want to do" rather than reducing their work load. That said, he note he's a junior high teacher, which involves a lot of guiding. He suggested maybe at the younger grades the smaller class sizes would be more about teaching.

5) he said it's about getting aides for special needs classes and reducing class sizes. Not really one or the other, but about getting both and putting them where they need them most.

Gullfoss randomly had lunch with a teacher on Thanksgiving Sunday whom had evidently never previously expressed their feelings on this topic to gully.