Province short teachers to mark diploma exams.....

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by terminator

$100/day is not a sweet gig, I'd like to see stats on how many of the teachers who accepted those positoins are subsitutes?

You mean $12.50/h to read the musings of high school kids doesn't sound appealing to you?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by rubecube

You mean $12.50/h to read the musings of high school kids doesn't sound appealing to you?

If it was extra cash on top of what I already made, then I would make a rational trade-off based on whether I thought my free time was worth 12.50/hr.

In my case, probably not, but it's not such a low-ball offer to be considered an "insult" or whatever.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Sliver

lol, dude, there is no insult here. How much does a teacher get paid per day? Say they make $90K per year for their nine months of work, that would be about 195 work days, which equates to $461 per day. Plus the $100 per-day bonus. That puts the teachers at $561 per day to mark. You're telling me students were being paid $661 per day!? I highly doubt it.

Hey, would you mind coming over to mow my lawn on Saturday? I can only pay you $1, but I figure if you take your income and divide it by the number of days you work, that amount plus a dollar would be pretty good pay for a job like that.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by peter12

If it was extra cash on top of what I already made, then I would make a rational trade-off based on whether I thought my free time was worth 12.50/hr.

In my case, probably not, but it's not such a low-ball offer to be considered an "insult" or whatever.

Fair enough, but apparently a good number of teachers don't think it's worth their free-time, so I guess I'm stumped as to why they're being bad employees or how this is somehow the union's fault (and I know it wasn't you who made that argument).

At the end of the day if the province skimps on this and they don't get enough teachers to mark these tests, then it presents a real problem for students. I think it's poor cost/benefit analysis on the part of the province.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Fair enough, but apparently a good number of teachers don't think it's worth their free-time, so I guess I'm stumped as to why they're being bad employees or how this is somehow the union's fault (and I know it wasn't you who made that argument).

At the end of the day if the province skimps on this and they don't get enough teachers to mark these tests, then it presents a real problem for students. I think it's poor cost/benefit analysis on the part of the province.

Which goes back to my argument, which is decentralize the system, and incorporate this into a teacher's job.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by rubecube

"I don't have time for facts. I have uninformed opinions to post!"

You got it Pontiac. I'll leave solving the world on the internet to more capable people than me.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

They're still getting paid by CBE, but classes are out so they aren't teaching. They have the time and availability to do this. It's a sweet gig and hundreds of teachers seem to agree evidenced by the fact they have filled the vast majority of these positions and they still have a month to fill the remaining few.

They aren't getting paid by the CBE though. The CBE requires them to complete all their marking for their classes and report cards. This doesn't change if they accept marking or not.

The other marking is in addition to there current requirements. If they do not complete their CBE contracted work they can't just say they were marking diploma exams.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by peter12

Which goes back to my argument, which is decentralize the system, and incorporate this into a teacher's job.

I don't think turning children's education into a profit-based entity is ultimately what's best for the kids.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't think turning children's education into a profit-based entity is ultimately what's best for the kids.

Sweden has a pretty good system.

They allow a set government amount per student to be directed to a school provided they charge under the max amount of additional fees. They also have a government run program.

This way the cost of schooling is born by the government but you still get the benefits of competition and private delivery.

[photon]

Yeah a hybrid voucher kind of system like that would be ok. What does Sweden do in terms of curriculum, standardised testing, etc? Is there something all the schools have to adhere to?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah a hybrid voucher kind of system like that would be ok. What does Sweden do in terms of curriculum, standardised testing, etc? Is there something all the schools have to adhere to?

I believe they have a national curriculum and all schools must be approved. But I have no idea how testing and accreditation works.

[Sliver]

It doesn't matter to me who is paying them, be it CBE or some other government entity in Edmonton. The customer (i.e. the student) doesn't change.

Teachers go into this profession knowing they're going to have to mark. Why do they think that applies to every test they administer with the exception of the last test of the semester grade 10s, 11s, and 12s write?

There is truly not a problem here. Teachers don't have to do this, but if they choose to it's paid. They have almost enough teachers to do the marking as it is, and have 30 days to fill the handful of vacant positions, drawing from an enormous pool of qualified people that have very little work to do (since the five hours/day they spend teaching in the classroom is complete). A well-organized teacher will have the lion's share of their marking already complete for their regular day job, freeing up the time they need to handle the diploma marking.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah a hybrid voucher kind of system like that would be ok. What does Sweden do in terms of curriculum, standardised testing, etc? Is there something all the schools have to adhere to?

Why do we care so much about standardised testing?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't think turning children's education into a profit-based entity is ultimately what's best for the kids.

I don't think that students should become clients. I do think that students, in the aggregate, would benefit from having a wider variety of educational options.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Why do they think that applies to every test they administer with the exception of the last test of the semester grade 10s, 11s, and 12s write?

You really need to crank down the straw and rhetoric in your posts, it makes it difficult to have a reasonable discussion.

Obviously they don't think this, because how those tests are marked is dictated by the system.

[photon]

Originally Posted by peter12

Why do we care so much about standardised testing?

Who's we?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by photon

Who's we?

Why do you think it is so important?

[photon]

Originally Posted by peter12

Why do you think it is so important?

Did I ever say I thought it was important?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by photon

You really need to crank down the straw and rhetoric in your posts, it makes it difficult to have a reasonable discussion.

I didn't realize that's how I was coming off. I will try to change my tone.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by peter12

Why do we care so much about standardised testing?

I think it's to establish some basic standard of competency for both employers and post-secondary institutions, and I agree that it's probably not in the best interests of the kids.