Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Fuzz]

Nothing like being forced out of the closet by a a school to make kids respect authority...what a ####ing pathetic sad collection of losers running the province to inflict this on children. And why? Because a group of fragile troglodytes are afraid of how others choose to live and feel they have the right to control that.


#### you, and #### all of you who still support the UCP to this day. I hope your kids disown you and let you die alone in fear, you ####ing monsters.

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Any materials or presentations that deal primarily and explicitly with gender
identity, sexual orientation, or human sexuality must be approved by the
Minister of Education and Childcare, unless they are used for religious
instruction.
External organizations discussing these topics must also receive ministerial
approval before presenting in schools.

An exemption for religious instruction? What does that mean?

Also, like the Saint Charlie taught us, women have to know their place and submit to men. Anything that leads to the submission of women or control of their bodies, is a-okay to be taught officially in school.

[PepsiFree]

CBE should just go the malicious compliance route and notify every single parent of their child’s pronouns.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

CBE should just go the malicious compliance route and notify every single parent of their child’s pronouns.

they'd only do it if the Edmonton Board did it first.
CBE never takes the lead on anything.

[puffnstuff]

Thank goodness no one in govt is using a preferred name...oh wait Danielle is.

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

CBE should just go the malicious compliance route and notify every single parent of their child’s pronouns.

The best malicious compliance would be every single kid asking to be addressed by a different name.

[IliketoPuck]

It's vicious compliance, guys.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

The best malicious compliance would be every single kid asking to be addressed by a different name.

I do think that would be awesome, but I also do feel bad for the teachers who have to deal with all of this garbage.

But really, what in the world has happened to "c"onservative movements when they're totally in favour of more and more government reaching into these things? Like aside from the pure inhumanity and making life difficult for an already vulnerable group of people, the solution is more government?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Slava

I do think that would be awesome, but I also do feel bad for the teachers who have to deal with all of this garbage.

But really, what in the world has happened to "c"onservative movements when they're totally in favour of more and more government reaching into these things? Like aside from the pure inhumanity and making life difficult for an already vulnerable group of people, the solution is more government?

Because the C now stands for Christofacist, not Conservative. It's no simple marketing thing that they tossed the "progressive" from both the provincial and federal parties. They have no interest in being progressive. It's the antitheses of who they are.

[Major Major]

I know many teachers who will stake their jobs on this issue. I wonder when the first Alberta teacher will be fired for upholding the principle of creating a safe space for kids to exist and learn.

[Bigtime]

Apparently the province is getting ready to fire up the anti-teacher union ads. Looking like that strike is gonna happen.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Apparently the province is getting ready to fire up the anti-teacher union ads. Looking like that strike is gonna happen.

What a complete bunch of ####ing #######s

[Wolven]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Apparently the province is getting ready to fire up the anti-teacher union ads. Looking like that strike is gonna happen.

*With our money.

[TheIronMaiden]

The whole logic of parent consent with respect to a student being LGBTQ is bizarre.

"Now son, no kissing cute boys until you're out of high school you hear me."

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Personal anecdote on classroom violence:

My wife is a grade 5/6 teacher. A grade 6 student several years ago was coded for a number of different issues, one of which was spontaneous physical violence. Typically only occurred with his peer interactions. One such incident occurred where this individual started a fight in the classroom line, while my then 8 month pregnant wife had her back turned. She was knocked stomach first into the corner of a desk, and had to go immediately to the Foothills Hospital. Everything ultimately turned out fine, but I've never been so angry.

Classroom supports matter.

Complexity in classrooms is real. But I would argue that the teachers do a poor job of explaining themselves to the general public, and are absolutely guilty of "teacher speaking" when it comes to classroom issues.

What is classroom complexity, really? They need to explain it simply and in a way that resonates with the everyday public.

Teacher's don't just teach one lesson to 30 kids. They are managing 30 different lives, emotions, abilities, and distractions, all at once.

Originally Posted by jayswin

Yeah, they have to be better at getting through to the Sliver's of the city, for sure. It's hard to do.

No, I get that one. There's no way remedial students should be in regular classrooms dragging down the quality of education for the majority. We need to invest in classrooms to separate out the kids that absolutely monopolize a teacher's time and focus for the slight benefit of a minority of students to the detriment of all the others.

That's not to say remedial children aren't worthy and deserving of education and support; I'm saying we can't allow remedial kids to drag down the quality of education for other kids. They need to be in their own stream.

It's important because it makes no sense. Once they graduate high school there is no mechanism in place to continue to hold their hand through adulthood. There are always going to be jobs, roles and societal positions for people who are unable to maintain an academic level around average or above. What's the point in harming the educational outcomes for the bulk of kids just to drag remedial students along a path they are not capable of managing or maintaining as soon as that artificial support completely disappears the day after they finish high school?

I've never been against proper resources for kids, teachers and the school system.

I'll give you the Cole's notes on my position as I'm not sure you're clear on where I come from on this. With respect to teachers' gripes, this is where I disagree:

- Their shocked Pikachu faces whenever they bitch and moan about class sizes. I was in CBE from 1980 to 1994. Teachers complained about class sizes that whole time. I was in classes in Churchill with over 30 kids on a regular basis. One class had 34, I recall. Thirty-two was common. To get uppity about class sizes like that when these teachers grew up in my era knowing full well that's the size of a class drives me up the wall. You don't get to pretend you didn't know this was the deal. *
* I distinguish between class sizes that they claim are too large from classrooms with remedial students that cannot keep up and distract from the education for students who are keeping up with the material. That's an issue whether your class has 20 kids or 30 kids. We cannot allow a super small number of students to negatively impact the quality of education of the majority. We do need to invest in classes where these students have a program(s) more tailored to their needs so we can help them maximize their education and future potential. I'm all for funding that.

- Pretending they don't work 3/4 of a year. They get three months/year off. Let's call one month of that a well-deserved holiday for unwinding, relaxing, vacationing, etc. That still leaves two months off a year for doing whatever the eff they want. If they ever gripe about not having enough money, my position is they make a great salary considering they're part-time workers. They can always get a part-time job with those extra two months off per year.

I don't trust the UCP to handle this well, though. I'm obviously concerned like every other non-idiot out there that Smith's government will not negotiate in good faith or with students' and teachers' and society's best interests at heart. They are a-holes, voted in by a-holes, and this fight with teachers and the education system as a whole has the potential to be messy because of this crappy government and they're yappy sycophant numbskull knuckle-dragging supporters.

[IliketoPuck]

Couple points here:

- If they worked the full year, they'd need a corresponding increase in compensation. They don't, and their compensation reflects that.

- Class sizes of 30 when we were growing up were a little different, as there were far more classroom supports, and "streams" as you say for students. That isn't the case anymore. My wife had a class of 28 last year, but 2/3rds of the kids were coded, IPP, ESL, etc. etc. at that point many days were simply about classroom management, not learning, as the most needy kids soaked up the majority of attention.

- The UCP sure seems to be firing up the propaganda machine to gaslight everyone into oblivion. Not sure it will work the way they think it will. Support for teachers seems pretty strong in the province right now.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Couple points here:

- If they worked the full year, they'd need a corresponding increase in compensation. They don't, and their compensation reflects that.

Right, so if they want more money they can work a full year instead of the current part-time gig.

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

- Class sizes of 30 when we were growing up were a little different, as there were far more classroom supports, and "streams" as you say for students. That isn't the case anymore. My wife had a class of 28 last year, but 2/3rds of the kids were coded, IPP, ESL, etc. etc. at that point many days were simply about classroom management, not learning, as the most needy kids soaked up the majority of attention.

Exactly, which is why I was super clear about that issue in my post.

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

- The UCP sure seems to be firing up the propaganda machine to gaslight everyone into oblivion. Not sure it will work the way they think it will. Support for teachers seems pretty strong in the province right now.

Yeah, critical thinkers can see through their propaganda hilariously easily. Much harder for your typical UCP voter to do that, though. They're brainless.

[IliketoPuck]

Yep, no arguments from me, I agreed with your post. Really just some extra clarifications and points added.

Now, tell me how to convince my wife to get a summer-time job and I'll buy you a beer.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

Yep, no arguments from me, I agreed with your post. Really just some extra clarifications and points added.

Now, tell me how to convince my wife to get a summer-time job and I'll buy you a beer.

I...actually have a story about that...and it does circle back around to Taxes...but its not really for public consumption.

Either way, just keep asking her to repeat the phrase: "Would you like fries with that?" And that way you can maybe try and convince her subliminally?

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Right, so if they want more money they can work a full year instead of the current part-time gig.

I think this is where you are falling apart, and can't get your mind around the math. A teacher works an 8 hour shift, and then goes home and works the average of 4 hours, after school.

If you take that additional 20 hours a week and extrapolate it to fill the time during the summer and other holidays, the number exceeds what would be a 40 hour week, for the entire year.

So, they are not really getting time off, but hours in lieu.