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Back to school with a strike

It’s that time again. Time to go back to school. One thing is different though, and that’s that there is a teacher’s strike going on right from the get-go of school starting.

It’s that time again. Time to go back to school.

One thing is different though, and that’s that there is a teacher’s strike going on right from the get-go of school starting.

The job action began on Sept. 6 throughout British Columbia and comes after months of unresolved negotiations between the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association.

While strikes can be disruptive to the process that is learning, it’s the BCTF’s hopes that it will be as non-disruptive as possible, since at this phase it only affects administrative duties.

School District 20 said in a newsletter to parents and students that schools will remain open and instruction will continue as usual.

Teachers will, as long as the job action is going, no longer be doing most administrative work, such as preparing report cards or having official parent-teacher interviews.

Will this effect students?

What that will depend on is the individual teachers, since as long as the strike is on the teachers  will have to decide how much to put into their classes.

Things like extracurricular activities will not be required of teachers.

Superintendent Greg Luterbach said that although schools will continue to be safe it won’t be business as usual.

For instance, administrative staff will be performing some of the duties withdrawn by teaching staff, so they won’t be as available.

It will be interesting to see if the BCTF can get a better result from striking than the one that was brought down upon Canada Post employees earlier this year.