StevetheClub

Insecure much?

I could be wrong, but I don't believe it does. I think it means under 18, but as of a set date. 

I'll be honest. After the way Hefney left this was my first response too and i think a valid question.
After reading the Tait article, though, it's good to hear he looks back fondly at his time here. He was a great one in his time.

Couldn't agree more. I don't know enough to have a stand on unions in general but it definitely seems (admittedly from the outside) that in some professions, like teaching, unions can sometimes protect poor workers. I work in a field in which I often either hear about the impact of or interact directly with teachers and there are many who I think should be paid more and many who I think should find a new job. In a lot of ways teachers are co-parents and I think that when they embody that role - which many do - they earn every penny; the problem is there are too many that don't and they are far too secure in their jobs.

Both my parents were teachers, so I know from personal experience that its not an easy job.  But that being said, there are a lot of teachers who give that extra effort, and some lazy ones who don't.  What I don't like in the unionized model (and my parents didn't like it either) was that those lazy teachers are pretty impossible to dislodge.  My mom always said one of the harder parts of the job was the parents, not the kids, as the parents can be total jerks sometimes.
Mark - I think we' ve gone back and forth enough on this topic regarding the BCTF.  I do throw up in my mouth a bit when you use verbiage like "BC has the fourth lowest paid teachers in Canada".  That's just propaganda.  If a lawyer is the fourth lowest paid lawyer in his firm, and still takes home $200K a year, vs another lawyer who makes $250K, that $200K lawyer is hard to feel sorry for.  Canada as a whole has some of the highest paid teachers in the world.  And I think that's awesome.  It's a tough profession, and deserves to be rewarded.  I also think that if BC is so bad off salary-wise for teachers, you would wonder why there are thousands of unemployed teachers here in BC right now.  Teaching pays well, and so it's hard for me to feel sorry for anyone who says that its not enough.
And inherent in your argument is the flawed assumption that if the BCTF hadn't been given the right to decide class size and composition, they would have received huge raises.  I don't think the BCTF would have gotten those huge raises.  But that's also assuming that the BCTF would be negotiating with a government that wasn't in a giant conflict of interest, and in the pocket of the unions.  So it is hard to say what they would have gotten.  In a perfect world, our government isn't in the pocket of any special interests, but I know that will never happen.

Seems to me that teaching is a job that is as hard as you make it. We've all been through school, we all know how not all teachers are created equally. Some put in more effort than others do. 

I don't know what the dire situation in America is, but these two bolded statements come across as quite different.  Your original post, to which to anyone reading it, sure seemed to imply that they had it really easy, since they scoffed that it was a hard job and you went on to list all of the great perks about it.
But then we gloss over that and want to talk about the bad teachers and how to get rid of them.

I’ve spent a few years as an instructor at Red River and teaching isn’t at all like an office job, and if you’ve never done it day in and day out, it is hard to explain.  The stress and pressures are much much different, but they are there.
In fact, as an instructor at Red River, I think I had it easier then teachers.  It is way different teaching adults who are paying for the right to be there versus children who you have a much greater responsibility to help grow and develop. 
Even at Red River, I got 2 months off at summer, a week at Christmas, a week between terms, etc.  Yes, it was very nice to have that time off, but the job and the pressure in it is way different then anything else I’ve done (regular job and what I do now is in an office environment).   You get to basically make the timelines, so you don't get that kind of pressure, but the pressure comes from knowing that everyday, regardless of how you feel, you need to be up, prepared, and ready to present and teach.
At work if you are tired or having a bad day, you can at times go on cruise control just to get through the day.  When you are teaching you have to be “on” all the time.  Imagine every day you need to prepare to be up in front of people, educating them, presenting, and helping them learn. 
Yes, it gets easier when you teach the same material over many terms.  You get to tweak it rather than having to learn it outright, but knowing something enough to be able to teach it is having to learn it to a much higher level of understanding then just comprehending it.
And an hour in a classroom presenting is way more mentally exhausting then a morning spent at my desk.
I don’t begrudge teachers their pay or holidays.  They have an incredibly important job in our society.  We basically “off load” our children to these people for them to educate rather than doing it ourselves.  You want there to be enough pay and perks to the job to be able to attract competent people.
In reality, kids aren’t going to go to school for 12 months of the year.  Down time and summer recreation is also important for their development.  What do you want teachers to do for this time?  And there is a need to have time to decompress from a job where you have to be up, live, and “on” in front of a group of people or kids every day for hours on end.    Or you will see a much higher rate of burnout.
 
 
 

Boooo, get back into the general forum you savages.

the movie was.... ok. a little too predictable. I might watch the pilot when it comes out as it has some potential to be TWD meets Xfiles

I don't mind Andre Proulx. He's been an official for a long time, close to 20 years? The misadventures with his second language can bring a smile to one's face, but he is aware of it and takes the ribbing very well. (even from his fellow officials) But his heart is in the right place and he takes the job seriously and is quite good at it. Now, if I would try to say all of what I just posted in French, in front of 25,000 people and a TV audience....now there would be an misadventure.

Hate speech is not included in freedom of speech. Homophobic slurs are considered hate speech.

Firstly, the Wideman incident has nothing to do with this.  There is no comparison.  Please explain how you draw a connection between the two.
Secondly, Im trying to determine the best way to word this without being disrespectful.  It's difficult.  You're saying it is bullying to be critical of someone using this slur.  *sigh*. 
Let me preface this by saying that I acknowledge I can't change your mind.  I cant make you understand.  Those that hold on to prejudices or use of offensive slurs arent likely to change until they want to.  Having said that, Iso, I know you're a smart guy.  I know Brandon is too.  So I think the thing that surprises me is that you dont seem to accept the fact that the word is a slur.  That part isnt a debate.  Sure, some people might use the N word and argue they should be allowed to and the N word is just a word and if not for pesky over-sensitive PC'ers taking away all our fun, everyone would use it.  We dont give serious consideration to those people for obvious and correct reasons.
This word is a slur that is used in a condescending, demeaning way.  It causes pain and anguish.  It propagates and promotes hate.  There was a time when the word was used more often.  But we are more enlightened now. 
If you have ever had a gay person in your life and seen the pain it causes them to be the victim of hate and prejudice, the pain it causes to be called this word, perhaps you'd have more empathy for the human rights struggle that is still being waged.
When everyone tells you something is wrong, there is a good chance it is wrong. 
If a child read about the Shaw incident and went to his parents and asked why the word was wrong and what it means, I would hope those parents would explain that its a hateful word used to demean a group of people based on sexual orientation.  Shaw knows it was wrong.  Why do you still think its ok.  Its not political correctness.  It's right vs wrong. 
What Shaw did has not been blown out of proportion at all.  In fact, I think the response has been very proportionate.  And I think the vast majority of people reacting, including the NHL and Shaw have done so admirably and correctly. 
If you have an issue with gays, I cant convince you to change your mind.  And honestly, thats a debate for another time anyway.  What isnt in question is the word used is simply not an insult.  Its a hateful slur.  If you can accept and admit that, then you understand.  If you dont believe the word is a slur and is fine to use, then it probably speaks to something deeper within you that no one here is really qualified to help you with.

Vince Li is not at all the same situation as Carla Homolka, and although he has killed someone he actually isn't capable of knowingly doing it.   He didn't know he was killing a person, in his mind it was some other thing he was killing, and he has to live with what happened in reality the rest of his life on top of the mental health issues he has.
Because of that one event, Vince Li, wherever he is living, will forever be monitored to be sure he is taking his meds.  
What Hamolka did, she did with the full cognisant knowledge of it, and with her parole, she won't be monitored anywhere near as close as Vince Li, if at all.
So while I can understand your apprehension of living close to Vince Lee, the risk of him re-offending is lower then some other random crime or accident taking your life, yet I don't see you talking about barricading yourself indoors in bubble wrap to avoid traffic accidents and deadly viruses. 
I get you are only comparing living in the same neighbourhood as these people, but making the comparison of Homolka to Vince Li does a big disservice to people who suffer from mental health issues.

It wouldn't make any difference what Notley does or doesn't do in her tenure, she won't get another.  Ideological hatred is blind.

Welcome to 2016: Still Trying to Defend Bigoted Words like it's 1990! 

Best wishes iso..

Goodness.  Best wishes man.  

There was danger & still is that I'll lose my left leg below the knee as I have been dealing with a foot infection that is resistant to antibiotics. I had surgery for the third time since last July to try to get the thing stopped. My doctors think they have found the appropriate antibiotics to get rid of it but I'll still have 2-3 months to go before I'm fine with no amputation. Thanks for asking kbf. Appreciate it. #fingerscrossed

ISO - you mentioned several times that you were in hospital and no one said "Hope you are ok now".  Hope you are ok now.

Agree 100%. It is criminal what is happening but for whatever reason our seniors just don't have the facilities needed.

I'll be honest, I don't follow politics terribly closely, but I do try to keep informed. So far what I've seen is the NDP doing a good job at making the best of a horrible situation (that they had no part in) and setting us up so we can manage these situations better in the future.
I guess I keep asking myself, "would we be better off if any of the other parties were in power?" and I don't think we would be. 

I agree with the bold part.
My personal experience with health care is that the ER absolutely sucks, but if you can ever can convince them that what you have is legit or they finally get around to looking at you, especially if it is really a life and death type of emergency, once you get in, the service is fantastic.
I like the idea of these quick care clinics to handle a lot of what people go to the ER for.  The problem is there isn't enough education around them, and people don't really know of them.
If you could expand them to also handle broken legs and things, it would take a strain off of ERs, where ERs could be saved for true emergencies.

The major problem in Alberta is the Tories over the years refused to build more long term patient care facilities. They still aren't under the NDP so seniors with issues like dementia are being treated in acute care beds taking up space. I was in an ortho ward recovering from surgery last week & a nurse told me that there were Alzheimers patients staying in acute care beds on our ward. They don't have the resources to take care of these people & it is a sad situation. The problem is they have nowhere to go so they stick these people wherever they can. It's absolutely crazy that is even happening. Our population is aging & facilities for seniors need to be built but it isn't happening. So, they stick old & sick people in acute care beds plugging up the system. Meaning people who need to get into hospital can't or face long waits.