Get rid of the Teacher's Unions!

As a parent of a child enrolled in the public school system and a member of the School Council at her school I have seen what the Teacher's Unions have done to the education system. The most obvious problem is the performance of our children. In looking at the Fraser Institutes analysis of the EQAO (Education Quality and Accountability Office) test results, I see an alarmingly wide variation in performance. I also note that the average level of exam results below standard for the entire province of Ontario is greater than 30%! That means more than 30% of our students are below the level required to move on to the next grade!

What really irks me is that the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario fought hard to close the "gap" between secondary school and elementary school spending per student. In the end they settled on a deal that did not add a single penny to the per student spending, but gave the teachers a 10.4% pay increase, improved benefits package and smaller class sizes (read: less work for teachers). What hypocrisy!

As a parent of an Ontario student I find it extremely discouraging that I have to continually give money to the school so that the kids can have the supplies they need to learn. What are my taxes for? It's almost like a double taxation! As a member of the school council I see how much money the school falls short on for basic supplies. Here is a list of examples:

- Eye protection for the badminton team (mandatory by the school board)
- Music stands
- Musical instruments
- Math kits
- Reading books

Why isn't the school board paying for this stuff? Oh yeah... because the majority of the money we pay in taxes goes to the teachers. The average secondary teachers wage is over $100/hour based on required work hours.

It is time to end the cartel of labour unions, especially in the public sector! We need teacher's pay to be commensurate with the performance of their students. How else can we ensure that our kids will be prepared for the future?