Students rally for BC teachers in Vancouver

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Negotiate, don’t legislate.

That was the central message from hundreds of students as they rallied in Downtown Vancouver Friday afternoon in support of BC teachers as they prepare to begin a three-day strike starting Monday and the government debates back-to-work legislation.

Carrying signs saying “We Support the Teachers” and “Special needs students need a fair deal,” students gathered on the steps of the Art Gallery to demand smaller class sizes and a negotiated deal for teachers.

Similar school walkouts and rallies were held across the Lower Mainland and the province.

“George Abbott ain’t pro-teacher, he’s just some Liberal preacher!” rapped a young man at the microphone, one of many chants and cheers aimed squarely at the Liberal government.

“I’m here for my teacher because the classes are too big now. People with special needs need teachers and they’re not getting the help that they need,” said Nancy Phan, a student at Vancouver’s Windermere Secondary School.

“I hate [the dispute.]  I mean, if I can’t learn, then I can’t go anywhere,” said Bryton Cherrier, a grade 10 student at King George Secondary School in the West End.

Cherrier’s classmate Moe Golkar is not impressed with Bill 22, the province’s back-to-back legislation that imposes a cooling-off period until the end of August and brings in a mediator to try to find a contract within the net-zero mandate.

“And it’s going to ruin important stuff in our education.  It won’t [give] the right for teachers to…[freely] speak out to us,” said Golkar.

Tamara Hurtado stood under the rain ready to stay home from work with her kids on Monday as teachers don’t show up for work.  She supports the teachers and is thinking of the students.

“This is the time for [students] to learn,” Hurtado said.  “Once you leave high school, many students won’t continue learning in their life.  So this is their opportunity to be exposed to as many things as possible.”

Windermere grade 12 students Amanda Willier and Ikran Issa circulated a petition against Bill 22.

“I’ll have my hand up for, like, 15 minutes and then I don’t really get help at all in the class,” said Willier.  “”And it makes it hard to learn.”

“[There are] so many big classes,” agreed Issa.

Students then marched down Hornby and Howe Streets to the government’s cabinet offices on the waterfront beside the Pan Pacific Hotel.  Several Vancouver Police officers stood in front of the office doors as speakers implored students to flood Premier Christy Clark’s office with calls.

Teachers have been partially on strike since September, refusing to prepare report cards and other administrative duties.  The BC Teachers’ Federation and the BC Public School Employers’ Association have met nearly 80 times at the bargaining table for almost a year but have not hammered out a contract.