by Celia Love

Created on: April 13, 2008   Last Updated: April 17, 2008

Academic Competitiveness Has To Start With Equal Treatment

To create an atmosphere of Academic Competitiveness with students we must first start with the teachers who teach these students. If we do not do this with our teachers, how can we expect this from our students. A good example of this is the planned Teachers strike during the Pope's visit.

I 100% agree that Catholic School Teachers are severely under paid and that something needs to be done immediately to rectify it. These students who are reaping the valuable rewards of good teachers are our future. These developing minds are our future leaders in all aspects of the world as we know it and as it will be. Having good quality, well educated, motivated and dedicated people who are ready willing and able to to do this is an asset and should be treated as one. The fact that there is a difference between what these roe models are being offered between public and private schools is

disturbing and not right. How is this justified? What reasons are given for this gap and what can be done to close it? How can you do the same type of job and have such difference in the pay and benefits package? The fact that there is such a difference is outrageous. This needs to be looked at seriously and a plan of reform needs to be implemented immediately. This problem deserves and needs media attention and compromise to be remedied. What I am not so sure about is the appropriateness of using the Pope's visit as a vehicle to get it. There are a lot of people who are looking forward to this mostly once in a life time event. It would be a shame if because of the planned demonstrations that tens of thousands of

innocent bystanders in this lose this once in a life time opportunity. If the teachers and students wish the Pope to be made aware of this very serious problem why not write to him, send him a video explaining the problems and requesting his personal assistance. Then this intense problem gets the attention is so richly deserves by the person they are trying to get attention from without affecting tens of thousands of others.

I am interested to know what the students of these teachers think of the situation. What do they think of their teachers and how they are paid and rewarded for their services? What do the parents of these students think and feel about

this situation involving the people who are part of a team in raising and teaching these children to become well educated, well rounded, intelligent, fair minded, tolerant, community minded productive individuals?

I for one would like to know what steps were taken to prevent this from getting to this point. It would not only be interesting but vital to know what both sides were willing to do in the way of compromising and working together as a team for the sake of the students. Am I alone? Sometimes publicly asking for more information or clarification is the answer to increasing communication. If we can get the communication going between both sides again by asking for more information then aren't we opening the doors of communication between them that have been closed?

What do you think and what would you do or suggest be done to settle this. Who can help and by doing

what? If talks are stalling what is the best recourse, doing nothing or coming up with new ideas? Would petitions be effective in this situation or would Catholic School tuitions have to be raise to accommodate a teachers raise?

We all may not agree on how to rectify the situation but we all can agree that something must be done immediately.

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