The Minister of Labour in the BC legislative assembly criticized the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) yesterday for taking politics into the classrooms by its actions on the Foundation Skills Assessment tests. BCTF has instructed teachers to read a prepared statement about the tests to students before they write them. The minister was quoted in draft Hansard as follows:
“They [BCTF] are disruptive. They’re not just disruptive, they’re irresponsible, quite frankly. It’s irresponsible for the union to be counseling its members to undermine children’s education in the classroom. I know the BCTF has a political campaign they’re embarking on. They’ve decided they want to try and defeat the government over the next five years. They are a political organization. That is their right. But they have absolutely no right when they undertake that campaign to start undermining children’s education in the classroom.
“We send our children to our schools in British Columbia hoping that they will get the best education that they can. Politics has no place in the classrooms of this province, and I would suggest to the BCTF that it’s time that we drew the line. It’s time that they drew the line that said no, they’re not going to disrupt those kids’ education. Every child in British Columbia certainly deserves better than that.”