I'm a teacher in BC.

Do we get paid too much or too little? No one ever seems to agree that it is a good amount as-is. Let's put aside that question of what we are entitled to make for now. I think the lack of agreement comes from dissatisfaction with particular teachers, or with the public education system generally.

Well, I agree. Seeing the classrooms and classroom activity of other teachers, I am frequently shocked at just how 50's some teachers' style is. A talking head at the front of a classroom, all the desks pointed that way. Little hands-on or experiential learning in favour of meaningless worksheets and written assignments. Compulsory attendance, homework, and obedience to arbitrary "because I said so" rules.

And as I see more money pulled from the system, rather than finding a new method for education, the union never stops demanding yesterday's status quo.

Yes, taking money out of education is an idiotic governmental decision. But we seriously need to reinvent education, as it is losing its relevance. Perhaps if we make school a place for authentic, enjoyable learning, and encourage students to pursue their own goals and get into a state of flow, then it will make more sense to discuss wage increases.

It isn't about whether we deserve wage increases but about whether the public wants to give them to us.

I am a teacher, and I'm happy to admit that there are a lot of teachers worth hating. We need to do some housekeeping and reinvent how education itself is delivered, and perhaps then we will have more public support.

Some people also generally hate anything they had to pay for with taxes. There is no winning with that crowd. Let them persist in their unwise economic ideals alone, and don't bother indulging them. Their argument isn't with you, but with the government.