Editorial — Let teachers, govt duke it out in a proper debate

THURSDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — No sooner does one side in the teachers’ dispute point the finger at the other, when the finger is pointed right back.

And, it happens day after day. One side makes a claim, the other rebuts it and makes a claim of it sown. Premier Christy Clark and BCTF president Jim Iker were at it on Wednesday.

Teachers and government seem to be working from different sets of facts. The public is confused. Let’s get some questions answered.

Such as, is the government really underfunding public education? Has funding gone up or down? Has funding gone up for some things, and down for others?

Are class sizes really that big an issue? What’s the science on the impact of class sizes on the ability of students to learn? How do class sizes in B.C. compare to other places?

Are wages a stumbling block or not? One side says yes, the other says no. What’s it gonna be?

Are B.C. students doing better, or worse, than they did, say, five or 10 years ago?

Are special needs students struggling? Which side is right?

These and many more points are being argued daily. How about if the teachers and government put their arguments to us side by side? Let Jim Iker and the premier stand in front of the public in a good old town hall meeting telecast across the province and debate with the help of a neutral moderator?

Then we’d all have a better yardstick with which to measure.