The Alberta Teachers’ Association

On the Twittersphere

Matt Armstrong @ArmstrongYYC: We worry so much about content and the what but fail to address the why and thus lose so many students.

School Counsellors @ATACounsellors: We need to be doing more to provide for the #mentalhealth needs of our youth to prevent tragedies like suicide.

Tweets from Central East Alberta Teachers’ Convention (#CEATCA2016)

karly @karlynewb: You can’t change the external environment but you can change what you bring to it. #susanagrios

Aimee @aroste23: To be a master teacher you must be willing to be a master learner.

Trisha Rawlake @MrsRawlake: If you are not keeping up with technology in your school, you are becoming illiterate. #georgecouros

Shonna Burkard @sburkard: Great conversations took place at #CEATCA2016 and here’s hoping they continue ... innovate and inspire ... trending continues!

Letters to the editor

Are teachers really overpaid in Alberta?

I emigrated from Ghana to teach in Alberta in 1968. I retired after teaching science and computer literacy in the county of Smoky Lake for 26 years. Some of the students I taught in Ghana and Alberta have graduated from the University of Alberta in the faculties of agriculture, dentistry, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, etc.

Many of these former students acknowledge and appreciate my contribution to making them successful professionals. They are now big taxpayers in Alberta. The salaries of these professionals are many times higher than those of the teachers who laid the foundation for them to reach their present pinnacle.

Paige MacPherson, the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is reported to have stated, “There is no strong correlation between how much teachers are paid and how well students perform.” The federation is calling for a 10 per cent cut in the wages of teachers. Is she really speaking for the taxpayers mentioned above? The salaries for teachers in Alberta are just fair. They are not excessive. The taxpayers federation in Alberta should be made aware that teachers are the pillars of democracy.

Leo R. Sam, retired science teacher, Edmonton
______________________________________________

Published letters represent the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.