I agree that after school help for kids that need it should be required to an extent. If a student asks for some help the teacher should stick around and help the student for something like 30 mins to an hour.

Properly marking report cards I think is already part of the terms.

However making extra curricular programs mandatory is not a good idea. Making it mandatory will not work for a lot of teachers and students, because you then get disinterested teachers running some programs. Plus how many teachers are required for the extra curricular programs in the first place? Thinking of my time in high school, with all the programs we had, there was only a need for maybe a 1/4 of the teachers, if that.

Plus if you make it mandatory, that gives leverage to the teachers to demand more pay, because you've expanded their job description.

The only reason he is bringing this up is because the unions had teachers use the programs as fodder for the stupid fighting between the government and the unions. Everyone was failing the kids in this regard.

I cannot wait until we get Mr Hudak into the premier's office with a strong, solid Conservative majority behind him. Right-to-work is desperately needed in this province, along with Hudak's other union-weakening measures. The sooner we get those crooked unions under control, the sooner we'll have control of our own lives back without worrying about teachers endangering our childrens' futures or garbage workers leaving filth and disease to spread all over our cities as they hold us hostage in their petty wars against the province.

Teachers get paid to do a job...a salary to do a job, just like police, firefighers, doctors, bankers, industry workers...well anyone who doesn't work under commission sales, I guess. That job includes things like doing report cards, meeting with parents, etc If the report cards are not finished, then they didn't do their job. When was the last time your child was sent home without a report card? or without a grade or mark of some sort on the report card? Never?...well that has been my experience as a parent with a child in the system for over the past 10 years, so why is this an issue. I have also never had a teacher refuse to meet with me or make contact with me at a time mutually agreeable whether it be in person or by phone. This is an attempt to micro-manage and it's unacceptable.

Teachers did not pause their involvement with extracurricular activities to get back at the government or to punish the kids...they did it to get everyone to pay attention to what the government is attempting to do, and that is to infringe on their (a citizen of Ontario, Canada) democratic rights. If you ask any teacher out there about extra curricular activities they will speak of the many benefits of them in creating a positive school climate. In fact, involvement in them, I am told, can make their job of managing a classroom of 24+ students easier because students are less likely to talk back to their basketball coach than they are their teacher. To mandate that someone VOLUNTEERS their time or to rewrite a job description to suit a politicians whim seems unethical. Teachers don't need to be ORDERED to do these extra activities, they already do them and from what I have seen and heard, they enjoy them...so don't make them a chore. Respect the teacher as an individual and don't enslave them into a volunteer commitment....just unacceptable.....again...I thought that we lived in a democracy....

I would have preferred that Bill 115 was not imposed and that the greedy teachers were allowed to finish the year at which time they would all be laid off permanently. Then, over the summer the province could hire new teachers. Those who agree to extra curricular activities would be hired. I have lost all respect for teachers. I don't feel the current crop of greedy pigs are morally appropriate to teach our children. After all, we want our children to grow up to contribute to our society, not grow up feeling as if they are entitled, selfish, and lazy.