To the editor:
Re: “VSB puzzled over lockout legalities,” May 28.
As I sit here at BC Children’s Hospital comforting a concerned parent while we wait for their child to be admitted to the mental health ward, I am struck by the impracticality of the government’s notion that, as a counsellor, I can walk away from my student responsibilities at 3:45 p.m.
The lockout and cutbacks to student resources is short-sighted, irresponsible and insensitive to the mental health and socio-emotional concerns we as a district and province (allegedly) hold so dear.
As my ethical integrity, and that of my counsellor colleagues, is steadfast regardless of circumstances, the salary roll-back is unjustly punitive as I have no reasonable option but to continue to serve my students and parents regardless of what the hands of my watch say.
The provincial government needs to stop measuring student success by graduation rates and standardized test scores, and begin to appreciate the less measurable personal and interpersonal milestones that, for more and more students, can only be achieved through professional intervention.
I implore the government to develop a wider scope of understanding for the variety of services offered by school professionals and the intangible nature of their work day hours, as a failure to do so could have very tragic outcomes.
Richard Edge, school counsellor
John Oliver secondary
