Exhausted

I've spent much of this weekend correcting these damn tests. There is no easy way to mark them because all the problems have multiple ways of solving them which makes a specific marking scheme impossible. So, I have to come up with some adaptive style of marking while staying consistent through all the correcting. Not an easy task to say the least. It certainly doesn't help that I have to try and decipher what they have written as an answer, or follow the order of progression they went through. Blah. I can't wait to do these test my way ;)

I have the minimum amount of work required to be done for tomorrow done, so I'm going to stop for the night. I've developed a nasty migraine and I'm completely exhausted. I really don't need to be tired both mentally and physically tomorrow if things go bad like many people think they will(see next post). So I'll stop for the night and try to make up the time over the next few days. I have a major project for my internship due on thursday so I really need to get that finished off. I can always stay up late one of the next few nights if necessary.

Strike fun

I haven't posted anything about the strike that started today because the info related to it and me was constantly changing from day to day. On friday things had firmed up, but I was hoping against hope that things would sort out before tomorrow morning. Yeah I know, unrealistic, but I can dream dammit! *ggl*

Anyway, one of the big unions here(NAPE) went on strike last night. There are several major issues going on, but the biggest is money. The government is offering 9% over three years(3%/year), but the union wants 24% over three years(8%/year). Why do they want so much? They've been without a raise in a little over a decade now. 9% is pretty good, but 24% is absolutely rediculous. Both sides of this thing are acting rediculously in this thing. Last wednesday night while talking about non-monetary issues, the union almost walked away. That gives you an idea of how things are going. The union has financial support from their federal counterparts and they are determined to get what they want. Last night the government upped their offer to 13% while the union dropped their requirement to 15%. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Problem is, the union refuses to go any lower due to it's pride. They claim to have been disrespected and require those extra 2% as a result. It gets better, the money the government was going to use to pay for this increase is limited and has to cover other increases for other unions/projects/etc. Now that the union wants essentially all of it and more, it could mean cut-backs on those items due to the union's greed. Blech.

Now, the connections to me. The first is about transportation to the school for me. I get a ride in with my ex-girlfriend's mom each day since she's a student assistant at a school not that far from mine. Well, student assistants are in NAPE and as a result, on strike. After tomorrow, I won't be able to get a ride in for the rest of the week if the strike continues. The problem is, if I go by bus and the bus is on time(yeah right), the earliest one will just be getting to the school as homeroom is starting. Cutting it close wouldn't you say? So, it could get annoying for me. My ex's mom is helping me out trying to arrange some transportation for me and I'm incredibly grateful for it. I'm not sure how I'm going to pay her back for all the help she's given me while I've been here.

Alright, that's my first problem, the next is the actual, physical strike. The number of student assistants at my school is fairly high so a picket could get nasty in the future. For now it's an information picket so it'll be okay for the time being. The next problem has to do with the school board trying to cover these student assistant jobs. They are trying to get teachers to fill those positions during the strike. Can you see where this is going? The teachers union has of course said no. The boards response to this? They have forced all school principals to sign agreements saying that they will do whatever the school board tells them to do in this situation. If the principals didn't sign, they would be fired for insubordination. They aren't very happy with this. The penalties for the teachers or principals not doing what they are told range from a formal reprimand on their record, a suspension without pay, to being fired. So, the union has said that if anyone is even given a reprimand, all teachers will walk out. So, all of us interns are sort of stuck in an odd position. The university's position is that we have to show up at the school no matter what. If we don't, one of three scenarios can play out: 1) nothing will happen and everything will be fine 2) we could fail our internship even though there is only two weeks left now or 3) we could be denied certification as teachers. Not the best situation for us. So we may have to cross picket lines to get to the school to only be told to go home as soon as we get inside in order to get the attendance required for our internship. Kinda screwed up. There's also other support staff going on strike so this should be interesting for me for the next two weeks. Heh, a walkout would let me get caught up on my work.....*ggl*

Trip home

I was supposed to know by this evening how long and for what dates I'll be back in ON to visit people. As usual, things are not working out so nicely for me. I can find a flight back to ON with very little difficulty, but for some reason I can't seem to get a flight back to NF. This is a huge problem for me. I'm going to have to call a travel agency tomorrow and see if they can help me out. My trip back to ON may be in trouble. Even if I can get a flight, it's going to really cost me to do so. *sighs* I can't win.