In a labour dispute, reason and sensibility are often the first casualties. That's certainly been the case with the teachers' dispute, which escalated into a full-blown on Monday.

The two sides have been bargaining, in a perfunctory kind of way, for close to a year. Both were far apart at the beginning, and have made little progress. The B.C. Teachers Federation has never agreed that its members should be subject to the "net zero" mandate which the government has applied to labour negotiations. While other government sectors have come to agreements (including school support workers), the BCTF won't even discuss it.

This dispute shouldn't even be about wages. Teachers have some very strong arguments in their favour, including a B.C. Supreme Court ruling, that point to serious problems with class size and the number of special needs students in classrooms.

This should be the issue on which bargaining focuses, and both sides should be willing to give up something to improve class size and composition. After all, this goes to the heart of whether students are actually progressing while in school. This should be what education is all about.

The BCTF went on a two-week illegal strike in 2005 over this issue, and enjoyed a fair amount of public support. This time around, support is more muted. Even though class size and composition remain as important issues, the demands for 15 per cent wage increases and other additional benefits have turned off some members of the public, who might otherwise be supportive.

I fully expected that teachers would go on a three-day strike starting Monday, as soon as a Labour Relations Board ruling came down. Many are itching to 鈥渟tick it to the government.鈥� But are they?

It seems to me they are punishing students, first and foremost. Students are missing three days of school, and many have already faced additional challenges because of the lack of report cards and lack of meaningful consultation with parents.

Secondly, they are punishing themselves. They will lose three days pay, and when this dispute ends, they are unlikely to make it up. If they continue to strike one day a week (which may or may not happen), both they and students will lose out some more.

There is no need for a six-month cooling off period, as the government proposes. Get the two sides in a room and lock the doors, and make them come up with a settlement within the week. This has dragged on far too long already.

Unfortunately, the BCTF loves to have knockdown, drag out fights with governments (no matter what the political stripe). It has happened so many times in the that no other interpretation is possible.

Governments also relish such fights. The Liberal government is down in the polls and hopes that it will gain support by playing hardball with the BCTF.

Meanwhile, students and parents are caught in the middle, and B.C.'s reputation as a place of excellence in education is taking a beating.

One more point. The BCTF should stop using the word "bullying" when discussing its contract dispute. It's a labour dispute, with two sides taking vastly different positions. It's not a school yard bullying.