Students are caught in the middle
Re Put the kids first, Editorial July 20
The prolonged battle between the teachers unions and the province is exclusively for these two parties. Not for students. We want out. Over the past couple of years, we have had to suffer the repercussions of the bitterness of these negotiations, including the partial strike in the latter months of this school year, denying 60,000 students their basic human right to education.
This caused anxiety for the students who realized they might not graduate. Now it has been announced that there will be no extracurricular activities for students next year. This penalizes only the students. The target is now on our backs. This is unacceptable.
We are taking the hit for something we are not a part of. We are not taking sides. Just don’t put us in the middle of it. We do not want to fight your battles. For the past three years, extracurricular sports have been the highlight of my high school experience. They are what kept me motivated. Now they are gone; our dreams crushed under the weight of an issue we have no part of.
There are other ways for the two parties to get their point across. And of course, both parties say they have the best intentions for all students. Yet extracurricular activities are being taken away, and for what reason? Are they hoping that the students will resolve an issue they know nothing about? Enough is enough. Keep us out of it. Andrew Shepherd, age 17, Kitchener
What is your reaction when you hear that your children will face possible strikes along with all the other activities that teachers will not support?
September is not far away and unless we all take action on behalf of all our students, the 2015-16 school year will be a negative one for our children’s education.
It is only July. Ministry of education, boards of education, unions and teachers, please solve your issues as professionals and do what you were trained to do: teach. Judy Cathcart, Flesherton, Ont.