Student angry over closed schools

I am extremely disappointed with the Ontario government's decision to not reopen schools. Other provinces have reopened with worse COVID-19 numbers than we have because they understand the importance of the students' well-being. Instead, we have been shut down for months, while across the Windsor area virus numbers have decreased. Instead of listening to top doctors and pediatricians, the government went its own way.

Ontario students feel isolated. Sitting in our room all day talking virtually to our friends is not normal, nor healthy. We wake up just to lay in our bed to watch school all day. We have little to look forward to — no sports, no friends, no nothing. Every day feels the same. It feels hopeless. We are the next generation, next to run the province. Don't you want us to get a proper education?

We haven't received proper education for the past year and a half. It feels like we have been in this dark tunnel for an enormous amount of time. Why are we being punished? When can we come out of our rooms?

Erica Gignac, Grade 8 student, Lasalle