I am outraged and disgusted to hear that school principals both throughout the province, and in at least one local school, threatened students who left class to protest, with being suspended. I am also hearing stories of administrators barring school doors so students could not leave to protest. I thought all citizens of this country had the right to freedom of speech, not just a select few.
My son was one of the students who chose to protest that his education is being effected by this labour dispute. I support him, and indeed am proud of him.
While I have taught him to obey the law, I also have taught him that he has the right to his opinion, and he has the right, and indeed should protest injustices when he sees them.
Growing up, my mother had the words of Edmond Burke posted on her wall. He said, “All that is necessary for the forces of evil to rule the world, is for enough good men to do nothing.”
I have taught my son this. He, and many other students throughout the province took a stand as is their right. It was a peaceful process, that really affected no one but themselves, and they should not face suspensions, nor any other form of discipline for doing so.
Teachers may walk off the job, and administrators may lock out teachers, all of which affects the students, but when students do what they see adults doing, they face discipline. Do I see a double standard here?
Many people will say that students used this protest to get out of school. Indeed, some did. I would hazard to guess that not every teacher was on the picket lines during their job actions, and on any given day, I would bet that not every administrator is at their desk diligently working. Look at the government that these administrators work for. On any given day, we are lucky if half of our MLAs are in the Legislature. This is all MLAs, regardless of party.
The youth of today are criticized for being rude, and disrespectful. I for one am proud that these students expressed their concerns in a noticeable manner. They are showing that they know they have the freedom of speech, and will stand up and say no to injustice, rather than blindly being sheep.
The politicians should remember that in a few short years, these same students will be voting. Let us not forget that in my generation, students stood up, and indeed a few died, to stop an unjust war, with the result that a president of the U.S. was ultimately brought down. It started with a few students standing up and saying this is not right.
One father of a student who protested with my son said that he had put his life on the line for a year in Afghanistan, so the people of that country could have the right to speak out about the injustices, and could go to school without fear of retribution.
He now comes home and his own child is facing retribution in his own country.
Whether you support the teachers or the government is irrelevant in this case.
Our students are the ones being affected and they chose to protest.
As one student put it on TV, colleges and universities are not going to care that there was a strike on, when looking at students’ marks. They should not face retribution for doing what they see adults doing.
Canada is still a free country where all citizens, regardless of age, have the right to speak out.
Bob Cail
Vernon
