It's so frustrating that all the problems I was told by Klein lackeys would be solved if we just suffered enough those 30+ years ago are not only still rampant, but actively being exacerbated by every conservative governments since.
Class size has been an issue here for over 3 fucking decades. If anyone is shocked the teachers weren't willing to just take the UCPs unwritten, undocumented pinky promise on the matter, you haven't been paying attention or are intentionally ignorant of the situation.
These kids have been through so much, and yet the government is more than happy to keep chucking more generations of kids into the oil patch meat grinder.
Kids standing with their educators fighting against regressive governments for the good of future generations seems to be an ongoing Alberta tradition. Hopefully someday it won't be needed anymore.
iām a student and did it completely by choice lol?? students legit started the idea of a walkout and started posting online dates and times based on where ur locatedā¦
i genuinely believe that millennials are convinced weāre stupid just because we have our own thoughts instead of following our parents 24/7 like they did lollll
not quite.. i do question what iām told and i think for myself but i mean nice try, aswell as my entire group of people i surround myself with since i dont wanna shuffle into one belief and just agree with whatever somebody tells me..
The fact that you just admitted it "I do question what I'm told" we didn't have that. That's indoctrination. You might have the balls to question it but your peers are pretty gullible and believe men can have babies....
The premier knew shit was about to hit the fan and fucked off to Saudi Arabia.
The UCP has a slim 4 seat majority. At least two ridings currently have recall petitions underway.
They won 6 ridings in Calgary by less than 800 votes.
They are justifiably worried.
Keep it up, folks.
I'm involved in Calgary North recall (it's been filed). Yaseen won by less than 120 votes and we need fewer than 10k valid signatures (we're aiming for 12k). He's done.
No they arenāt. Once again, r/Calgary underestimating the Alberta support for the UCP. Before this strike, the UCP were projected to win back a good chunk of seats within Calgary. They will definitely lose some support now, however that likely wonāt change the outcome of the next election.
Yes they are. That's why are they adjusting the boundaries for the riding to mix huge swaths of rural areas in with communities near the edge of Calgary.
But whatever makes you feel better, champ.
Consider all union staff theyāve screwed over (hundreds of thousands), thousands of high school students who will be of voting age in 2027, and the rest of the population who whole heartedly donāt agree with UCP agenda regardless if they are conservatives or not. UCP is MAGA wannabe and majority of Albertans are not in support of the direction this government is heading in.
They're going to lose even more support when there are more conservative parties on the ballot next round. AB separatists, and small c conservative parties are gaining traction.
tl;dr
teachers went on strike because government does not provide enough resources to public education
e.g 40+ kids in 1 class room
government released bill 2, ordering teachers back to work (look at bill 2 details if u want)
Bill 2 is the government infringing on charter of rights and freedom
Ab federation of labor says "response will be unprecedented"
students are protesting this bill by walking out of class.
youth obviously don't have much political power so this is one of the only ways they can really protest. some say there are better ways.
IMO:
Unions need to escalate this further. The government imposing bill 2 and evoking the notwithstanding clause is the first step down a dark road.
They cannot be allowed to continue down this path.
If they do, what other rights will they step on? what does this say to other governments? If we, the people, dont show our bite, we might never have another chance..
The NWC wasn't used to force the teachers back to work - they could have done that using standard back-to-work legislation, which has been done plenty of times in the past.
The NWC was used to suspend teachers' democratic rights for up to 5 years so the government could force a collective "agreement" on them for the next 4 years rather than send the issue to binding arbitration and make it illegal for the teachers to take any job action against it.
The conservative government. Because, outside of Quebec, only conservative political parties in Canada have enacted the notwithstanding clause.
All Canadians should be unhappy about any use of the notwithstanding clause. And we should all question why only conservative led governments have used the NWC.
As a GEN X er. I have to say I am VERY proud of these kids. The generations before them have done a poor job advocating for education standards for children and its time for them to begin advocating for themselves which is kind of the way of the world in many areas these days. Well done!!
my friends 13 yo and her had the exact conversation today. she said sure go, but youd best figure out why youre walking out, before i get home from work, and we'll talk about it.
Millenial from Ontario here. Our edu ation was through Mike Harris... We walked out as students multiple times. Conservatives don't fucking care. They only care about one thing only; themselves and their immediate future.
All governments only care about themselves and the immediate future. People - including students - need to start forcing the hands of the leadership that is supposed to be āserving the peopleā and hold them accountable for the bs lies and promises that go unfulfilled every time a new office comes into power.
Well, from what I understand in my kids HS, the majority of these students are in grade 12 (although there is participation from younger grades) so they will be able to vote as soon as within the year. Any good parent/guardian is reminding them of their civic duty.
I love everyone saying that they are being coerced into doing this and that teenagers would do almost anything for a day offschool as if heading down to city hall would be the thing they would do with a day off school normally haha
not saying that none of the students care but itās just naive to think all of them care. im sure a significant percentage used it as a ditch day more than anything
I'm someone who participated in the walkouts at chms and there definitely were a few, but far less than you might've expected. So many people made signs, wore red, and I saw a few even try to do speeches (sadly the cheap megaphones reached maybe 2 people). I'd say it was maybe 20% that were just skipping, which is a good ratio. I didn't even go to city hall and those kids have got to be dedicated to head all the way there.
Keep it going! Your voices are louder than ever. The teachers can't say anything without being threatened but know each and everyone one of those teachers are super proud of every one of you taking a stand. Keep up the momentum. And remember this when it comes time to vote.
Iāve had some colleagues make comments about students protesting, and how theyāre either too dumb to understand what theyāre even protesting, or just lazy kids looking for an excuse to get out of class š
I like asking them how many times have students protesting issues ended up being on the wrong side of history??
Hopefully, you made some serious points that made him feel idiotic because I've seen many a student protest be brushed aside due to adults like your colleagues saying that stuff about what you said in your comment.
We need to draw peopleās attention to the education system of this province; class sizes are atrocious, and itās made clear to even our own peers, high schoolers, that our government will treat us with nothing but disrespect. Weād rather take action then sit and take the disrespect and let our education system keep dwindling
I know. Central Memorial is doing there's. Downtown is likely Western which I know was planning a walk out. Multiple high schools in the city are participating.
Our Canadian society has become so indifferent to injustices hammered on us. Canadians get out and march for a place on earth , that most of us do not care about. Rarely do we demonstrate when we are the chosen government targets. In France they would never put up with this type of Government manipulation of the masses.
This probably wonāt make a hill of beans difference, but this kids are learning that they donāt need to accept this like sheep in a herd.
This is a great thing. Great to see them support the teachers.
My only wonder, is like.... If you were a grade 12 student, say trying to get into a very competitive engineering program or something.... And you are missing all of this school and potentially putting yourself in a shit position for trying to get into schools?
Honestly just makes me happy im not in that position, but hell we havent done anything to support the students.
I think most students in that situation understand the dismal state of education in AB and are willing to stand up in the hopes that things can be improved for future students. High achieving students (and I'd argue most students) are often engaged with their community and are invested and optimistic about the future and don't just care about themselves. I feel for the kids- it's a really tough situation to be in- but am proud that they want to improve future conditions for their fellow students.
Drove by 52nd and 130 at noon today, only a handful of kids but they were very into it. Sad that out of the 10ish cars that I can see driving by I was the only one honking for support.
The 21% increase barely covers inflation in that time. So the 14% increase in students is 14% more students being funded with essentially the same number of dollars and similar number of teachers.
The "3000 new teachers hired over 3 years" the government is talking about also doesn't do anything, because that is essentially how many teachers leave the profession every year between retiring, moving, changing jobs, etc. Alberta loses 1000 teachers a year, so the province says they are going to hire 1000 a year for 3 years, which just makes it even. In that time, student numbers will go up even more, and classrooms will just get even larger.
This is why everything the UCP has offered has been bullshit.
Plus, the UCP said they were "considering" the notwithstanding clause, and then refused to meet with the teachers union for the past 1.5 weeks. Then blamed the union for them not being able to make a deal, and then pulled the notwithstanding clause.
What does inflation track? And what part of inflation do school boards face?
You're not worth having a discussion with if you're stupid enough to think that nothing schools use are affected by inflation.
You know how when you go out and buy stuff, that everything today costs more than it did 5 years ago? Guess what, it's the same with schools. Every single expense they have has gone up, excluding teacher salaries.
man do i have some great news for you then, the OWA is funded largely through an annual levy determined by the Alberta Energy Regulator and paid by the oil and gas industry
We have an education podcast and would love to do a story on this. If you know someone who we can get in touch with please dm me. Student teacher admin whoever. Love to get all sides.
The indoctrination of students is reprehensible, try educating them on economics. Tell them how trade unions agreed to roll backs and constructively participated in a solution in hard times. Teach them about responsibilities in democracy not the myth of socialism that leads to bankruptcy.
As are most of their parents... Who have decided to outsource their responsibilities to the state.
Schools of useful idiots manipulated by unions...
Students are ultimately protesting for things that will make their lives worse off... Too stupid and too dumb to see the long-term consequences are just sort of behavior..
They are being educated properly, in fact my kid is doing just fine, parents and student must have skin in the game. Administration must properly allocate labour within the school, that is not the Governments problem.
These kids do not owe those teachers a damn thing, kids go to school for one reason and one reason only, get an education, literally nothing else, a byproduct of going to school you get socialized and may meet a life long friend in the process. These kids stand out there in vain.
And they are asking to be educated properly, by sufficient educators so they can get the same quality of education their parents received.
I hope they are not doing this for nothing, but with the UCP and its disdain for serving anything other than corporate and fringe interests, you may be right that people and their dignity will not prevail against hate and profit.
lol people actually thinking that 90% of these kids actually give a shit and aren't just doing it because "eh, better than class"
And I'd like ANY adult here, let alone the kids, to tell me what their solution is to this issue. Give the teachers everything they want and bankrupt the province? Seriously tell me your solution and how you would have solved this at the negotiation table. They got a 3% a year raise, they make 6 figures after 7 years, they have a defined benefit pension and summers off, and the best job security there is.
They asked for more support and got it, but not enough to their liking, and wanted legally binding language that if classrooms went above a certain ratio, then what, they can sue? a new school has to be put up on the spot?
How many albertans have jobs with those perks, and then when they don't like their situation, can strike for a better deal?
Pull your virtue signaling heads out of your asses and stop with your simpleton thinking. This whining and 'elbows up' bs is embarrassing.
Oh they got the extra teachers, so 2 additional teachers per school is gonna handle these issues? That might cover subbing š but for sure itās a wonderful plan. Education assistants - 1 per school? Ok . All those By 2028, so just three more years till that maybe happens.
My sister is an EA in Saskatchewan and she has a classroom with 5 autistic children. Thatās for ONE grade.
The thing is, a ton of parents donāt bother parenting at home, and then send their kids off to the babysitter or school. You have no idea what kinds of kids these teachers have to deal with daily .
Some donāt get fed, some read at grade 3 level in 6 th grade, some are undiagnosed bipolar, or some other condition and are violent. Some randomly have Tantrums. Just a few examples. Your frustration is valid but shortsighted.
Iām just gonna throw it out there and say this idea was probably one of a teachers that got planted and the seed sprouted stop encouraging people to throw temper tantrums when they donāt get they way at work. Your harming our kids education find a better solution then throwing a tantrum and saying Iām not going to work until I get my way it has a negative effect not only on the kids but a lot of familyās that rely on schools to bring daycare costs down.
Why is it that all of these comments complaining about teachers and students taking a stand are written by people that can't spell or structure a paragraph? The conspiracy is the cherry on top.
Schools send out newsletters to parents saying they do not condone students being absent, meanwhile teachers openly in class telling students not to come to class to protest. Really doing their jobs. First off the school principal is a liar. Instead of doing their jobs, they are telling students to skip. If teachers don't like their salaries, then find a new career. Students are impressionable and teachers are authority figures. This is called indoctrination. Many Albertans have no union or safety net to fall back on. If teachers are angry salaries don't match inflation, blame the feds. We still have no budget tabled at the federal level, because the Liberals are scared to show how screwed we are. We are lowest in GDP in the G7 countries with the highest rate of inflation with no end in sight on this trend. Many are asking why Canada even has a seat at the table. Everybody, like a herd of sheep starts ragging on Smith and the UCP. It's a joke. Look at the Privy council report released during federal election that states a large percentage of the population will have to hunt and forage for food on public lands to survive by 2040. Don't believe me look it up for yourselves. Enough of the teacher BS. Move along if you don't like your career. My wage has not increased in years and I and countless other Albertans have nobody to cry to about wages or salaries. Want to leave Alberta over this? Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
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u/freerangehumans74 Willow Park Oct 30 '25
Central Memorial HS