Anybody having trouble fitting together the educational policies of Premier Doug Ford and his government only had to talk to the students who walked out of class in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Thursday afternoon.
The kids were protesting larger classroom sizes, which they said could mean less one-on-one assistance for students, greater difficulties for special needs and English-as-a-second-language students, potential teacher layoffs, and, as a result, the loss of some special programs like art, music and sports.
As one high school teacher noted: “If I have to grade 38 papers instead of 25, I won’t have time to volunteer” for after-school sports.
Add to that earlier limits to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) loans that many high-school students rely on to help them pay the high costs of university or college, and it’s a picture of an education system being cut to pieces, the students said.
At 1:15 p.m., high-school and some elementary school students in Bradford, in both public and Catholic boards, walked out of class to protest what they see as a threat to their education.
Students at Bradford District High School left the school and marched down Holland Street West, joined by a number of Holy Trinity Catholic High School students - but not all. Students at Holy Trinity needed parental permission to leave class and join the protest.
Shouting slogans that included “Stop Doug Ford,” “We don’t agree,” and “F*** Doug Ford,” the students expressed a range of concerns.
“All the classes are going to be way bigger. It’s going to be less and less time for one-on-one,” said Maddy McDonald, noting the average class size in high school will jump from 22 to 28 students.
Increased class sizes will mean fewer teachers overall - which means that some programs may be offered only every other year, creating barriers to graduation, and others may be cut altogether, she noted.
Several Grade 12 students spoke about the earlier cuts to the OSAP loan programs by the Ford government.
“They’re cutting the OSAP money,” said Claire McArthur.
“Being in Grade 12 is really hard. There’s no support,” said Taylor Clark, who added that after four years of high school, she’s scrambling to find the financial supports to continue.
“I’m here for the autism stuff, because they’re cutting that,” said a student from Holy Trinity.
And a group of elementary students from St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic School carried hand-made signs, worried that arts programs and sports will be the first to be lost, if teachers are laid off.
None of the students expressed any concern about Ford’s cellphone ban in the classrooms, but there were worries that proposed mandatory online courses could penalize low-income students, who don’t own computers or smartphones.
Across the province, thousands of students responded to the call on social media for the walkout, with some 700 schools participating.
In Bradford West Gwillimbury, hundreds of students took part in the protest. At the end of the day, some of them returned to class, some just went home, and others, asking passing motorists to honk in support, were ready to talk about the impacts on their education.
