Homemade signs in hand, hundreds of students in London walked out of class Thursday afternoon to protest the Ontario Progressive Conservative government's education overhaul.
The walkout, which began at 1:15 p.m. and lasted roughly an hour, was a coordinated effort by students at some 600 schools across the province. The students organized the protest through social media using the hashtag #StudentsSayNo, out of fear that increased class sizes, mandatory e-learning, and controversial changes to the sex-ed curriculum and OSAP will adversely affect their future.
"This is something that we should all participate in. It is our education, it is our lives that are at stake right now," said Ana Tarc, a Grade 10 student who organized the walkout at A. B. Lucas secondary school. "Us students are one of the least politically powerful right now because most of us do not yet have the right to vote in elections, so we don't get to choose the people who are making our decisions. So this is a way to get our voices heard and hopefully change things in our government."
The students chanted "no Ford nation - fund education" and "we will not be silenced" before taking their walkout to the streets. They carried signs reading "education is a right", "deFEND, not deFUND", and "Ford flunked our funding."
Students from three schools in the downtown forced police to shut down a section of Dufferin Avenue as a safety precaution after they began gathering in front of city hall.
Tarc said the demonstrations had one goal - to get Doug Ford and his government to reverse their considerable education reforms.
"We know that bigger class sizes are not beneficial for students because there is less one on one time with the teacher. Each student needs a different level of personal connection with their teacher," said Tarc. "As well, the sex-ed curriculum is so important, especially in elementary school because that is the time kids are changing and don't know what is happening to their bodies. It is also a time when kids should be learning about different types of relationships because without education we get ignorance and the spread of hatred."
Under the provincial changes announced last month, the average class size for Grades 9 to 12 would go from 22 to 28, while the average class size for Grades 4 to 8 would be upped to 24.5, from 23.84. As part of the sex-ed overhaul, gender identity would not be introduced to students until Grade 8, instead of Grade 2.
"If we don't stand up, who is going to," questioned Sara Ahmad, a Grade 12 student at A. B. Lucas Secondary School. "I think we are definitely going to be heard. We are the next generation of voters and I think it is important for people to remember that."
London North Centre MPP Terence Kernaghan, who was a teacher prior to being elected to Legislative Assembly in 2018, thanked students for "having a backbone to stand up for education."
"It shouldn't be up to you, but you have to demand better of your Ontario government. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for standing up for the thousands of teachers this government wants to cut," said Kernaghan.
He ended his remarks to students by providing them with Premier Doug Ford's phone number.
"I need you all to get your phones out. I need you to add a new contact to your contact list. The name your going to put down is the Premier of Ontario Doug Ford," Kernaghan said to the students. "He says he is always willing to listen, so I want you to raise your voice and make sure you tell him the way you feel."
Area school boards had stated ahead of Thursday's walkout that any student who did not show up for class would be marked as "absent" and parents and guardians would be notified as part of normal school practices.
