'Mixed feelings' among Alberta students, parents amid return to school after 3-week strike

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At Lindsay Thurber in Red Deer, Grade 12 student Noah Masters said while some of his friends read the books from English class to try and make up for lost time, he will have to do more than that.

“I'm going to have to take online learning probably now just to catch up and I absolutely cannot deal with online learning … I'm scared because it's going to reflect on my diploma and getting into universities.”

Sitting at home is what most kids said they did over the strike, and most are excited to see their peers again — especially for the moral support it will bring.

“Students can stick together so that we can get through this,” said Grade 11 student Riley Hiduke.

She’s taking a Grade 12 class this year.

“It sucks. I'm kind of scared. If I can't write this diploma, what am I going to do later on in the future?”

But Kirsten Zeller, mother of Grade 2 student Stella, said it’s a case of “mixed feelings.”

“You want your kid to go to school, but I also stand with the teachers,” Zeller said as she dropped Stella off at Crestwood School.

“I support them, they're educating my kids. I don't believe that they have it easy at all.”

Janice Beswick, who was dropping off her granddaughter, also said it was a bittersweet moment.

“They need to be, you know, with their friends learning and in that environment,” Beswick said.

“But on the flip side, we need safe classrooms and, you know, that help is required for the teachers when they need it.”

I spoke to Denver Knodel, who biked to Ecole Connaught in Medicine Hat to drop off his son for a return to Grade 1 classes on Wednesday.

He said that it was relatively easy for him and his wife to keep up with reading, basic math and art for his young son, but older students may be stressed.

“The routine loss was tricky – especially with boys who can be a little bit rambunctious,” said Knodel. “Get them out of that routine and they can go a little stir crazy.”

He works as a youth camp councillor in summers and with a group of teen boys in his church during the winter.

“They’re getting pretty stressed, making sure they’ll graduate on time,” said Knodel.

Questions also remain around how the strike will affect provincial exams. The provincial government announced that diploma exams slated for November were optional because of the teachers’ strike, while those slated for January and June are unaffected.

Some high school students are set to write diploma exams in January worth 30 per cent of their final grade. Some educators and parents have called for those exams to be optional for students, too.

We’re also awaiting more detail on how the government plans to enact some of its promises to improve classroom conditions, which include hiring more staff and tracking class size and complexity.

Good morning, I’m Janet French. I cover Alberta politics and have been reporting on K-12 education issues for nearly a decade.

Now that the Back to School Act is law, and teachers and students are returning to class, we’re waiting to find out how public, Catholic and francophone schools will make up more than three weeks of cancelled classes.

Alberta requires students to receive a set number of hours of instruction per year: 950 hours for kindergarten to Grade 9 students and 1,000 hours for high school students.

Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says he hasn’t yet decided whether schools will be expected to make up that lost time by adding minutes or days to the school calendar.

I chatted to a few students — some wore red in support of teachers — whose general tone was that they were worried about their futures.

For many it was around diploma exams and post-secondary, but for Grade 12 students like Nathaniel Baylor, the potential lack of extracurriculars is a concern. Missed rehearsals from the strike meant the school play could get cancelled.

“I'm auditioning for schools and not being able to go, I'm currently in this [production] … that's a thing that can't go on my resume whereas before it could have, and that could actually seriously affect things.”

Parent Scott Mariciak said it was tough for the teachers’ strike to interrupt his daughter’s kindergarten year. He agreed when I asked him if the return to school was bittersweet.

“I want her to get back to school but under these circumstances it’s kinda tough. It’s a see-saw of emotions,” he said.

Meanwhile, Robyn O’Brien, a parent of another kindergartener at Holyrood School, said she stands with teachers completely, saying she believes they have every right to strike.

“The government took that away. I think we should all be really scared right now. I think it’s a little bit of an alarm bell honestly for everybody in the working force,” she said.

Students at Queen Elizabeth High School in north Calgary like Sadie Chiasson are excited to see their friends and teachers again.

The long wait to get back to class has really blurred together, in Chiasson’s eyes.

“How many days has it been? Like 20?” said the Grade 9 student. “I’m kind of excited to be back. I’m sick of bed rot.”

Still, Chiasson is concerned about being behind.

“We were already going fast before, now we’re going to have to, like, double our speed."

Stephanie Cram

I’m Stephanie Cram and I’m one of the reporters in the field as students and teachers head back to class.

Today, I’m reporting from outside of M.E. LaZerte High School in north Edmonton.

I spoke to Grade 12 student Jok Matau, who said he spent much of the three weeks sleeping. He told me he’s worried how the time away will impact his grades.

Parent Nicole Murat, whose daughter is in Grade 11, says the province introducing Bill 2 is “going against our democracy.”

Murat says it feels like the province is “making a mockery” of the concerns of parents and teachers.

Grade 12 student Youssef Almustafa worries about having to make up for the three weeks students were out of school. He worries they will have to rush through material, and will be overloaded with quizzes.

Hi, I’m Catherine Garrett, a reporter based in Grande Prairie.

At Grande Prairie’s Composite High School, students are excited to return to class today, but nervous about catching up. There was a large lineup of cars outside the building as students were dropped off and it was dark and foggy outside.

Many students I spoke to talked about their eagerness to continue their studies, especially those in Grade 12 with diplomas coming up.

“It’s weird to be gone for so long and then be back. I had no access to Google Classroom, I couldn’t ask teachers any questions, it was hard to study, ” said Grade 12 student Sable Spilchen.

“It’s a little scary being back, especially since we missed so much,“ said Grade 11 student Quinn Raiwet.

“I’ll probably try to study more and lock in a little more, and put more effort into it than I would have had to before, because [of the] lack of time.”

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