Dear Editor:
My son was one of the students protesting the education labour disruption yesterday. My son is a Grade 10 student at NWSS and I have lost count of the number of strikes and job actions he has experienced as a student. He is frustrated by the ongoing job action and took the opportunity to show his frustration.
At NWSS students are required to bring a note if they are away from school. This is the letter I wrote to explain his absence:
To Fraser Barton's teachers:
I am writing regarding my son Fraser Barton's absence from school yesterday (June 4, 2014).
After discussing it with us, Fraser decided to take part in the student protest yesterday. He did so after giving it a lot of thought, reading about the issue in several newspapers and on social media, and with the permission and consent of us, his parents.
Fraser has benefited greatly from the work teachers do, no one is arguing that. But his education has been littered with labour disruption and he, like many students, is sick of it.
His protest was directed at neither the teachers nor the government, but rather it was directed at the seeming inability of both sides to reach a compromise. As Fraser puts it, teachers are always telling us we need to learn to compromise. I would add that if neither side is willing to, what kind of a message is that sending to the kids?
As you know, Fraser is a rule follower by nature. As such, this brush with civil disobedience has been very difficult for him. But he stood up for something he believed in, that BOTH sides need to negotiate, be willing to compromise, and find a path down the middle.
We are proud of him for that, and we, his parents, excuse his absence from school yesterday.
Margot Barton, New Westminster
