Students across Windsor-Essex are getting ready to make a point with their feet.
Students at Walkerville, Massey, St. Anne's, Leamington, and other highschools will be joining walkouts and rallies at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday across Ontario to protest education changes made by the provincial government. The changes include larger high school class sizes from 22 students to an average of 28, along with new math and sex education curriculums. Some sex subjects will now be introduced to students later than they were under the previous curriculum.
Aidan Gendreau, a Grade 11 student at Massey, said the peaceful protest is to show displeasure for proposed funding cuts to Ontario’s education system.
At Walkerville Collegiate, students are protesting the announced policy changes and financial cuts, which they said will be extremely detrimental to students on both a longterm and widespread scale.
"In addition to its financial impact, the changes will hurt students in a non-monetary and social capacity," stated a news release from the Walkerville Collegiate Student Committee. "It is clear that they do not have the best interests of we the students at heart."
Guest speakers will be joining and supporting the students at Walkerville Collegiate.
Some school boards in Ontario are concerned larger class sizes will put some current programs in jeopardy. They said more students will mean fewer teachers, which will mean schools won't be able to offer as many elective courses, such as arts or skilled trades.