Education... or indoctrination?

Members of the Toronto Catholic District School Board have hit the picket lines. These teachers recently engaged in a one-day strike to press forth their demands such as smaller class sizes and taking a stand against e-learning. It’s “for the kids”, you understand... but please turn a blind eye to that other little demand that is definitely NOT “for the kids”: namely, a 2% pay raise.

But even worse is the indoctrination of the kids.

Case in point: Joe Warmington of the Toronto Sun recently reported that students at St. Agnes Catholic School in North York were given an assignment that involved writing a letter to Premier Doug Ford about their opposition to education cuts!

Here’s what the handout to students said:

“Budget cuts mean one subject must be cut from the curriculum. Pick a subject and write a letter to Premier Doug Ford arguing why it should not be cut. Your letter should have 2-3 arguments (reasons) why the subject should not be cut. Each reason should be a separate paragraph. Make sure to include all the parts of a letter (greeting, body, closing etc.,) This will be in first the first person.”

What the H-E-double hockey sticks is the deal with that?

So we ventured out to the picket line and asked the striking teachers how they could possibly justify turning elementary school students into union propagandists.

We also asked the teachers what they think Jesus would say about them withdrawing their services from the kids (Spoiler alert: most of the teachers that could articulate their opinions said Jesus would indeed side with the teachers’ unions.)

And par for the course these days, one striking teacher even threatened to call the police because we were apparently violating her safe space (that would be a public sidewalk.)

Maybe it’s time for the teachers to go back to school?