After three weeks away from school, kids have gone back to class, and some say they’re worried for their teachers, who were forced to return by the province. “We care a lot for these teachers—for public education. … These teachers have been with us for most of our lives, and we want to show our support for them,” said Nijat Azer, a Grade 12 student at Queen Elizabeth High School. Other students are worried about how they’ll make up what they’ve missed during the teachers’ strike. “I’m missing three weeks. I’m missing almost a month. That could be a whole unit. That could be a whole section on a diploma that I might not have that extra knowledge to get the grade that I want,” said Liam Luong, also a Grade 12 student. A change.org petition has already collected thousands of signatures calling for the January diploma exams to be cancelled in addition to the November round. The Calgary Board of Education and the Calgary Catholic School District say the province decides what happens with diploma exams. Students are starting to rally against the province. Small walkouts and protests were organized on Wednesday. “The teachers tried to stand up for us, and they wanted to accommodate us and make our education better, but they’ve been ignored. We feel that it’s now our time to fight for what we believe is right,” said Erynn McCrae, a Grade 11 student at Centennial High School. CTV News has been notified of student-organized walkouts for more than two dozen publicly funded high schools. Organizers say there may be others in communities like High River, Canmore and Edmonton.
