We are Jessica Fasolino and Shay Welle and currently attend Clayton Heights Secondary. We are only two out of hundreds of thousands of students in the province whose rights are being violated.
The rights of all students under the age of 18 are being violated because of the B.C. teachers’ strike. We understand and accept what the BCTF is fighting for: smaller classes, more special education teachers and higher wages. What the government does not seem to comprehend is that the dispute is putting all of our futures at stake, affecting all of our careers and our economy in years to come.
According to the United Nations treaty the Conventions on the Rights of the Child, which Canada signed in 1990 and officially ratified in 1991: “Governments have a responsibility to take all available measures to make sure children’s rights are respected, protected and fulfilled... This involves assessing their social services, legal, health and educational systems, as well as levels of funding for these services.”
We are the future of B.C.’s economy and we deserve a right to an education. This needs to be dealt with.
Shay Welle and Jessica Fasolino