Kindersley was the meeting point for west-central Saskatchewan teachers on Tuesday during the single-day provincewide Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation strike, and subsequent demonstrations taking place in front of the office of Kindersley MLA Ken Francis.
Educators from at least Kindersley, Rosetown, Luseland, and Coleville were in attendance and active with their signs. A big group was set up in front of the office on Main Street as seen in the title photo above, with others walking up-and-down the street waving to the passing traffic.
WestCentralOnline managed to get a comment from Kindersley Composite School teacher Kim Froese, who also acts as the Communication Chair for Sun West Teachers’ Association.
"We have our teachers coming out to stand up for education, stand up for our students. We have tried to negotiate with the government through various means," shared Froese, surrounded by her fellow supporters.
"Last contract we were asking for them to look at things like classroom complexity, and increased teacher workload. We formed committees on those, we know they are issues, and we are asking them to address them in a provincial contract to help our students get the best education they can, and they are just not able to negotiate with us on these topics."
Tuesday's demonstrations provided a way for teachers to raise awareness locally, and publicly on the issues facing them. The message on Froese's sign read "4000 more students - 145 teachers", just one story helping paint the ongoing problems being tabled by the STF.
"We have things like individualized programming, diverse student needs and abilities, large class sizes, and we are struggling to meet the needs in our classrooms." said Froese.
Another specific mention was classroom caps to avoid packing too many students together, but ultimately they are just looking for resources.
"Really and truly, everyone out here that's what we are fighting for. It's less about wages, and more about the students in our classrooms."
Find a few photos from Tuesday's demonstrations in the gallery below.
Thu, Apr 25, 9:30 AM
