QUEEN'S PARK — "My question is to the Minister of Education. Speaker, parents and students in my community are overwhelmingly opposed to mandatory online learning.
Lindsay, a London West parent, said, 'Our young people are suffering from greater anxiety, depression and suicide rates than ever before. Why would we want them out of classes with supportive teachers are classmates?'
Brad, another London West parent, told me, 'My children have the right to be taught by a human being, not a screen.'
George, a grade 10 student in my riding, wrote to me: 'Teachers are required for our learning. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve looked to a teacher for help.'
Speaker, will the government listen to parents and students and withdraw its plan to fire teachers and force e-learning?"
"Speaker, one of the many things that this minister fails to recognize about his ill-advised mandatory e-learning plan is that it’s fundamentally unfair to students whose families cannot afford high-speed Internet at home.
This is from an email from Luke Blank, a 29-year-old London West resident. He said, 'Growing up poor meant I didn’t have Internet access and didn’t even have a home computer until I got a job to pay for it myself. If I were faced with mandatory e-learning ... [it’s] almost guaranteed I would have flunked.'
Why is this government plowing ahead with a plan that will marginalize and further disadvantage low-income students?"