A handful of London kids impacted by the strike hopped on trampolines while the teachers walked the picket lines.
The Factory, a local indoor adventure park, offered a special ‘Bounce All Day’ deal on Tuesday for kids affected by the ongoing one-day teachers’ strikes.
Tuesday’s strike impacted all Ontario Catholic school teachers, as well as certain public high school and elementary school boards, including Thames Valley.
Lacy Boyle is a mom to two children enrolled in grades 2 and 3 in the Catholic school board.
She brought her children to The Factory Tuesday morning to burn off some calories on a not-so-typical day off for the kids.
“We were questioning what to do [today], but this is [my son’s] Christmas present to his sister so they convinced me to bring them here today instead of staying at home and doing chores,” chuckled Boyle.
The kids had a fun time, but Boyle says strike days do no good for the parents.
“They have to find accommodations, they have to take that day off [and] lose money for their household,” she said.
“I don’t think the government is being fair; the teachers deserve to have certain things, and right now, they’re not getting what they need.
“[The strike] interrupts everybody’s day… It interrupts their school week, the flow of everything, [the kids] have to catch up on homework.”
Nancy Thibodeau brought her child enrolled in fourth grade in a public school board to The Factory on Tuesday.
“I get affected because I work in a high school cafeteria,” she said. “[I’m] not working [today], so I have to keep the child busy…. [but] I get nothing [financially].”
Another mom at The Factory, Tanya Cornish, was able to work around her day since she’s self-employed.
She has two boys in grades 6 and 7 enrolled in public school.
She says she fully supports the teachers, and hopes for change.
“[I] have a child that has some learning challenges, so it’s hard enough for him,” said Cornish.
“I can’t imagine if the number increases in class sizes and other resources are cut; that would [dramatically] impact my child.”
The strike comes three days after renewed contract talks between the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (EFTO) and the province led to no agreement late Friday.
ETFO head Sam Hammond says elementary students will be out of school again for two days next week, but the exact dates have yet to be released.
All English public elementary schools will be closed on Thursday Feb. 6th, which is when The Factory plans to hold another ‘Bounce All Day’ deal.
Admission is $20.20 per child.
