Educators caught in crosshairs of angry anti-maskers

By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on February 8, 2022.

kking@medicinehatnews.com

Staff and educators at Prairie Rose Public Schools are working to address an incident at a Dunmore school on Feb. 4, during which unauthorized individuals protesting mask mandates entered the school and, joined by some of the student body, walked through the school chanting ‘No masks,’ until escorted off the property by local RCMP.

PRPS released a statement the same day asking the individuals involved to direct their attention to government rather than educators, however school officials report they and PRPS educators have experienced continued verbal abuse online from individuals who disagree with the provincial health measure.

“People have used this frustration they’re feeling about wearing masks as an opportunity to express concerns about other things and some of those have been aggressive,” Reagan Weeks, superintendent for Prairie Rose Public Schools, told the News. “(Staff) have had public comments made about them that were derogatory towards their character, and that has been very challenging.

“There has been a lot of response on social media, but much of the commentary that is vitriol has been from people who have no connection to the school. So they aren’t our parents, but are writing and making comments about something that is inflammatory.”

Weeks believes these responses are worrying for staff and educators, some of whom have had personal information shared publicly online.

“Everyone is just doing the best they can to make it through what has been a challenging two years,” said Weeks. “Although we don’t have any control over these mandates, we do have control over our response and we’re just trying to manage it with as little impact on people as possible.”

PRPS was not the only division to be impacted by anti-mask protests; both Medicine Hat’s school divisions were impacted, as well as other divisions and schools across the province.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange released a statement calling for the end of protests at schools.

“Schools are not an appropriate place to protest public health measures, as this only services to disrupt the education of Alberta students,” she said in the statement. “Furthermore, unauthorized trespass on school property is unlawful. I would encourage those who have chosen to disrupt the learning environment at any Alberta school to cease immediately.”

Local ATA representative Jason Schilling also denounced the protests at schools and called on Premier Jason Kenney to do the same.

“While we recognize the right to peaceful and orderly assembly, protests against government policy should take place in more appropriate places and be directed towards those making the decisions,” Schilling said. “(This is) about ensuring that schools are safe and caring places for all students, recognizing that for some, the school is the only safe space they have. Teachers, too, like all other workers, have the right to a safe workplace.”

As videos of the Feb. 4 incident continue to circulate on social media platforms, a stark divide has emerged between those who describe it an act of protest and those who describe it as actions enacted to incite fear.

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