A parent of a student attending a Yellowknife District Education No. 1 school is speaking out after allegations their child has been bullied over their supposed support of U.S. President Donald Trump.
SA国际影视传媒 obtained an e-mail addressed to the school board and Yk1 administration outlining the alleged chain of events. We have decided to neither name the school in question nor any of the parties involved to protect both the victim of bullying as well as those who have been accused.
According to the e-mail, the series of events began the day after the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 6, 2024, when a student in the school playground mentioned that Trump had won. Another student apparently replied, "Yay!" and ended up receiving a barrage of verbal abuse, including other students whispering loud enough so the student in question could hear.
"It is important for you to know that our (child) knows nothing about Donald Trump or his policies (and they have) been bullied because (the student) defended (their) parents, who do not hate him," wrote one parent. "It breaks our heart to see our (child) punished because (we) do not agree with the general consensus on him."
The bullying then carried into the classroom, according to the e-mail, where the student's teacher allegedly told the class that Trump's name was not to be mentioned because, according to the parent, the teacher stated that Trump "is a terrible person."
"While (the teacher) is entitled to (their) own opinion, (their) role at (the school) is as an educator; it is not (their) job, or (their) place to forcefully shut down the students in (their) class or try to impose (their) own views on them by diktat," the parent wrote. "This is completely unacceptable behaviour from a teacher."
The parents of the student then met with the school's administration and the the teacher a week after the initial events to address what had allegedly been happening. The principal, according to the parent, attempted to downplay the incidents and did a "poor job of understanding our concerns or addressing them in any meaningful way."
"We feel this way because our one request from the meeting was for a discussion to be held with (the student's) class, reminding them that people are entitled to their opinions, and while people do not have to agree, you cannot bully others for holding a different opinion," wrote the parent.
The parent described the attitude of the vice-principal during the meeting as "outright hostile to the idea that someone has a right to hold an opinion to which (they do) not share."
"(The vice-principal) verbally objected," wrote the parent. "When (we) reiterated the importance of respecting a person's right to hold a different opinion than one's own, (the vice-principal), thinking (we) would not notice as (our) attention was directed at (the principal), rolled (their) eyes while (we were) speaking. It is extremely concerning that one of your vice-principals would demonstrate such open contempt for the parents of students under (their) care and for the idea that the right to hold differing opinions should be respected."
The principal agreed to have a talk with the student's class the morning after the meeting, said the parent, but it apparently did not happen as the responsibility to deal with the situation was left to teachers.
"(We) appreciate the effort by these teachers, who seem to genuinely care about ensuring (the student's) well-being and were not directly involved in the incident," the parent stated.
The parent also alleges that a physical altercation occurred between their child and another student at the school.
"When we asked (our child) what happened, (they) admitted to hitting the boy first because (they) just could not take the 'non-stop' bullying any longer," wrote the parent. "(Our child) told us that after (they) hit (the other student), (the other student) hit back, and when (our child's) friend tried to intervene on (their) behalf, the (other student) hit (them) too."
A follow-up e-mail was sent to the school on Nov. 22 due to the "nonchalant" attitude of the school toward what was happening, the parent said.
"We believe that if the administration and (the teacher) had actually done what they committed to do, the other students might not have felt so emboldened to continue the bullying," wrote the parent. "But from where we stand, when (the teacher) chose to join the bullying of (the student), and refused to tell (the) students that people should not be bullied for their opinions, the students took that as tacit approval to continue their behaviour, which they did."
Prepared to change schools
A meeting involving the student, their parents, the teacher in question and the principal occurred at the end of November, but the parent claimed that the school didn't appear interested in finding a solution.
"(The teacher) lamented that (their) relationship with (the student) was not going well, " said the parent. "We told (the teacher) that the relationship was poor because (the teacher) called (the student) a liar to protect (themselves) and (the student) does not trust (the teacher). (The teacher) told us that (they) wanted to do what (they) could to try and repair the relationship with (with the student) SA国际影视传媒� which is certainly commendable SA国际影视传媒� but (they have) not made much progress and (the student) continues to distrust (the teacher) and is at best ambivalent about being in (their) class."
The parent stated that things began to improve in December because of what the parent thought was an understanding reached following the meeting in November.
But the parent said that appeared to not be the case after all.
"As it turns out, things got better for (the student) because some of the kids bullying (the student) simply found another target," wrote the parent.
The latest episode apparently took place on Feb. 24 during a talk involving the principal with the student's class, but it apparently wasn't the discussion that had been promised by the principal, according to the parent.
"(The principal) had come into (the student's) class, sat everyone in a circle and started asking them questions about Mr. Trump, even going so far as to require them to record those answers in writing," the parent wrote. "Unfortunately, I do not have a copy of this activity as (our child) said (they were) so uncomfortable and upset with it that (they) threw it away as soon as (the principal) left the classroom."
The parent referred to the school board's policy 28 titled 'Safe, caring, respectful working and learning environments', which states in part, "... The board recognizes that individual and systemic biases related to... family status, family affiliation, political belief, political association exist in society. The board believes these biases are not to be tolerated in the district."
The parent alleges that political bias is "tolerated" at the school in question based on the experience their child has gone through.
In response to questions from SA国际影视传媒 about what's happened, David Wasylciw, chair of Yk1's board of trustees, said he wasn't entirely sure of the situation and that it would be inappropriate for him to comment on specific matters pertaining to students.
"In situations where there are concerns from a student or family that haven't been addressed at a school level, we encourage them to reach out to our superintendent, Shirley Zouboules, to review the matter," Wasylciw said. "If there continue to be concerns or issues after that review, then the concerns can be escalated to the board."
Wasylciw added that any review performed by the superintendent would involve the family from start to finish.
The parent wrote that their child will be going to a different school starting next school year, but that could change if things go downhill between now and the end of the current year.
"If (the student's) right to express (their) opinions, ask questions and explore (their) ideas in a safe environment for the next four months cannot be guaranteed, please tell us now so that we can make immediate arrangements to move (them)," wrote the parent.
