Danika Chevalier (00:01.496)
So the teachers are on strike and we are coming up on like almost 20 days of this in Alberta. And if you're not from Alberta, I'll just give you a quick little colds notes version of what's happening. On October 6th, the teachers banded together and decided to go on strike. school has been out for, yeah, since October 6th. It is October 23rd today, 23rd?
23rd. And, I mean, it's been inconvenient. Let's call it what it is. It's not, no one's dying. No one's, it's not, we're not in famine. We're not in war, but it's been a really inconvenient turn of events for a lot of people. And it's really hard to be inconvenienced in a culture and in a
world now that is formulated around convenience. Everything is convenient. And when there's no, when something is inconvenient, we don't have the bandwidth to deal with it anymore because we are so conditioned to having our little luxuries, our little comforts and our conveniences. And so it's been interesting to see how people are reacting to this and to hear the narrative around
both sides of the coin. And I am hoping to just kind of unpack a different viewpoint a little bit in this episode, or maybe a zoomed out birds eye view viewpoint or questions to ask. always love to come at stuff like this with a lot of curiosity because I don't think it's black and white. And I think...
all sides have valid points to them. And I don't think it's fair to discount anyone's viewpoint or discount anyone's driving needs, driving factors behind their views. So yeah, welcome back to the show. I have one kid who is currently not in school and it's kind of...
Danika Chevalier (02:22.923)
Honestly, as a mom, I'm a little sad for him because it was his first year of kindergarten, his first kick at, you know, going into the big kids school. And my kids are going to a different, they're going to a new school. So they're going to the French school where we live. And it's been a really positive experience so far. And they got to take the bus and all those fun things. And I was a mom who was, debating homeschooling too, but I, I was really happy that we made the decision.
to send my oldest to kindergarten in the school and move my middle to the preschool program there. It's a smaller program. And for me, it was really fun to kind of get in touch with that French side within me that I haven't been in touch with for the last 15 years besides, know, chatting with family sometimes. And...
Yeah, I'm a little, I'm a little, it's kind of been a buzzkill and I'm, I'm disappointed and I'm bummed, more so than anything. And at the same time, I'm grateful that I am an entrepreneur and I'm, you know, not overly inconvenienced by this teacher strike. And I really feel for the teachers because I feel they are a collective group of
people and lightworkers in this world, similar to nurses. And I can really empathize and I can really, you know, relate to the teachers because I feel like teachers and nurses go into their professions really wanting to make the world a better place. Like it's a really pure and good intentioned profession. And so I know how disheartening it is when you
are not able to fulfill that mission that is on your heart. And I think that's where we're at with the teachers right now is they are so buried beneath the bureaucracies and the overburdened system. And it's just, it's really hard to sift through all of that and remember your why and remember, you know, that little spark within and that little mission that's on your heart when
Danika Chevalier (04:47.949)
You're just being stifled with huge class sizes and kids with much bigger needs than we've ever seen before and less supports and longer hours and, and, and, and, and, and, and inflation and, know, a salary that maybe isn't matching how quickly things are inflating. Like I just, the list goes on. I really do. I get it.
And I think everything happens for a reason. And I think we are in this collective shakedown. We're in this era of collective shakedown since 2020, really. And I think this is just another layer. And personally, it's been feeling very COVID-y to me lately, and I'm really struggling with it, which is why I kind of chose to do this episode because I need to practice using my voice and I need to learn.
to put my big old pants on and share these important conversations and viewpoints with people because without these conversations and these different safe interactions, we're never gonna really get anywhere that's going to be for the greatest good of all, right? So I think there's an even greater issue at hand here than just
more money for teachers, teachers standing up for their rights. I think it goes even deeper in looking at where are we at as a society? Why do we have so many kids with greater needs? What's not working? Is it the food we're eating? Is it the lifestyle we've adopted with, again, that convenience factor being at the top of the mark all the time? Is it that
the we have created again, a system and a world where both parents need to be working full time and therefore the kids need to be taken care of during those quote unquote work hours. And so here is your built in daycare, which is the school system. And I don't mean that with a derogatory tone or anything like that, but let's just, let's look at it objectively and
Danika Chevalier (07:15.061)
in order to have two working parents who are still reproducing, we need a place for the kids to go. And when the school system really became mainstream was when they were wanting to pump out little factory workers, the industrial revolution that kind of came adjacently with
the school system as we've come to know it today. And it is to teach kids, know, sit here, listen here, follow this, rinse and repeat, learn this, spit it back out. And I think what we're evolving to see now, and especially since the pandemic, I think the pandemic cracked open a lot of good things because it allowed people to really stop and reevaluate the current ways and the current systems.
So for example, a lot of people now are, you know, having a better work from home, work at the office balance, which is rippling into other areas of their lives. So it's good when these things happen because it allows us all to kind of reevaluate and see, okay, well, is there a better way? Right. And I just, wish that that was the conversation that was being had versus this is the offer. We're refusing the offer.
We want this as the offer when in my eyes, the offer they're all wanting and saying the same thing. The government is saying, here's this much money. Here's this many schools that we're planning on building this many years we want to give you and this much more funding. And the teachers are saying, no, we want smaller class sizes. Well, all of the things the government is offering you is going to in turn give you smaller class sizes. But I feel like everyone is just like stuck on the hill that they want to die on that. They're not looking at the bigger picture and seeing
that they all really do want the same things. Like every side does really want the same things. They're just, there's a communication breakdown in my opinion. And I don't know what the answer is there, but it's really tiring to be a peon in this as a parent. And I, I mean, I haven't even experienced it on the level that a lot of parents did who went through the COVID.
Danika Chevalier (09:37.634)
days in 2020 and had their kids at home and that whole, you know, shenanigans that that was. But I really do feel for the teachers in their respect that they're not getting paid right now. Like they have, they're so passionate about this and they are so at their wits that for them there is no other option and they are taking the big sacrifice of not taking a paycheck.
to say like, we can't keep doing this, but what's gonna happen, and I'm gonna relate it to what happened in COVID, what's gonna happen is there's gonna be a point of no return of like, I can't afford to not go back to work. So, okay, sure, I'll take whatever deal that there is because I need to pay my mortgage. Just like back in the COVID days, okay, well, I guess I'll take the COVID-19 vaccine because I have to go to work because I have to pay my mortgage, right?
And it sucks that we're in this same story again, with such a fundamental and important system of the education system and the teachers. Like you guys, we've done it with our health. Now we're doing it with the teachers. Like what else, like, can we figure it out, please? Can we just like figure it out? This isn't working.
So what do we need to do? Go back to the drawing board, start from zero. What if there wasn't a school system or what if the school system looked like? I don't know.
part-time schooling, the other part-time they're at home, parents working from home a little bit more, or more entrepreneurs having their kids. Like thankfully, yeah, having my kid at home hasn't really affected my business much. I'm not able to get ahead. I'm not able to really grow and devote that uninterrupted mental space to doing that, but I'm still able to...
Danika Chevalier (11:46.016)
make my products, include my kid in my process, include my kid in this, you know, this way of living and of earning a living. And that's pretty special too. And I wonder if we stopped to look at, okay, well, maybe it shouldn't be all on the teachers. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe they're feeling so at their wits because there's so much riding on them.
What if the parents took back a little bit of initiative and what if the parents took back a little bit of accountability in teaching their kids certain areas? What would that look like? What kind of a society would we, would we be raising then? And I know our circumstances feel very stifling and limiting because while I, you know, my job requires me to work 40 hours a week, da da da da da. Okay. But like again,
Let's zoom out big lens zoom out. And like, what if we changed the whole paradigm? Dun, dun, dun. You know, like what if hear me out. Parents were able to be at home a little bit more with their kids, make nutritious meals for their kids instead of having to, you know, grab takeout or whatever, because we're always just hustle go from point a to point B to job, to school, to bus, to this. What if it was just a little, okay.
Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, everyone is at home. Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, the system is, know, parents work from home, they put in their six, eight hours while the kids are at home in a way that is sustainable for everyone, in a way that, you know, meals can be made and shared together. And that piece of education is in there. And then, wow, once their little bodies are being fueled and fed, nourishing,
meals and their emotional needs are being met by their primary caregivers, what does the behavior look like after that? And then they go to school, maybe on Tuesday, Thursdays. Again, I'm just like throwing this out in the air. Like this is not actually like a thing that I'm thinking we should implement, but I'm just like, what if we went back to the drawing board and redesigned?
Danika Chevalier (14:04.267)
the whole system, starting with the school system, because I feel like that is the one that is really breaking right now. And it's having such a wide trickling effect on so many parts and so many areas. And what if we just came at it with a lot more empathy and togetherness? Because I feel like this is
This is the, the, the scream that no one is hearing is like, it's all on the teachers and they are underpaid and they don't have the proper supports and they don't have because of yeah, funding and all of that. But because I feel like the accountability on the parents has been completely removed and
Yeah. I wonder what it would look like if we had this conversation more than agreeing or disagreeing with the government or the Alberta Teachers Association. What if the conversation looked completely different and we looked at the root cause of the demise of this old system? We are becoming increasingly more aware of the kinds of
jobs and with the rise of AI.
we are recognizing that a lot of the jobs that our kids are going to have haven't even been created yet. You know, it's, we're no longer in the La La Land of pick your route. Do you want to be a teacher, a firefighter, a police officer or under a nurse or a doctor when you grow up, like that's gone. Like, so let's dismantle all of the roads to that lead to this because
Danika Chevalier (16:04.909)
We're paving a new road. We're paving a new road. We've never been here before. We've never been so forward with all of our technology. We've never been so comfortable. We've never not had to worry about...
are, you know, basic needs being met, right? And so I think there's just some way bigger conversations that need to be had. if everyone focused their energies on having these kinds of conversations and coming up with new systems and new programs and new ways, and it's going to be uncomfortable for a little bit. And there is probably going to be some pushback. But like, what if we created more
small pods of learning and maybe it looks like it's a teacher with 10, 15 kids that are between the, you know, four different grades on certain days. And then the rest of the time they're somewhere else or there's, you know.
farm days or garden days where like they get to learn all of these really important skills that we've lost and turn the narrative around in empowering our youth in doing more than just sitting at a desk and learning. I don't know. And I know it's not going to happen overnight. And I know that it's really been taxing for a long time.
on a lot of, a lot of people, a lot of systems. And so I am relieved and grateful that there is a strike going on so that, you know, the message can be heard and the shouting from the rooftops can be, okay, taken seriously, right? But I hope it is taken seriously. And unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be, unfortunately, I think it's going to be a case of the teachers are going to be mandated to go back to work, which
Danika Chevalier (18:04.383)
is going to, in my opinion, be worse because they're going to be resentful. They're going to feel even more disempowered. And I mean, I can speak to this personally because that's how I felt during COVID. It was like...
you had no choice if you wanted to still be a good person and provide for your family and do the right thing. So, and this is not an attack against the government either. I know they have.
problems and things that they have to consider that we aren't privy to. If I can say this as a business owner and relate the government to a business, there's so much that goes on in the back end. There's so much behind the scenes that patrons don't get privy to or they don't see it. For example, when I owned my studio, what people saw was me showing up on the podium.
with bells on to teach a class. They didn't see that I was plunging a toilet in the back, you know, five minutes before they didn't see that I had a angry customer service email that like sent me into a spiral and I was sobbing my face out because I was so distraught and emotional. They don't see any of that, right? So I'm like, I'm just trying to compare it. Like we only see what the government shows us. We don't see all the behind the scenes, the backend stuff. So they may not have an option.
to provide anything more because of X, Y, and Z. And we aren't privy to that. I don't know. I don't know. I just, I like to really consider all facets and all angles when there is a situation. And in the situation of the teacher strike, my heart goes out to them. And, but at the same time, like the communication needs to be better because I think that's where the biggest breakdown is happening is between the communication between the parties. And I also think
Danika Chevalier (20:11.233)
This is a much bigger issue than just a collective agreement that needs to be settled on. Unfortunately, fortunately, maybe, and maybe like from COVID, how so many new avenues came to be from COVID. know, how many people changed career paths, how many jobs and how many businesses erupted from COVID from people having been forced to take a step back and reevaluate. I do hope that this
is what comes of this strike is like something really good, like a greater collective good thing. I personally encourage and support privatization of systems like this for the betterment of the, of all. that's, that's where I stand on that. So if this does mean some teachers leave the
mainstream system to open up their own, I'm going to call it a business, a school business, an education business. Like I think power to you and I am behind that 500%. Call me up if you want to make a business plan. This is my jam. but yeah, I just think this is a much larger happening than just, the teachers are striking for another week. the, you know,
And I, and I do hope that what comes of this is.
It shakes shit up. do. And I hope it's not, it's not going to be a sad, a sad turnout for our teachers and for our students. And.
Danika Chevalier (21:57.742)
I am both nervous and excited to see what is gonna shake out from this and the long term outcome for our kids because I really do feel in my gut that the world our kids are gonna grow up in and I say our kids like this next generation, I really do feel like they're gonna grow up in a really different world than we did.
And I think it's to be for the better. Like I feel like there's been kind of a generation that has gotten the worst of it, unfortunately, with being at the height of like technological advancements and whatnot. But I think this next wave is going to be kind of taking the power back. You know, there's a lot of memes going around right now of like, how good we had it in the nineties. But I really do think like the millennial parents are going to be the ones to
make those sacrifices and and bring bring the pendulum back to center where it needs to be for the generations to come. So
Danika Chevalier (23:10.689)
I'm going to wrap it up here. I just wanted to give voice to an alternate viewpoint on this situation that we are experiencing right now as Albertans. I support the teachers. If you are feeling like you are not being heard, if you are feeling like you need someone to talk to, please slide into my DMs. Please reach out to me. I know how
crippling it can feel to be silenced when you are part of a collective and you don't agree with a narrative. I know firsthand what it does to a person to feel like you are quote unquote wrong and like everyone is going to be mad at you for your opinion. like if you need to get something off your chest or if you're like, if you resonate with something in this episode, please reach out because that's how
this shift is going to happen is by connecting with like-minded individuals, having these important conversations, looking at the root, right? Like looking beyond what the fancy headline is and like really seeing underneath the surface, what is actually really broken here, getting curious, asking a lot of questions. And yeah, I think if we can just align our values and remember that we are
all navigating this human experience the best we can with what we have now. Giving each other a little bit more grace, giving ourselves a little bit more grace is just going to make make the world a more a more loving and kind kind place. So yeah on that note I'm gonna you know
burn some sage and go ahead and manifest my idea of a functioning education system for the world to come. stay loud, stay kind, stay grounded in your truths. And we'll catch you next time. I love you so much.
