Madison Dovell
Livingston Range, Local No. 14
Being politically engaged to me means caring about the current and also the future of Alberta and Canada in general. It means really figuring out who the people are who are going to be making the decisions and even potentially stepping out of our own comfort zones to engage in deeper ways like offering up your ideas, offering up your service, helping in campaigns, reaching out to friends, talking to families, having those hard conversations. I think it’s important to be politically engaged because the future is important, the children matter, Alberta matters and we can’t just let it flow by us without any input.
Karlee Hren
Edmonton Public, Local No. 37
Not all of our members, not all teachers have the capacity to be politically engaged and for those who have the capacity, we have the responsibility to support our colleagues and ourselves in that action. It also benefits society as a whole, us being politically aware and advocating for the needs of the community that we serve and public education.
MJ Eagleson
Calgary Public, Teachers Local No. 38
If our students and ourselves are politically engaged, then we understand what the implications of [government] policies can be long term. It also allows for the building of communities because we’re able to understand one another when we can be engaged in the civics that is going on around us. Some of that gets lost when we head towards polarization. What it personally means to me is that I hold a lot of privilege and power in order to empower others around me, be it my colleagues, or be it administration or be it my students, my family, even within my communities, and it’s so important because we are the ones that can change the outcomes within our systems.
Dave Krawchuk
Edmonton Public, Teachers Local No. 37
The fights we’re engaged in are incredibly important, not just for today but for tomorrow. I fight for my own children, but I also fight for the children of the future. I’m the kind of person that, if I’m going to ask people to do something, I’m going to do it first. I’m going to make sure I’m involved before I start asking other people to become involved as well, so that’s why I get involved in the way that I do.
Stéfane Kreiner
Association des enseignantes et des enseignants francophones de l’Alberta No. 24
Pour moi, l’engagement politique c’est de participer aux processus démocratiques. Ça veut dire savoir ce qui se passe dans les évènements quotidiens dans notre société, connaitre les opinions des gens autour de moi et des gens dans la société [élargie], faire voir les valeurs dans ce que je vois autour de moi dans les nouvelles, et promouvoir mes perspectives, mes opinions auprès des personnes autour de moi pour [en faire] une priorité pour eux aussi.
Pour moi, c’est important d’être impliqué, engagé dans la politique parce que nous vivons les conséquences de notre action ou de notre inaction tous les jours.
Shannon Dube
Fort McMurray, Local No. 48
Being informed, most of all. It means that you are paying attention and that you are taking an active part in what’s going on around you. Everyone’s voice and vote make a difference and the more that you recognize your own agency, the more that you will feel that you have the power to make a difference and to create change in those around you and in the context that you work in or are living in.
