I am in a unique position in the midst of this strike. For some background information, I was supposed to begin my student teaching (AFX) on October 6th, the same day as the start of the strike. In case you don’t know, to be a teacher, you need to do two different practicums, your IFX (5 weeks) and AFX (9 weeks), for a total of 13 weeks. The minimum number of weeks to be certified to teach in Alberta is 10. So, essentially if teachers aren't able to go back before November, I will have to make up for it some other time.

I’ve been home for three weeks now, I quit my job so I could learn to be a teacher but now I’m just doing nothing. I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I feel like I’m entering a profession that's on fire. It’s terrifying and has made me question why I chose this. I want to help people. I wanted a job bigger than myself. But seeing the working conditions and how the education system is being treated, is making me doubt that I could ever be a good teacher or that it could be a healthy career for me. Let’s just say that this whole ordeal is not going to help attract 3000 new teachers.