The student protests shut down Quebec higher education, gained international attention and shook that province's politics. By all accounts, the democratic protests were highly successful at gaining attention.There's only one catch: the protests were anything but democratic. Indeed, it would have been illegal for any labour union in the country to conduct itself the way the student union leadership did. The next Quebec government needs to democratize the student associations. If they want the right to strike like regular labour unions, shouldn't they be held to the same basic democratic standards?

Whether you support them or not, Quebec students are giving us all a valuable lesson in leadership. When Quebec Premier Jean Charest announced relatively small increases in tuition fees, he was speaking from the head. When Quebec students responded by boycotting classes and taking to the streets, they were reacting from the heart.

Going to university is like hitting the snooze button on life: You do whatever you want whenever you want, and there are no consequences. Same thing goes for these protests: Most of the kids on strike in Quebec demonstrating in the streets, are going to turn out just fine, and become hard-working citizens like you and me.