Letter: Alberta should be a leader in education

By Letter to the Editor on March 29, 2022.

Dear editor,

Alberta’s curriculum has long been seen as a world leading document, held up as a model for curricula everywhere. Its birth began in the days of Conservative Premier Peter Lougheed and continued its development into the present. It met its biggest challenges with the election of the UCP government.

The draft ready to start implementation in 2019 was designed with the latest developments in educational psychology, teaching and learning principles, numeracy, language, science skills and technology in mind. It emphasized age appropriate and engaging activities for students and aimed at participatory citizenship and the applied skills of critical, innovative and creative thinking. It was a leader in equipping all students with digital and critical literacy skills, which taught them to discern truth from propaganda. This curriculum would have prepared students to cope with the challenges of the 21st century. It was well researched and was drafted in consultation with experts and all stakeholders.

Then came Jason Kenney and Adrianna LaGrange, who shredded this world class curriculum (shredding millions in taxpayer money, too) and in lieu, quickly threw together a half-baked, chaotic, politically motivated perversion of a curriculum designed to create a workforce for low-level work in extraction industries. Apparently, the UCP fear that too much thinking, too much knowledge, too much compassion and too much thoughtful citizenship was a danger to Alberta. Almost all school boards in Alberta have refused to field test/accept this UCP creation. Yet they persist.

I urge everyone – students, parents, business leaders, citizens – to look into an Alberta-wide announcement of a protest that will be happening all across Alberta on April 2. Please look up “Ditch the Draft Protest” organized by “Caring Parents and Educators.”

Please consider showing up on Saturday, April 2, at noon, in front of the office of one of our MLAs. Bring your own posters and wear red (for education). This will be a free, peaceful, respectful family affair. Bring the kids, pets and snacks. Banjos optional.