Local schools welcome new K-4 curriculum

By Jeremy Appel on October 12, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

The province’s draft K-4 curriculum has the approval of Medicine Hat’s public and Catholic school boards.

“We have been waiting and are so excited to finally have draft curriculum available to engage in it, according to the messaging, in quite a short time,” said Joanne Pitman, the Medicine Hat Public School Division assistant superintendent for universal design and learning, who’s part of the provincial implementation group for the new curriculum.

Work on an updated curriculum began in 2008, so it’s been a decade in the making, she said.

It’s intended to reflect the latest knowledge in childhood brain development and provides mental health-specific strategies.

Chuck Hellman, associate superintendent of the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education, praised the updated syllabus for giving teachers more flexibility to teach various subjects.

“This opens up the curriculum to be more concept-based, which is a good thing for teachers,” said Hellman.

The curriculum introduces the concept of consent in Grade 2, which Pitman says is not much of a departure from past practices.

“The concept of personal safety has always been part of the curriculum,” said Pitman.

“The setting of personal boundaries is also not something that is new to the curriculum.”

The only thing actually new is the use of the word ‘consent,’ which Pitman said is fully consistent with concepts of personal safety and boundaries.

“Is that something we want our kids to be aware of? I think we do,” said Hellman.

“The concept of personal space (is) always being taught. That’s just part of learning how to play with one another.”

The new syllabus also introduced students to the arts in kindergarten, as opposed to Grade 1.

Pitman and Hellman agree that teaching art is particularly suitable to a kindergarten environment.

“If you’ve been in a kindergarten class, everything’s around personal expression, everything’s around exploring self and personal surroundings. Creating art using a variety of materials, well that’s kindergarten in a nutshell,” said Hellman.

“Our current kindergarten program statement for early childhood encompasses much of what’s in the arts education, but this actually enhances those particular developmental focuses around music, drama play,” said Pitman. “All of those pieces are imperative to developing communication skills.”

Children will learn about fractions, decimals and other mathematical concepts at a younger age, which Hellman says fits well with the more conceptual approach to education the curriculum promotes.

The new curriculum includes enhanced emphasis on Indigenous concepts of land, place and the history of Alberta.

The heavier content, such as the horrors of residential schools, are left to later grades.

Although LGBTQ issues aren’t explicitly brought up in the K-4 curriculum, related concepts, such as inclusion and respect, are.

Minister of Education David Eggen will be hosting telephone town halls to discuss the draft curriculum, which will occur at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 for southern Alberta residents.

Those looking to register can do so at education.alberta.ca/curriculum-development.

The full draft can be read at learnalberta.ca.

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