NEWS PHOTO ANNA SMITH
Picture of education critic Amanda Chapman at the Elk's Club on Friday.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
The latest in a growing list of visits from NDP critics to speak on issues that matter to residents, NDP MLA and Official Critic for Education Amanda Chapman visited Medicine Hat on Friday evening.
Chapman opened the evening with commentary on the recent announcement by the province to create 50,000 learning spaces, followed by promises further for the next several years, something that she condemned as a “classic conservative thing,” as much of the promised work would take place after the 2027 election.
“I think it’s very easy to make promises for a time when you have no idea if you will actually be in power and will have to fulfill your promises,” said Chapman. She did add that the investment that is being made is a positive thing for the province.
“We need a lot of new tools. Calgary, Airdrie, Edmonton, or metropolitan areas. We have schools that are well over 100% capacity,” said Chapman. She proceeded to list several school divisions that are at or nearing full capacity that may still be expected to take on additional students in coming years.
Chapman commented that it has been difficult to get to see the true face of what educators have been dealing with as of late, as schools tend to put on their best faces.
“I said, you don’t have to hide things from me,” said Chapman. That is the picture of what’s happening in our schools. I love your outdoor garden, but I’d also really just love to know what you’re facing.”
One of the biggest issues that the NDP is seeing, said Chapman, are large classrooms, sometimes with as many as 30 students per room. She continued that the investment to build more schools sounds like a lot, but it also does not address problems such as a lack of supports in classrooms, or for students who are in need of accommodations.
She continued on to say that she believes the conservative focus is currently on cost containment over the quality of education.
“You might have heard the Premier’s education minister say that it was an additional $125 million they put in the system last year. It works out to $700 per child,” said Chapman. “I don’t think that the government is taking education seriously.”
With more parents turning to private or charter schools to deal with the situation in classrooms, Chapman believes this was a “feature, not a bug” of current education choices, as “when we start our public system of resources, when we reduce the quality of education that our kids can receive in our local community public schools, it’s not surprising that parents start to look at other options.”
Chapman spoke on mental health support in schools, ongoing teacher shortages, and the impact of teaching to standardized testing, before leaving the full Elks Club with a call to action to demand better education policy.
