Angela Grace
It has now been nearly a year since the 2021 draft curriculum was released. The initial public outcry resulted in the immediate development of the 39,000-plus strong Albertans Reject Curriculum Draft Facebook group and the Alberta Curriculum Analysis website , where educational experts submitted their initial reviews of the draft curriculum from educational best practice standards.
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
FORMER SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER Education Minister Adriana LaGrange.
The initial outcry clearly outlined significant problems with the draft: issues of plagiarism , whitewashed content that would contribute to systemic racism , Indigenous leaders felt tokenized and used , the draft was filled with rote memorization and lack of critical thinking , mental health experts and dieticians said it would contribute to eating disorders and poor mental health , and parents are concerned it will not prepare children adequately for their future .
Following the initial outcry, other significant issues emerged. First, there was a 99-per-cent non-confidence vote in the minister of education . A freedom of information and protection of privacy process revealed possible political interference in the curriculum development process . The same people who wrote the elementary draft were re-hired to write the junior and senior high drafts . Fifty-six out of 61 school boards refused to pilot the draft curriculum , meaning that less than one per cent of schools will have piloted parts of the draft for a few weeks. This is insufficient prior to implementing any program, let alone a curriculum that will impact hundreds of thousands of children’s lives for the next 30-plus years.
When the draft was leaked in October, 2020 , the minister of education scrambled to appoint 100 teachers to provide feedback under a non-disclosure agreement. This last-minute scramble indicated there was no prior intention to include teacher input in the draft curriculum. Over a year later when the non-disclosure agreement was lifted, the same teachers reported that they only had 1.5 days to review the entire draft and their feedback was ignored .
Instead of listening to the educational experts, teacher, and parent outcries, the minister of education proceeded with online “Have your Say” surveys, where anyone could anonymously submit feedback. The draft curriculum then became a moving target with wording changes happening daily. This has resulted in a Frankenstein, cut-and-paste draft based on random and anonymous input, most of which will not be grounded in educational best practices. Simple wording changes cannot repair the fundamental flaws of this draft.
In December 2021, significant public pressure led to the “pause” in the implementation of parts of the draft, with the minister of education announcing “significant steps to address feedback from parents, teachers and subject matter experts.” These include an online survey completed by February 2022, piloting by a handful of schools, and the “curriculum engagement sessions” facilitated by the hired Argyle PR firm in February 2022. The report from Argyle is being sent to the minister of education this spring. Will the public have the opportunity to review the results of the online survey, the reports written by the schools that piloted the draft for a few weeks, and the Argyle PR report? These reports need to be made public.
Budget 2022 included $191 million to implement the contentious draft curriculum over the next three years. This is over and above the $64.4-million 2018 draft curriculum that was “ practical, well supported from partners, stakeholders, and Albertans .” The truth is, we don’t actually know how much taxpayer money has been spent on this contentious draft to date.
All of this is very problematic. We now have a Frankenstein draft elementary curriculum that teachers, parents, and subject matter experts declared an epic fail. It is an “ inadequate, cobbled-together draft ” written behind closed doors by a few hand-selected individuals, rather than being a collaborative, nonpartisan effort with our children’s best interests in mind.
In short, this curriculum is absurd. The premier and minister of education are bound and determined to implement it in September 2022. No matter what political party is in power, Albertans need to ask themselves, “Is this really the elementary education we want for our children?” I know for this Albertan, along with every other parent, teacher, and educational expert who has spoken out loud and clear, it’s time to ditch the draft.
Angela Grace is a registered psychologist, former elementary teacher, and steering committee member of the Alberta Curriculum Analysis Website.
The initial outcry clearly outlined significant problems with the draft: issues of plagiarism , whitewashed content that would contribute to systemic racism , Indigenous leaders felt tokenized and used , the draft was filled with rote memorization and lack of critical thinking , mental health experts and dieticians said it would contribute to eating disorders and poor mental health , and parents are concerned it will not prepare children adequately for their future .
Following the initial outcry, other significant issues emerged. First, there was a 99-per-cent non-confidence vote in the minister of education . A freedom of information and protection of privacy process revealed possible political interference in the curriculum development process . The same people who wrote the elementary draft were re-hired to write the junior and senior high drafts . Fifty-six out of 61 school boards refused to pilot the draft curriculum , meaning that less than one per cent of schools will have piloted parts of the draft for a few weeks. This is insufficient prior to implementing any program, let alone a curriculum that will impact hundreds of thousands of children’s lives for the next 30-plus years.
When the draft was leaked in October, 2020 , the minister of education scrambled to appoint 100 teachers to provide feedback under a non-disclosure agreement. This last-minute scramble indicated there was no prior intention to include teacher input in the draft curriculum. Over a year later when the non-disclosure agreement was lifted, the same teachers reported that they only had 1.5 days to review the entire draft and their feedback was ignored .
Instead of listening to the educational experts, teacher, and parent outcries, the minister of education proceeded with online “Have your Say” surveys, where anyone could anonymously submit feedback. The draft curriculum then became a moving target with wording changes happening daily. This has resulted in a Frankenstein, cut-and-paste draft based on random and anonymous input, most of which will not be grounded in educational best practices. Simple wording changes cannot repair the fundamental flaws of this draft.
In December 2021, significant public pressure led to the “pause” in the implementation of parts of the draft, with the minister of education announcing “significant steps to address feedback from parents, teachers and subject matter experts.” These include an online survey completed by February 2022, piloting by a handful of schools, and the “curriculum engagement sessions” facilitated by the hired Argyle PR firm in February 2022. The report from Argyle is being sent to the minister of education this spring. Will the public have the opportunity to review the results of the online survey, the reports written by the schools that piloted the draft for a few weeks, and the Argyle PR report? These reports need to be made public.
Budget 2022 included $191 million to implement the contentious draft curriculum over the next three years. This is over and above the $64.4-million 2018 draft curriculum that was “ practical, well supported from partners, stakeholders, and Albertans .” The truth is, we don’t actually know how much taxpayer money has been spent on this contentious draft to date.
All of this is very problematic. We now have a Frankenstein draft elementary curriculum that teachers, parents, and subject matter experts declared an epic fail. It is an “ inadequate, cobbled-together draft ” written behind closed doors by a few hand-selected individuals, rather than being a collaborative, nonpartisan effort with our children’s best interests in mind.
In short, this curriculum is absurd. The premier and minister of education are bound and determined to implement it in September 2022. No matter what political party is in power, Albertans need to ask themselves, “Is this really the elementary education we want for our children?” I know for this Albertan, along with every other parent, teacher, and educational expert who has spoken out loud and clear, it’s time to ditch the draft.
Angela Grace is a registered psychologist, former elementary teacher, and steering committee member of the Alberta Curriculum Analysis Website.
No comments:
Post a Comment