Friday's letters: Kenney is wrong; liberal art education has value
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney speaks at a press conference held at Executive Millwork where he outlined some of his governments' plans to address the changing needs of education for youth entering the workforce. Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
© Provided by Edmonton Journal
Re. “Industry heads to advise on post-secondary needs,” Sept. 7
At Tuesday’s announcement of the formation of the Premier’s Council on Skills, it is reported that Jason Kenney “railed against university liberal arts programs.” Perhaps if he had a broader education himself, he could understand the value of such programs. Even someone as conservative as Ronald Reagan considered that the liberal arts are “the foundation of education.” Alberta Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time, wrote that the value of liberal arts education, “is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.”
U.S. diplomat and educator Barbara White goes further, suggesting that such education “liberates the human being to exercise his or her potential to the fullest. And that means tearing down some of the walls of provincialism with which a person grows up.” Perhaps there are others in the UCP party as well as Kenney who could have used more liberal arts education!
Gayle Simonson, Edmonton
Employers value skills taught by liberal arts
The article states Premier Kenney railed against arts programs “which he said had modest or very poor employment outcomes, and said government funding for universities should align with labour market demands.” Where’s the evidence for such an outlandish claim? Just this past March, the Conference Board of Canada published a report “Lost Opportunities: Measuring the Unrealized Value of Skill Vacancies in Canada” in which they identified six of the most highly valued skills by employers as active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension, speaking, monitoring, and co-ordination
That report was further supported by the federal government’s 2017 expert panel on youth employment which found that we are shifting away from manufacturing to service and knowledge economies with a greater emphasis on problem-solving, communication, interpersonal skills, and critical-thinking expertise. It’s precisely in the fields of thinking and people skills where universities excel — especially liberal arts programs — with the main benefit being that such skills are portable and may be applied in many different and ever-changing and evolving contexts.
Let’s not rob youth of these opportunities to work and to serve our communities and society on misguided falsehoods.
Marc Spooner, Regina
Invest budget surplus into education
The Alberta government is deliberating over what to do with the billions of dollars in surplus; they should invest in our children’s education. My granddaughter is in a Grade one class of 33! All the research indicates that investment in those early learning years is so critical for future success. Imagine the task that teacher has; how does she possibly address the individual needs of those 33 students?
After two years of COVID, our teachers have had a very tough job; let’s support them. Let’s fund more teachers, support staff and resources. These children are our future.
Sheron Jonzon, Edmonton
Re. “Industry heads to advise on post-secondary needs,” Sept. 7
At Tuesday’s announcement of the formation of the Premier’s Council on Skills, it is reported that Jason Kenney “railed against university liberal arts programs.” Perhaps if he had a broader education himself, he could understand the value of such programs. Even someone as conservative as Ronald Reagan considered that the liberal arts are “the foundation of education.” Alberta Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of all time, wrote that the value of liberal arts education, “is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.”
U.S. diplomat and educator Barbara White goes further, suggesting that such education “liberates the human being to exercise his or her potential to the fullest. And that means tearing down some of the walls of provincialism with which a person grows up.” Perhaps there are others in the UCP party as well as Kenney who could have used more liberal arts education!
Gayle Simonson, Edmonton
Employers value skills taught by liberal arts
The article states Premier Kenney railed against arts programs “which he said had modest or very poor employment outcomes, and said government funding for universities should align with labour market demands.” Where’s the evidence for such an outlandish claim? Just this past March, the Conference Board of Canada published a report “Lost Opportunities: Measuring the Unrealized Value of Skill Vacancies in Canada” in which they identified six of the most highly valued skills by employers as active listening, critical thinking, reading comprehension, speaking, monitoring, and co-ordination
That report was further supported by the federal government’s 2017 expert panel on youth employment which found that we are shifting away from manufacturing to service and knowledge economies with a greater emphasis on problem-solving, communication, interpersonal skills, and critical-thinking expertise. It’s precisely in the fields of thinking and people skills where universities excel — especially liberal arts programs — with the main benefit being that such skills are portable and may be applied in many different and ever-changing and evolving contexts.
Let’s not rob youth of these opportunities to work and to serve our communities and society on misguided falsehoods.
Marc Spooner, Regina
Invest budget surplus into education
The Alberta government is deliberating over what to do with the billions of dollars in surplus; they should invest in our children’s education. My granddaughter is in a Grade one class of 33! All the research indicates that investment in those early learning years is so critical for future success. Imagine the task that teacher has; how does she possibly address the individual needs of those 33 students?
After two years of COVID, our teachers have had a very tough job; let’s support them. Let’s fund more teachers, support staff and resources. These children are our future.
Sheron Jonzon, Edmonton
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