Calgary, Edmonton elect school board trustees vocally against UCP draft curriculum
Posted Oct 20, 2021 1:13 pm.
Last Updated Oct 21, 2021 7:03 am.
With most of the focus on mayor and city councillors during the municipal election, there was a change in the newly-elected public school trustees.
And now all trustees in Calgary and Edmonton have come out to oppose the UCP K-6 draft curriculum.
With so much opposition, social studies education professor Dr. Carla peck at the University of Alberta says trustees are in a position now to look out for the students.
“Not only are they not satisfied, they’re concerned about the education, whether it’s their children or children they know, people in their community. And I think that the government really needs to pay attention to the fact that such a strong slate of people were elected into these positions,” Peck said.
Peck adds this is the worst draft curriculum she has seen in her entire career.
“No students should be subjected to it and no teacher should be expected to teach it.”
RELATED: Alberta K-6 draft curriculum ‘disjointed’, has ‘no scope’: teacher group
“Our research has indicated it’s age-inappropriate, it doesn’t connect, it doesn’t scaffold with one another,” echoed Jason Schilling, the president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
Schilling says it’s not a surprise that the two major cities chose trustees against the draft, considering how much opposition to the document there is.
Peck adds the large turnover of trustees should provide a push for change.
“School board trustees are really going to need to figure out how they’re going to work with and/or protest against the government, in order to ensure that curriculum changes are in fact made.”
The ATA launched a campaign last week, saying the curriculum wouldn’t have looked out of place in the ’50s, but it doesn’t make sense for today.
RELATED: Alberta teachers, parents worried public education is under attack
“It needs to be stopped so that we can have something in place that is successful, and you’re hearing that from trustees as well.”
The ATA is trying to rally people to stop it from being implemented.
