Sign promoting K-6 draft curriculum with glaring spelling error corrected

A sign from the Alberta government that got a laugh on the internet due to a glaring spelling error has been corrected.

The sign promoting the controversial K-6 draft curriculum was spotted Tuesday in Energy Minister Sonya Savage’s riding of Calgary-North West.

The kicker? “Curriculum” was spelled wrong.

https://twitter.com/Tommy_Slick/status/1455560273343901704

The sign reads “Have your say about Alberta’s K-6 curriculum,” with “curriculum” correctly spelled.

But on the line below, with the URL for the Alberta government’s website, the word is typed out “cirriculum”. If you were to type out the URL listed on the sign, you would be directed to a “page not found” notice.

If you were to correct the spelling and try the URL again, you’d get the government’s actual page for the draft curriculum.

On Tuesday evening, CityNews received a statement from Savage’s Constituency Manager, which read:

“I did check the proof and the spelling was correct. The signs are being corrected.

“The curriculum is an important issue to many people in our area and many wish to provide feedback and attend the upcoming town halls. It’s important they have the information.

“Members of the Legislative Assembly are provided with an annual budget to cover the costs associated with operating and staffing constituency offices. Members may also use these funds for communications with constituents, which could be in the form of a newsletter, household flyer, or advertisement (e.g., print, online, radio, or television).”

The draft curriculum has been widely criticized by teachers and other educational experts for having issues throughout it.

The Alberta Teachers Association called it “disjointed” and said it had “no scope”.

The ATA released a full review of the blueprint in September and said the educational plan fails to meet even the provincial government’s own standards.

READ MORE: Alberta K-6 draft curriculum ‘disjointed’, has ‘no scope’: teacher group

“Alberta’s students and teachers require an appropriate and workable curriculum. The government may have set out to develop a high-quality curriculum, but our analysis shows they have failed to meet their own goals. If they won’t listen to the thousands of teachers who have spoken, perhaps they will listen to themselves,” said ATA President Jason Schilling at the time.

The ATA said the content has developmentally inappropriate learning outcomes that lack high academic standards and does not adequately describe what students must know and be able to do.

Inclusion of Indigenous content is not authentic, the group said, and there is not an adequate inclusion of francophone histories, contributions, and perspectives.

The curriculum draft lacks respect for Alberta’s diversity and support for a peaceful, pluralistic society, teachers said.

The ATA also said it fails to address racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry, and the use of language that promotes such bigotry.