Student advocacy group asks UCP to trash draft curriculum

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Since the announcement of the province’s K-6 curriculum draft last week, reaction has been pouring in and now a public school advocacy group is voicing its concerns.

Support our Students Alberta (SOS) said the curriculum draft is wrought with problems and it should be concerning to the general public not just people with school-aged children.

The organization has joined the Facebook group Albertans Reject Curriculum Draft to call on the UCP government to scrap its curriculum plans, saying it will set the province’s world-class education system back decades and is full of nonsensical, age-inappropriate content and is harmful to children.

“There are lots of omissions,” said Wing Li with SOS Alberta. “The Indigenous perspective that’s rooted in Canadian history. We’ve seen the charter omitted, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I think what has to happen is that they need to go back to the table.”

WATCH: Alberta’s proposed curriculum under fire for ‘whitewashing’ Canadian history

Li said the group is launching several community engagement campaigns through the site Students Deserve Better to urge the government to listen to their concerns. These include setting up lawn signs and encouraging student councils to engage with government on the curriculum.

She pointed out on top of sharing the Indigenous perspectives on residential schools, the curriculum should focus on anti-racism initiatives.

SOS Alberta said it’s received over 700 letters of concern regarding the curriculum covering a wide range of issues.

The K-6 draft has come under fire for not properly representing Indigenous voices and teaching about the harms of residential schools in later grades.

Other controversies with the curriculum include accusations of plagiarism and a series of music lessons that have students learn about Premier Jason Kenney’s grandfather, jazz musician Mart Kenney.