EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) says the draft K-6 curriculum should be stopped in its tracks.
This comes after over a dozen school boards voted not to pilot the curriculum and thousands of ATA members voted in disapproval of the draft.
ATA President Jason Schilling spoke Thursday morning said the curriculum needs to be reviewed and rewritten.
“Alberta’s students and teachers require an appropriate and workable curriculum. The government is being told loudly and clearly that this curriculum is unacceptable. We now need the government to announce a stop to their implementation plans and to spell out a new way forward.”
He says it is poorly structured, full of random facts, and isn't appropriate for some age groups. Also there is a distinct lack of enough Indigenous education. He says it will cause kids to get frustrated with learning, and cause more issues down the road.
— Tom Ross (@Tommy_Slick) April 15, 2021
Schilling added he supports the many school boards opposing the draft and is calling on all school authorities to refrain from directing their teachers to participate in piloting.
“Teachers who believe this curriculum is unsound and potentially damaging to student learning have the professional responsibility and moral right to refuse to participate in voluntary piloting. The government and school boards must respect the decision of individual teachers to not participate in piloting.”
Schilling said, compared to the previous NDP curriculum, the process from the UCP had far less input from teachers.
Starting Friday, the ATA will be running an ad campaign to voice its displeasure in the curriculum, further pressing calls for a full moratorium.
WATCH: Survey: 91 per cent of Alberta teachers are unhappy with K-6 curriculum draft
The draft curriculum, which was released late last month, has been heavily criticized for a lack of Indigenous education and other important topics surrounding Canada’s history. Many advocates have called it inappropriate and only moves to whitewash the country’s past.
The draft have also come under fire for plagiarizing parts of the social studies section from other curricula and online sources.
Despite the pushback, Premier Jason Kenney and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange affirm that proper consultations did occur and that the curriculum is the best way to bring Alberta back to the international stage in areas like numeracy and literacy.
