As an #Alberta teacher there is a lot I could be angry about. I could be upset the UCP has cut per student spending despite their pledge to maintain funding. I could be upset that they laid off most of our EAs during a pandemic leaving students w/ fewer supports.

I could be upset about class sizes. I could even selfishly be upset about an increased workload and my 2% raise over 8 years while the UCP signals a 5-7% public sector wage cut. But what honestly keeps me up at night is the UCP’s hypocritical re-write of our program of studies.

Determined to rid of us the “NDP’s ideological curriculum” they’ve embarked on their own ideological agenda & it’s not like we didn’t see it coming. When the NDP released their K-4 program in Oct '18 @jkenney bristled at the progressive changes to Health & Social Studies.

During the campaign, Kenney told us he’d put the curriculum through the shredder. Then in August, @AdrianaLaGrange made their intentions clear when she appointed Chris Champion to lead the review: Indigenous voices and Reconciliation have no part in a UCP Program of Studies.

Champion is on the record as calling certain lessons about Indigenous history “fads” and has accused residential school survivors of playing the victim card. Given that, these leaked documents reported on by @janetfrench should come as little surprise. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/education-experts-slam-leaked-alberta-curriculum-proposals-1.5766570

They show the panel is recommending the removal of references to residential schools and “equity” in favour of feudalism and Chinese dynasties. Why tackle the tough legacies of Imperialism when you could literally gloss over them with artwork by Monet and Picasso instead?

This is deeply troubling on many levels. For starters, the curriculum review process started under the PC gov't w/ the Inspiring Education investment of 2014. If the PC’s dropped the ball by not completing the curriculum review, the NDP simply punted it 5 years down the road.

The UCP picked up the review & delayed it yet again. $Millions & the work of thousands of people wasted while I still teach a Science program that was written before smartphones were invented. Secondly, we’re watching the erosion of integrity in politics before our very eyes.

Some would argue that ship sailed long ago but it wasn’t until 2017 that Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway introduced us to the world of “Alternative facts.” I couldn’t help but think of that phrase when UCP Education minister Adriana LaGrange stood before reporters in August.

There, she was unable to cite a single example of bias, yet used it as the reason for the entire review. The only evidence ever given is a grossly misinterpreted test item that reveals more about the minister’s own reading ability than it does about an alleged anti-oil bias.

Lastly, and most important in my opinion, is the actual content of what is being developed. To the NDP’s credit, they involved thousands of teachers, stakeholders, and experts in an open and transparent review.

This current rendition however is being undertaken by yet another UCP panel handpicked to give them exactly the recommendations they want. They’re clearly approaching the review with a white-washed, fossil fuel promoting, Christian lens that is anything but unbiased.

How are we supposed to move forward on a path of Reconciliation when our own gov't is clearly uncomfortable with it being taught in schools? How are we supposed to tackle the real environmental issues associated w/ oil & gas extraction if our gov't doesn’t even acknowledge them?

Ultimately, this boils down to a question of values. Do we value truth, compassion, & equality as we seek to understand the systemic racism in our country? Do we value Science & multiple perspectives required to have a robust conversation about the future of Energy in Alberta?

Do we value our front line Education experts and heed their advice when it comes to writing curriculum? And finally, do we value honesty and integrity in our political representatives?

These are the values we deserve to see in our provincial government and they're the values shared by the Party I'll be supporting in the next election. Goodness knows they are not values shared by the UCP.