Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduces legislation addressing agreements between the federal government and provincial entities in Edmonton on April 10, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
Alberta’s new social studies curriculum misses the mark on child development, lacks adequate opportunities for critical thinking and neglects teaching about colonization.
One student in a study said they would have loved to receive emails about school closures: ‘I always had to ask my parents. Sometimes they don’t read the emails.’
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Insights from youth about COVID-19 school closures and youth exclusion from pandemic-related decisions suggest we have an opportunity to improve how we support youths’ rights.
Alberta students learning to be teachers visited a tipi erected by Woodland Cree Elder Phillip Campiou, near the banks of kisiskâciwan-sîpî (the North Saskatchewan River).
(Lorin Yochim)
Experiential learning took students in a bachelor of education program out of the classroom for their own learning about truth and reconciliation and to prepare them for future classrooms.
Wildfire warning signage seen in the Blairmore area, about two hours south of Calgary, Alta., in this handout image provided by the Government of Alberta Fire Service.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
School systems need to wake up from ‘business as usual’ learning. Teachers can draw on terror management theory in their work on the front lines with students navigating the climate crisis.
The intrusion of school into families’ private spaces through online learning created tensions for families.
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It takes a village to raise a child, but the pandemic showed teachers and parents have different roles.
Literacy is much like learning to ride a bike: young kids can only advance to “tricks” when they learn how to balance a number of other complex and inter-related activities.
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Accessing “knowledge-rich” content assumes language and literacy competencies that take time for children to develop. Childhood cannot be rushed.
The contradictory responses to the recent attack of a Black teenager in an Edmonton school demonstrate the urgent need for more equitable practices in schools.
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The recent attack on a Black teenager in an Edmonton school demonstrates that much more needs to be done to address racism in public institutions.
Financial barriers that discourage some people from participating in higher education would be reduced if the net costs of virtual education decreased.
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Not everyone needs to be on campus to learn. Governments, which subsidize higher education, need to change their funding models to support affordable remote learning.
While the pandemic has caused massive upheavals, it has also forced universities to use technology to bring in much-needed change and innovations.
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Necessity truly can be the mother of invention. A new university president explains how the pandemic forced massive changes at his institution — and why smart use of technology was invaluable.
A circus of political theatre shouldn’t determine what children learn at school.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Canadians for the most part have been well served with dispassionate professional judgements about matters of public interest, except when it comes to what kids learn at school.
The Cree concept ‘wâhkôhtowin’ emphasizes more-than-human kinship relations.
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Leaked curriculum drafts in Alberta show a desire to revive old colonial myths. To face today’s challenges, we need stories that teach how humans are related to each other and to all life forms.
Teacher activism in the U.S. has helped pushed the Democratic party towards renewed investment in public education. Children listen as former president Barack Obama campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, Oct. 21, 2020, in Philadelphia.
(AP Photo/ Matt Slocum)
The push to expand charter schools in the U.S. contributed to a robust movement of teachers’ unions and allies demanding a well-resourced public school system.
A physical distancing sign is seen at Hastings Elementary school in Vancouver, Sept. 2, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Addressing children’s and youth’s needs requires the expertise and support of educational assistants, school psychologists and all workers who collaborate to build caring school communities.
Parents and the public are in the dark about how Alberta developed its back-to-school plan.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Vague references don’t cut it. The public deserves to know exactly how Alberta is relying on science, realism and high-quality problem-solving in its back to school plans during COVID-19.
Beginning in September in Alberta, an individual can apply directly to the provincial government when seeking to establish a new charter school. Here, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, March 20, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
First, the United Conservative Party lifted the cap on charter schools, and now new legislation has cut school boards out of the process to establish a charter school.
With Alberta schools closed, Caleb Reid, 17, and his siblings are home schooling in Cremona, Alta., shown here, March 23, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
In the face of mounting crises in Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney’s decision to cut funding intended for educational assistants is bad policy.
More testing won’t improve math achievement. Here, Alberta premier Jason Kenney with Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Education, after being sworn into office in Edmonton on April 30, 2019.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
The main problem plaguing Alberta students’ math performance isn’t the current math curriculum or teacher accountability, but inequality and ballooning class sizes.
The complexity of student experiences can be lost in larger groups.
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Grade 4 student Charlene seemed chronically off-task – until an educator noticed she was, in fact, the sole student pursuing the question, ‘Was the oil boom bad for our wildlife?’
Many provinces are focused on constraining the growth of teaching and staffing costs in education. Here, Ontario Premier Doug Ford with United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney, in Calgary, Oct. 5, 2018.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh