Alberta teachers had a chance to ask the United Conservative Party leadership candidates about their plans for education on Wednesday.
Six of the seven UCP leadership candidates answered questions submitted by teachers at the annual summer conference hosted by the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
The controversial new curriculum for Alberta schools was a major topic at the candidate forum held at the Kinnear Center in Banff.
Candidate Leela Aheer said the curriculum as a whole is not where it needs to be and the government needs to get more input on it from educators. She said that as a leader, she will not make any educational decisions without consulting the teachers.
“My door will always be open,” Ahir said.
“I’m not going to make any promises to you because it’s not my job to make any promises. My job is to work with you.”
Presumptive front-runner in the UCP leadership race, Daniel Smith, has proposed suspending curriculum changes until students reach grade level. (CBC)
Both Rajan Sawney and Rebecca Schultz argued that the development and implementation of the new curriculum should be halted for the time being. Schultz added that extra pressure isn’t necessary, especially when teachers are trying to bring students back up to grade level in subjects like math and reading, which took a hit during the pandemic.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ask teachers to then give a whole bunch of feedback on curriculum development while we’re trying to get kids engaged,” Schultz said.
The new K-6 curriculum will be phased in this fall.
Take ideology out of the curriculum, Jean says
Front-runner Danielle Smith also proposed suspending curriculum changes until students get back on track after the hardships of the pandemic.
“The most important thing we need to do is stabilize what’s going on in the classrooms … we don’t want kids to push through without basic skills,” she said.
Candidate Todd Lowen said the right approach is not to completely throw out the curriculum and start from scratch.
“I think we have an opportunity to correct and correct any of the issues that we have, both in terms of implementation and actually the curriculum itself,” he said.
Six of the seven candidates for the next UCP leader spoke at the ATA conference on Wednesday, which was held at the Kinnear Center in Banff. (CBC)
Former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean said he would make the curriculum a pilot project and review it next spring so teachers can decide for themselves whether they want to continue with it.
“The first thing I’m going to do if I’m elected prime minister is remove the ideology that’s currently in our curriculum and has been before, out of it and make sure it never happens again,” he said.
Jean also suggested splitting the curriculum into parts and introducing one changed subject area per year.
The government’s ‘hostile tone’ towards public sector workers
One question the candidates were asked by teachers was how they plan to work with the ATA and build the best possible education system, especially after the government has adopted an “adversarial tone” towards public sector workers over the past three years.
Smith said rebuilding the relationship between the government and teachers will be key for her government, while Sawney said she recognizes the provincial government’s recent relationship with teachers has not been helpful.
“I understand that the tone was hostile and the messages were not supportive. They should have been more supportive,” Sawney said.
Schultz argued that the province needs to show more humility and admit its mistakes.
“We as a government need a different tone. We need a different approach. Albertans think we’re entitled or arrogant or not listening to them.”
UCP leadership candidate Rajan Sawhney says he recognizes the government’s tone with teachers has been “adversarial” recently. (CBC)
Aheer floated the idea of a liaison in the education minister’s office to work with the ATA, while Loewen said the government simply needs to have a better relationship with the ATA and other community worker associations. He also promised more frequent meetings with the ATA.
UCP members will elect their next leader, who will then become prime minister, on October 6.
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