Rules, Morality, and the Place You Call Home

“How do you know the difference between right and wrong?” A question that comes up from time to time in the classroom.

Some kids will tell you they know the difference because they know they will get punished if they do the wrong thing. Some will say they know something is wrong because it’s against the law or against the rules. 

Others say they know the difference because that’s what the Bible or the Quran or the Talmud or Buddha teaches. They might say it’s what their parents taught them or it comes from some fundamental principles that guide them. Others might refer to the little voice inside their head that makes them feel guilty or ashamed- similar to Abraham Lincoln’s statement, “When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad, and that's my religion.”

For kids with less sophisticated thinking, we must push a little harder for them to understand not just the social contract, but the difference between morality and legislation. Something isn’t wrong because it’s against the law. It’s wrong because it goes against the moral fabric of society. Right and wrong speak to the choices we make that demonstrate respect for each other so we can live well together. Without those morals, right and wrong are just a matter of what we can get away with.

When I was a naïve university student, one of my profs assigned a paper on discipline in the classroom. In my innocence, I expounded at length on how I, as a teacher, would encourage students to internalize the rules so discipline would not be needed. Students would understand what was right and wrong and act accordingly. Although my prof liked the paper, in the real world of the classroom it did not take me too long to figure out how ignorant I was. Even for those who have a strong moral code, the temptation offered by doing the wrong thing is hard to resist. A laugh from your buddy or the promise of a high mark can make a lot of kids ignore both the rules and their principles.

“I did not break any rules,” says Jason Kenney of his expense claims for “primary” residency in his mother’s basement in her assisted living facility which reportedly does not accept sublets. A basement he visited four times in a given year.

Probably not Jason's wallpaper,, but then again.

“The primary residence is occupied by the Member more often than the other residence,” the guidelines say. “The primary residence is where the Member most frequently resides on weekends and holidays.”

Mr. Kenney apparently did not consider the reasons behind the rules governing residency-rules that were created to allow elected officials -both federally and provincially-to retain a home in their riding while living where the legislature sits without undue hardship. These rules were designed on the principle of fairness. If your home is in your riding in Neerlandia or Stettler but you need to spend a large portion of your time on government business in Ottawa or Edmonton, is it fair to pay accommodations costs in both communities when your counterpart who lives near the legislature only needs one home?

My own MLA and my MP retain primary residences in their home communities. Their homes, where their families live and to which they return whenever possible.

Mr. Kenney said in his statement, “I was afforded the same living allowance that all MPs get for accommodation in Ottawa. All was in line with House of Commons policy, and my principal residence remained in Calgary throughout.”  Like a kid who says "everyone is doing it" as an excuse for misbehaving.

“I owe them everything,” says Mr. Kenney of his parents. Sure. Millions of Canadians would agree. Many of us would love the chance to spend time with our parents if only we could. And plenty of us have lived in our parents’ basement, myself included. All three of my adult kids have furnished rooms in my house, filled with their stuff. They are welcome to return any day. But that's not their home. That's not where they have chosen to make a life. But all of that is beside the point. The point is, most of us don’t use our relationship with our parents to make money off the taxpayer.

“Following my father’s passing, my mother moved into a detached bungalow unit that is part of a retirement community,” Mr. Kenney has said. “Not wanting to leave my widowed mother entirely alone, I also rented the finished basement of the bungalow so that I could assist her and provide company while in Calgary.”

I don't question his love for his mom or his desire to spend time with her. Paying her rent is something he could certainly afford to do as a senior cabinet minister who earned over three million dollars while in office. I also understand that as a senior cabinet minister there were many demands on his time that might preclude visits "home". But claiming a room in this seldom-visited basement in retirement community as his “home” seems like a stretch.

I won't deny there are many definitions of "home".  A traditional bungalow you share with your family, a little apartment you share with a pet, a fancy condo you barely see due to the demands of your job, a  house on a reserve without access to clean drinking water-all of these can be "homes." Places you sleep in, places where you hang your clothes and keep your mementos and your family photos. Not places you visit a few times a year.

The irony is not lost on me that Mr. Kenney and his former comrade Derek Fildebrandt were both former directors of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the euphemistically named organization to which few taxpayers belong. Two men who made careers out of complaining about  abuse of taxpayers' dollars and then, once they were elected to office, turned around and abused those same dollars themselves.  But at least when Mr. Fildebrandt was caught out regarding the fact he rented out his taxpayer funded accommodations as an AirBNB, he owned up to his error. 

Thinking you didn't do anything wrong because you didn't break the rules is the kind of immature thinking I can accept from a high school student. Saying "everyone else is doing it" or using other excuses is also something I have come to expect from kids. But I don't accept it from an adult who aspires to lead. A man who may soon be making the rules.

I don't think Kenney's "rental" of his mom's basement is a scandal. I don't think it has anything to do with whether he is really an Albertan. I don't care if he lives with his mom on his off days, but he shouldn't be disingenuous about it. That's not his primary residence. That's not where his life is.  When a man who chooses to ignore right and wrong in favour of his own self-interest, that concerns me.

Probably not Jason Kenney's kitchen.

Albertans: You are being lied to

About me: I began teaching in rural Alberta in 1980 . I taught in the NWT for a year before taking several years off to raise my children. I returned to work with Alberta Distance Learning Centre where I have worked for the past 17 years. I am currently the Social Studies Department Head.

Alberta's Social Studies curriculum is being politicized.

The UCP's Jason Kenney and Brian Jean would have Albertans believe that the current curriculum review committee is stacked with NDP activists and ideologues who are dead set on promoting "politically correct" themes in order to brainwash today's youth. They are lying.

A little history.

The current Social Studies curriculum was revised from 2000-2007 under the Progressive Conservative government with Ralph Klein as premier. At that time, I was asked to sit on the K-12 Provincial Advisory Committee for Social Studies. That committee was  primarily composed of employees of Alberta Education, including several Social Studies teachers who were seconded from their teaching positions. Also present on the committee was the President of the Alberta Home and School Association, a First Nations representative, a representative of the Métis, a Francophone representative, a representative of the College of Alberta School Superintendents, three members of the Alberta Teachers Association, two university professors, a representative of the Northwest Territories Department of Education (which at the time followed Alberta curriculum) and me, as a representative of ADLC, Alberta's largest distance education provider. 

There were no public consultations. There was little government interference. There was no expectation that committee members provide their political credentials or personal views in order to sit on the committee.  Alberta Education employees came up with an overarching structure and topics and concepts in each grade level. These were then workshopped by "curriculum circles" in which practicing teachers looked at the scope and sequence of the programme of studies and the outcomes which were broken down into "values and attitudes", "knowledge and understanding" and "skills and processes".  These teachers made suggestions which were then incorporated into the programme of studies.

During the years I sat on this committee, I only remember two incidents. One was when Peter Lougheed, long retired from politics, suggested that Canadian History be taught as a separate discipline. The committee discussed this idea but decided that the interdisciplinary approach to Social Studies education, which has been in place in Alberta for decades, was the most effective approach. The second incident involved the ATA. Some members felt a section of  Social Studies 10-1:Perspectives on Globalization needed revision which necessitated some additional curricular work. I recall no newspaper articles, no outcry from the public, nor any political posturing from the official opposition or any other political party.

Shortly after the new Social Studies curriculum came out, Alberta Education moved forward with intensive public consultations about the direction of the future of public education. "Inspiring Education" -under the leadership of Education Minister Dave Hancock- included surveys and public meetings alongside research. Innovative ideas were discussed such as competency based education, credits for real-world learning, and an end to mandated "hours of instruction"and credit based funding. I- along with hundreds of educators, parents, community members, members of the business community and the post secondary world- took part in these deep and lively conversations that looked at the challenging world in which today's young people find themselves. A world where the simple memorization of facts and formulas is not enough. Where the old "factory model" of education does not meet the needs of our students or today's society. Instead, critical thinking, learning how to learn, creativity and the ability to adapt in the ever-changing workplace are of increasing significance.  The one theme that emerged was that we need to do better in our education system to prepare kids for an uncertain and unknowable future.

Following on the heels of "Inspiring Education" came curriculum redesign and curriculum prototyping where Alberta Education employees completed significant research and built new software to develop systems whereby the entire programme of studies K-12 could be overhauled effectively.

In May of 2015, the NDP was elected in Alberta. Just four weeks later the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its report and issued a call to action which was endorsed by Canada’s premiers. The Alberta government indicated that future curricula would ensure that all Albertan students would learn about the culture, history, perspectives and contributions of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

Alberta Education, largely staffed by the same employees as it was under the PC government, proceeded with the work of curriculum development, following up on the work of "Inspiring Education" and including its promise regarding the TRC. However, instead of just using a handful of employees and community representatives, their new approach was to include a great deal of input. In the fall of 2016, it launched a survey to Albertans. More than 30,000 Albertans responded, the largest survey of its kind in Alberta. School divisions were asked to nominate experienced educators to be a part of "expert working groups" in each core subject area as well as the arts.  

My principal asked if I was willing to let my name stand. I submitted a resume that included my education and experience, including the curriculum development I participated in previously and my current work regarding treaty education and Aboriginal Studies. I was invited to participate and I agreed.  At no point was my ideology discussed. I live in Slave Lake, my principal lives in Calgary and my superintendent lives in Barrhead, I don't believe either of them know what my political beliefs are, nor do they care.

In our Social Studies group of about 60 people, including teachers, professors, historians, and archivists, we began by discussing the core concepts and skills we believe a Social Studies student should acquire over the course of their K-12 education. We were not told

what should be included or what should be left out, although we were tasked with considering how literacy, numeracy, inclusive education and competencies would be reflected in our subject area. 

As our work progressed, we reviewed the results of the initial survey and incorporated the thoughts of Albertans in our work, recognizing some of the shortcomings and gaps in the current programme. We listened to presentations from numerous organizations about the kinds of things they believe Albertans should learn. In smaller groups, we then grouped and sequenced and refined these outcomes which were then provided to Albertans in the form of another survey. 

The curriculum working groups are diverse. Although at my table we have never shared our own political leanings, as evidenced by the heated dialogue, there is a great diversity of views about politics. Our discussions are deep. They are lively. They are passionate. As all conversations about things that matter should be. 

Neither Kenney or Jean attended public high school yet they are of the view that all Social Studies teachers are socialists. They are mistaken. Many Alberta teachers are conservative. My son's high school teacher was a conservative who invited Brian Jean to speak to the school. A few years ago a grade 8 teacher in our town took her grade eight class to attend a rally in support of our provincial PC candidate Pearl Calahasen. In my federal riding, the first candidate to seek the Conservative nomination was a teacher from Peace River.  I've marked diploma exams numerous times and there are many conservatives who teach Social Studies, and some of them sit on the curriculum review committee. 

The curriculum review committee is not part of a socialist agenda to support a particular ideology. Neither the government nor the New Democratic Party has interfered with the development of the curriculum in any way. If Mr. Kenney and Mr. Jean think otherwise, they are at best ignorant or at worst, lying for their own political gain.

Ideologies are for other people

Jason Kenney and Brian Jean like to say the policies of the NDP are "ideologically driven".

They say the word "ideology" like it's a dirty word. Something only bad people have.

As if their socially and fiscally conservative ideas are not part of an ideology.

What they really mean is that they prefer that conservative set of beliefs over those that are more progressive.

Ideologies are not in and of themselves, evil. Everyone has an ideology. Everyone has a set of beliefs about the nature of humanity that informs their views about how society should operate. Unless your intellectual functioning is so low that you are unable to construct abstract thoughts, you have an ideology.  Brian Jean has an ideology. Jason Kenney has an ideology. They are lying if they say only the NDP operates based on ideological principles.

An ideology is defined as "a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy." How on earth could the United Conservative Party NOT have an ideology? 

In today's Social Studies programme of studies in Alberta (created when Ralph Klein was premier) students learn that ideologies are based on interpretations of history, beliefs about human nature, beliefs about the structure of society and visions for the future.  We may not all have thought deeply about these issues, but we all have core beliefs that inform our ideas. And based on those ideas, we formulate what we think is the best way forward for ourselves and our society. And then we vote.

What is your interpretation of history? If you are an aboriginal person in Canada, your interpretation of Canada's history will not be the same as mine. Your view of colonialism will be one of oppression and injustice and betrayal. For people like me, the perspective will be more about the opportunities that led to a good life for generations of my family. Mr. Kenney's interpretation of our history seems to be that it began when the first white man set foot on our shores. It's about venerating a past based on land appropriation and unfulfilled promises. Kenney believes colonialism is a "politically correct theme" and that the glorification of our military is of greater importance than other, more painful aspects of our past. 

What are your thoughts about human nature? Are people intrinsically selfish and greedy and therefore need to be controlled? Or is there a human desire to do the right thing so that we can all live well together? Are most people lazy? Are all cultures and genders equal? Or are some more deserving than others?  Those ideas impact the platform and policy of every political party and government, including our former PC government, the NDP, the Alberta Liberal Party, the Alberta Party and the United Conservative Party. 
How should society be structured?  Should there be social classes? Should the rich help pay for services to the poor? Should there be few rules and limited taxation and correspondingly few government services? User-pay own healthcare and education? Or a larger role for government where everyone pays in and everyone benefits? The UCP has clear ideas about the structure of society-ideas that are the very foundation of their party.

Question from a recent survey from Brian Jean.

And what about visions for the future? What should it look like? A multicultural land where there are equal opportunities for all, or a land for "old stock" Canadians? Should a government try to go backwards in time to "Make Alberta Great" again? Or should it move boldly forward to a new future that includes everyone, including our aboriginal people? Will it be a place where the price of oil magically increases, providing employment and government revenue? Or a place where we have created alternative employment opportunities for a prosperous future? 

Having an ideology doesn't make you a bad person. Admitting you have one just makes you honest.

Barbaric Cultural Practices

Inuit taken to Germany by J. M. Jacobsen. Lived in zoo.L-R: Ulricke, aged 24, holding Maria; Tobias, aged 20; Abraham, aged 35; Sarah, Aged 4.All died of smallpox in Europe. 

I found this photo in the Glenbow Archives while doing research.

It is chilling.

What kind of people capture other human beings, take them across the sea, away from all they know, house them in a zoo and watch them die? 

Jason Kenney says Alberta's new Social Studies curriculum is all about "politically correct" themes such as colonialism. He says the new programme reeks of "social engineering". He thinks Alberta's Social Studies teachers should concentrate on Canada's military history.

These people were abused. Their rights were stripped away. Their treatment was nothing short of barbaric. And then they died.

They died because of colonialism and ethnocentrism. They died because of the actions of our forefathers.

Mr. Kenney can wrap himself in the flag if he wants. He can strut around full of jingoistic patriotism and willful ignorance in order to rally his supporters. He can promote Canada's "military history" to the exclusion of other more far reaching Canadian realities.

Nothing he says will negate the truth. Canada was founded on colonialism. It would not exist if not for colonialism. Colonialism is not a "politically correct" theme. It's a sometimes ugly reality that impacts the way of life of every single Canadian today. That's why it is taught.

I am not sure what Mr. Kenney thinks education is for. 

Is it to "socially engineer" a society of ignorant people who blindly support the status quo?

Or is it to help the next generation to understand their world so they can make informed decisions for a better tomorrow? 

Grow up Jason Kenney

July 29, 2017

At Kenney's "special" event today, he announced his formal intention to seek the leadership of the UCP.

He also took the opportunity to fire some shots at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, suggesting Trudeau should not use Canada's 150th as an opportunity to apologize for Canada's past.

Setting aside the fact Trudeau is Canada's PM and Kenney has his sights on being Alberta's  premier, let's look at Canada's past.

Is it 100% something to be proud of?

When our first Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald deliberately reneged on the Crown's obligations under Treaty 6 and 7- to provide for First Nations people in times of famine-should Canada celebrate that little piece of our past? The Pass System? The 60's Scoop? Should we continue to ignore the intergenerational impacts of residential schools? The fact many First Nations communities don't have potable water? The suicide rates, at epidemic proportions in many indigenous communities? The unconscionable rates of murdered and missing aboriginal women? Should those legacies of Canada's colonial past be ignored as we demonstrate "gratitude" for those who "built our great country"?

Look, I'm as "old stock Canadian" as Mr. Kenney. My roots as an Albertan go back much further than his. I am proud of my ancestors. But I am not blind. I am not willfully ignorant. Why? Because I am a grown up.

A grown up can keep two things in his or her mind at the same time. An acknowledgement of the errors of our past and pride in our accomplishments. As a parent, I admit I made mistakes raising my kids. I can also recognize I did some things right and I am proud of their successes.  As a teacher, I know I had something to do with where my students end up, for good or ill. As a community member, I will accept some responsibility for the many ways things screw up in my town and I vow to try and make things better.

Kenney, however, prefers a view of the world that is so simplistic, it is downright comical.

Grow up, Jason Kenney.

In Defense of Millennials

Millennials get blamed for all kinds of stuff. Just do a search for "Millennials are..." and you will learn they are lazy, they are "the worst", and they are killing everything from golf to paper napkins to department stores to big banks to call centres to fabric softener to the diamond industry to packaged vacations.

In the recent UK elections, pollsters were stunned by the huge turnout of youth voters. Exit polls say a full two thirds of young voters supported Labour. The same polls found that the vast majority of older voters, those 65 and up, supported the Conservatives.

Here in Alberta, UCP hopeful Jason Kenney finds millennials disconcerting. After his own federal Conservative Party was trounced in Canada's 2015 election, and the now-less-than-progressive Conservative Party he leads were decimated in Alberta's election in May of that same year, he ponders why young people do not support his ideology.

Once again, millennials are blamed for killing something. This time it is conservatism.

Mr. Kenney suggests that today's youth are ignorant and entitled. He suggests because they did not live through the "catastrophic failure of socialism in the last century" they have no idea what it is and are therefore voting for it. He says that because they were "born into the highest standard of living in all of human history" they do not know adversity and think money flows freely from an ATM. He says they are foolish to support an increased minimum wage or a tuition freeze. Because that's bad for the economy.

Maybe if Mr. Kenney had attended public school in Alberta instead of private school in Saskatchewan, he would have learned something about ideologies. Maybe he would know the meaning of the word "socialism". Maybe he would know the difference between the scientific socialism of Karl Marx and the communism of Soviet Russia, the socialist market economy of China and the social democracy practiced in much of Europe, including Nordic nations which consistently rank highest for both happiness and freedom. Maybe then he could be more specific when he talks about the "catastrophic failure" of an ideology that he clearly does not understand.

Perhaps if Mr. Kenney had developed some critical thinking skills in school, he would use facts to support his position instead of erroneous assumptions.

Kenney was born not long after me. When I went to school, tuition at the U of A was $600 a year. I rented a 3 bedroom house for $415 a month. My parents estimated that a year of university, tuition, food and housing was about $3000. I made $8.50/hr at my summer job. Every single person I knew got a job when they graduated. I was offered jobs I hadn't even applied for. 

My youngest kid just completed his university education at the U of A- where one year in tuition and mandatory fees and books is now $9600. His shared apartment (on a year lease) was $600/month. Dorms and meals at Lister Hall are a mandatory minimum of $9300 for an 8 month term. His summer student income was $17/hr. In other words, the cost of that 8 month term at university is more than 6 times what it was when I went to school, while the typical student summer wage has just doubled.

My own millennial kids would tell those who seek to blame them for the death of diamonds and golf and vacations that they can't afford those things and they don't anticipate a future where that will change. They might also say they have a healthy respect for the environment which makes them consume less. And they would also tell him that after years of living on noodles and chickpeas in shared housing without owning vehicles or taking vacations, they clearly do understand what financial management is.

Millennials understand adversity. Not only did my kids live on poverty level wages while obtaining their education, they lived with the constant stress of not knowing if they would get work when they were done. Recent studies show that young people entering the workforce today earn far less than their parents did at the same age. In fact, it is believed millennials will be the first generation in history to earn less than the generation before them.  All of this adds up to a great deal of stress  According to some studies, 44% of millennials suffer from depression and suicide is one of the leading causes of death in this age category.

The real truth, when it comes to millennials is that the people of my generation and Mr. Kenney's generation implemented decades of austerity which have hurt today's young people, all with the idea "I can't afford to pay more taxes".  Is it any wonder they consider another approach?

By the next provincial election, millennials will make up 39 % of the electorate. Kenney and co. need to start offering them viable alternatives for their future if they want their vote instead of criticizing them and their legitimate worldview.

Agents of Change

Social Studies Lessons for Kenney Part 1

Whether it's teaching 5 year olds to be kind to one another or encouraging junior high kids to raise funds for charity or reminding 18 year olds to vote according to their principles, for decades Alberta’s teachers have encouraged kids to be actively involved as citizens in a democratic society. Any education system in a democratic nation promotes the idea that we need informed, thoughtful, active and contributing members in our society. 

If you don't want to take my word for it, take a look at the evidence which is found in Alberta’s Social Studies curriculum over the past 6 decades.

In 1947, the Department of Education in Alberta wrote “Society wants and needs good citizens.  It is the business of the Social Studies courses to help produce these good citizens, well-adjusted socially and well equipped mentally, citizens capable of thinking intelligently and determined to do their part in bringing about social progress.”

Following on the heels of World War II, Albertans knew firsthand what dictatorships and propaganda looked like, fully aware that “This is an age of propaganda fraught with pitfalls for the unwary, the ignorant, the unthinking and the mentally unawakened.” The Department of Education in a province governed by Social Credit Premier Ernest Manning was determined that schools would train critical thinkers who were equipped to separate fact from fiction and make decisions based on evidence, not emotions. Students who were committed to “social betterment”. Students who had “an appreciation of the worth and dignity of the individual and a desire to preserve the rights of minority groups and maintain justice for all.”

In 1970, under soon-to-be-defeated Social Credit leader Harry Strom, a new curriculum was unveiled “…with optimism about the nature of man and the efficacy of democratic ideals, the new social studies involves free and open inquiry into individual and social values that will serve the humanistic goals of education by offering students experience in living and not just preparation for living…students will deal not only with the “what is” but also with the “what ought to be” and will have the opportunity to make this world a more desirable place in which to live.”

By 1978, with Progressive Conservative Peter Lougheed as premier, the curriculum called for the development of students who are “sensitive to their human and natural environment, with intellectual independence, moral maturity, effective participants in community affairs” which by 1985 evolved to preparing “students for responsible participation in a changing world.” By 1990, under Progressive Conservative Premier Don Getty  the ultimate aim of education was “to develop the ability of the individual so that he might fulfill personal aspirations while making a positive contribution to society…including justice, fair play and fundamental rights, responsibilities and freedoms.”

Our current program of studies, implemented in 2005 under Progressive Conservative premier Ralph Klein reads “Social Studies develops the key values and attitudes, knowledge and understanding, and skills and processes necessary for students to become active and responsible citizens, engaged in the democratic process and aware of their capacity to affect change in their communities, societies and world.”

Yet today members of the opposition deride the current NDP government for suggesting that students should be "agents of change." Why? For the last 60 years, no matter what the ideology of the day, our education system has tried to teach kids to seek a better way forward-not just for themselves but also for society. Whether we call it “social betterment”, “progress”, ”the opportunity to make the world more desirable,” “making a positive contribution”, or “the capacity to affect change”, successive generations of educators in our province have advocated for students to work towards creating a better world for all. Recognizing that the status quo isn't good enough, and understanding that "To know and not to act is not to know," they encourage their students to play a part in making a better, fairer and more just world.

Education should give children knowledge about the world. It should help them think critically and creatively. It should give them confidence to follow their dreams. It should help break the cycle of poverty. It should show them the world for what it is, including the marvels that are worth preserving and the injustices they need to do something about while providing them with the abilities and skills to act.

I think of the hundreds of kids I have worked with over the years. Kids who are compassionate, decent human beings - great parents and active community volunteers. Scientists and sales people. Professionals and artists and journalists. Conservatives and Liberals and New Democrats and those with no political affiliation. Kids who are now adults who are making changes every day in their families, their communities, their workplaces and on the global stage.

As a parent and a teacher, I want my children to be empowered in their own lives and as global citizens, with the skills, attitudes and knowledge that will help them create a positive future for themselves and the planet. I want them to keep reaching and striving to make changes in their world. What that change looks like is up to them.

University of Alberta Curriculum Guides

How Can We Live Well Together

What is the nature of Social Studies?

I have found myself asking that question over and over again as a Social Studies teacher.

What is it we want students to KNOW?
Who is it we want them to BE?
How do we want them to LIVE?

If we could distill the key idea of what we want from a Social Studies education, is there one sentence that encapsulates it all?

What resonates for me? 

Social Studies is learning how we live well together.

If we could break that down further, would it cover everything the future citizens of our planet need to know? 

Who am "I"? 

• "I" am an individual, with unique characteristics and identity and beliefs and values and skills. But "I" am not alone. "I" am also a part of "we".

Who are "we"? 

• "We" are families and communities and cultural groups and ethnicities living on farms and in the country and in small towns and cities and nations and refugee camps. "We" are all citizens of this planet.

What does it mean to live well?

• Living well is quality of life and physical health and mental health and spiritual health and standard of living and a sense of purpose and good relationships and stewardship for the land that sustains us.

What does it mean to live well together? 

• The "social" part of Social Studies is the hard part. Over the course of history, people have come up with many different ways of living and organizing ourselves socially, politically, and economically. What have societies done in the past that allowed them to live well together?  What have they done that achieved the opposite? What can we learn from the stories of the past that can help us move forward, past egregious errors and injustices, into a brighter tomorrow? For our global society to evolve, it must be fueled by people with creativity, hopefulness, innovation, critical thought, open-mindedness and empathy.

How do we live well together?
Sadly, sometimes, we just don't.

Following Brexit and the election of Trump and the rise of Le Pen, it seems that the lesson some people have learned is simply that we cannot live well together.  

As a Canadian, I think that is wrong. 
We can live well together. 
We do live well together. 

Jason Kenney accuses teachers and the education system of "social engineering". But really, isn't that what our education system is supposed to do?  Engineer the world we want?  And that is the world we want. A world where we can ALL live well together. 

Send in the Clowns

Mr. Jean blames the NDP for something that hasn't happened

Not going to lie. Clowns aren't all that funny. At best they try to frighten you with loud noises or mock others for their stupidity. At worse, they are creepy and dangerous. Who likes clowns? 

Certainly not the superintendent of Fort McMurray schools who banned clown costumes from all schools this Hallowe'en.

Perhaps superintendent Doug Nicholls was thinking about the clowns Edmonton Journal cartoonist Malcolm Mayes portrayed in his recent cartoon. The clowns who are bringing "Modern Learning Ideology" (whatever that is) into our schools.

Could it be the "ideology" Mayes was mocking was inspired by Unite-the-Right hopeful Jason Kenney? Kenney, the man who spoke about "social engineering" which he claims the Alberta NDP government will implement because of their "ideology," oddly ignoring the fact that every political party has an ideology, including his own? His party that once suggested all educated Albertans should have an "entrepreneurial spirit"? 

Jumping into the fray of the misinformed, Wildrose opposition leader Brian Jean cleverly mixed his metaphors when he sent out a tweet suggesting Alberta's NDP government is irresponsibly experimenting with the children of this province, despite the fact no changes to curriculum or pedagogy have been implemented since the government took power in May of 2015.

Mr. Kenney seemed to enjoy the clown cartoon as well, tweeting the following:  account‏

"We need curriculum reform that focuses on numeracy, literacy, knowledge and skills; not on the NDP's ideological agenda & pedagogical fads."

All of this kerfuffle is based on the far right's made-up ideas about the future of our schools. IF any of these gentlemen had taken just a very few moments to review what is happening with curriculum redesign, they would know that foundational knowledge, numeracy, literacy, skills and competencies will still be taught in the future. They would also know that pedagogy will still be determined by teachers using their professional expertise.

Yes, there will be change. There must be change. Society has changed since Mr. Kenney and Mr. Jean attended school. Our demographics have changed. Jobs have changed. The way we communicate has changed. And some of the things we learned were just plain wrong. So the current government is working on curriculum change- change that has been long in the making. Some courses in Alberta's Programme of Study date back to the mid 1980s. Even the newer ones are close to ten years old.

While the PC government (the party Mr. Kenney wants to lead) was in power, there was a great deal of work done on redesigning the curriculum. Inspiring Education proposed an extensive transformation of the education system. Curriculum prototyping was designed to modernize the curriculum and streamline how we design it, based on a common language and framework and sound instructional design principles.

From "Inspiring Education" 2010

Under the current government, this work continues.  Far from being based on any experimental model or political ideology, the process uses extensive research from around the world to consider what foundational knowledge students should master, what skills they should possess and what competencies they should obtain in order to thrive today and in the future.  Hundreds of experts including university professors, teachers, and others are part of this process. A province wide survey is under way.  No politicians. No "ideological" goals. Just a plan to equip our students with the skills to thrive in an ever-changing world.

Maybe Jean, Kenney and co. are opposed to the development of students' critical thinking skills, essential in our increasingly complicated world. Skills that would help students analyze the messages they are bombarded with every day. Or maybe they believe there is no new knowledge in a world where, according to some researchers, human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. Maybe they thinking learning is sitting in a desk, reading a textbook and writing a test.

In the field of social studies, my colleagues and I describe the nature of our subject as "learning how to live well together". But perhaps Jean and Kenney have other ideas. Perhaps their version of the future does not include everyone. Maybe they all share the vision of old-stock former Social Studies teacher Wildrose MLA Mark Smith who recently boasted about how he and his neighbours successfully prevented a group home from being established on their street. 

The world today's children live in is complex. It is diverse. It is competitive.The jobs children will hold may not exist right now, whereas many of the jobs that exist now are disappearing. The future will require citizens who are flexible and hopeful and knowledgeable and empathetic. We live in a world where simple memorization of facts and figures is not enough- people will need to know how to learn, how to separate truth from fiction, and how to collaborate and communicate with others of different ethnicities, religions, orientations, political leanings and capabilities. A world where sexism and xenophobia and isolationism must not be encouraged. 

We cannot prepare our children for tomorrow by giving them yesterday's tools. 

The clowns who frighten us and mock us are not the forward-thinking educators of Alberta, who are helping students to thrive in an uncertain world. They are the politicians who deny change is needed.

Not my Superpower

I'm still ranting about this Jason Kenney thing.

If you read my last post you will know this rant stems from Kenney's absurd notion that Canada's teachers are responsible for the failure of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Well... I have to be honest.  Killing a political party is not my superpower.  The conservative parties managed to damage themselves quite well all on their own with no help from me or my teaching colleagues.

But this idea that teachers somehow have the ability to influence the beliefs and values of society got me thinking. Thinking about things that teachers all over the world are blamed for.

Obesity
Teen pregnancy
Bullying
Unemployment
Low test scores
The crashing economy

My dear readers, I cannot even get my students to stop spelling "a lot" as one word. I can't get them to hand their assignments in on time, if at all. I can't get them to put their cellphones away. I can't make them exercise or protect themselves from sexually transmitted disease or eat broccoli. I certainly can't convince some of them that treaty rights are guaranteed by law; that Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden weren't on the same team; that people aren't poor because they are lazy; that it's  wrong to cut and paste your essay from Wikipedia, or that paying someone on Course Hero to answer your math questions is a form of cheating.

How the hell am I going to tell them who to vote for?

Teachers teach students how to think.

We do not teach them what to think.

If we did, we could rule the world.

That's on you, Jason Kenney

Jason Kenney.

You are a fool.

I could call you a fool for any number of reasons, but for today I will focus on your asinine comment that young adults do not vote for the Conservative Party of Canada because they are "hard wired " to accept "collectivist" ideas from an early age by their teachers.

"I think it's the first generation to come through a schooling system where many of them have been hard-wired with collectivist ideas, with watching Michael Moore documentaries, with identity politics from their primary and secondary schools to universities. That's kind of a cultural challenge for any conservative party, any party of the centre-right, and we've got to figure out how to break that nut."

Let's just set aside, for a moment, your misunderstanding of the term "hard-wired"which refers to tendencies people are born with and not ideas they learned in school.

Let's ignore your absurd assumption that all teachers espouse a left wing ideological perspective. Canada's teachers have wide ranging views on political and economic systems.

Let's forget all about the fact that 67% of the people in your Alberta riding voted Conservative while 70% of Rachel Notley's constituents voted NDP. These were all Alberta voters who have gone through the Alberta school system with the identical curriculum K-12.

Let's overlook the ludicrous notion that the school system has the ability to control students' actions.

Let's set aside your apparent or perhaps deliberate attempt to equate collectivism-a political and economic ideology based on state ownership of the means of production-and the actual views held by today's young people which are in fact mostly liberal or progressive.

Let's instead look at what teachers actually teach in today's schools in Canada.

Respect for diversity
Compassion for the human condition
Understanding of multiple perspectives
Social justice
Equal treatment for all

If I had the power to imbue every one of my students with the items on the list above, I would retire happy. Unfortunately, that is not how education works. Ideological beliefs come from a complex set of factors. Students are not "hard-wired" to accept any belief system. Deeply held values are taught by parents at an early age. They come from families and communities and religious faith and spirituality. They are influenced by one's employment and financial status. They come from lived experience and worldviews and relationship to the land. They come from the media and popular culture. They come from a critical analysis of the world. I could show a student a Michael Moore movie every day and it would not influence the way he will vote when he turns 18.

You know what? I'm sick and tired of being blamed for society's ills because I'm a teacher. And I can't and won't take credit for how young people vote.

If people don't vote for your party, that's on you.