KENNEY REPLACES OUTDATED CURRICULUM WITH EVEN MORE BACKWARD ONE

EDMONTON - The draft K-6 curriculum presented by UCP Education Minister Adriana LaGrange deliberately violates the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by avoiding any mention of Treaties until Grade 4 and residential schools until Grade 5.

“Adriana LaGrange promised that every student would see themselves in her curriculum, but that isn’t true,” said Sarah Hoffman, NDP Critic for Education. “What message does it send to Indigenous students when they are forced to memorize dates in European history for years before learning about Indigenous history in their classroom?”

“Let’s not compare the UCP curriculum with the outdated one, let’s compare it to the curriculum that was ready to go two years ago, which included computer science skills, financial literacy, and consent. I’m relieved that these topics stayed in,” Hoffman said.

“This draft is the realization of many of the deep concerns that Albertans have felt as details of the UCP process leaked out. Jason Kenney is replacing a decades-old curriculum with an even more outdated one,” Hoffman said.

“We’ll be reviewing this draft and the implementation plan in great detail, but let’s be clear: this curriculum is unacceptable in its current form.”