Alberta releases draft kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum

Numeracy will focus on fluency with numbers and basic problem-solving.

“It’s the basis for careers in science, technology, engineering and math. STEM fields, fields in which we want our children to be competitive internationally,” says LaGrange.

LaGrange says the old curriculum was failing students and teachers. She said the number of Alberta students who are innumerate doubled between 2007 and 2019.

“These students progressed through the system despite being unable to add or subtract. This must end,” she says.

The new curriculum focuses on the basics of adding and subtracting and goes on to more complex applications.

As well, teachers will not teach math using discovery or inquiry methods following a ministerial order last year.

For citizenship, students “will learn how we built one of the freest, most prosperous, peaceful and diverse societies in human history,” says LaGrange. Lessons will be drawn from history, geography, economics, civics and other studies.

“Our children need to know our past to understand our present and the new curriculum will teach them that,” says LaGrange.

For the first time, the history of Black settlements in Alberta will be taught, says LaGrange, as will the contributions and sacrifices of First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.

Francophone history, art and culture will also be a focus, as will Alberta’s deep history of multiculturalism.

Historical injustices such as residential schools and ongoing reconciliation efforts will also be taught.

The NDP says the draft K-6 curriculum 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 education critic. “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?”

Practical skills to be taught in the new curriculum include household budgeting, digital literacy and public speaking.

“One of the things I hear most from parents is that they want their children to learn tangible, applicable skills that they will need in a rapidly evolving world,” says LaGrange.

In the health and wellness curriculum, consent will be taught as an essential element.

“Early on they will learn that personal boundaries can be communicated through words and actions. In later grades, they will learn more directly that sexual activity should never be forced or make individuals uncomfortable or threatened.”

Hoffman says the curriculum is unacceptable in its current form.

“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.”

“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.

In September, some classrooms will begin to test the draft curriculum. The province has set aside $6 million to support those schools.

The government will consider feedback from Albertans and the classroom tests before it is implemented across the province.

The new curriculum is expected to be in place for the 2022-23 school year.

A draft curriculum for grades 7-10 is expected to be tested in the classroom in September 2022, with grades 11 and 12 the following year.

by Chris Brown

Alberta releases draft kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum

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