The Man Behind the Curtain
They want us talking about books so we’re not talking about their abject failure
On Monday this week, the Minister of Education held a press conference about school library materials. Parents had raised concerns about four graphic novels that were found in Calgary and Edmonton public school libraries. The Minister quickly leapt to action, launching a public survey about standards for age-appropriate books in school libraries. Or at least standards for sexual content, the survey makes no mention of the appropriateness of depictions of violence, abuse, or self-harm.
On Tuesday this week, the result of teacher’s strike authorization vote was announced. 99% of Alberta teachers voted in favour of a strike authorization. Seems like working conditions for teachers should be a major priority for this government because that’s a clear signal that the workforce is deeply unhappy.
My question is, did the Minister leap to action immediately after meeting with the book concerned parents, or did he wait and time his press conference to practice the long honed conservative art of deflection and distraction? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
The UCP’s track record on education isn’t great. In spite of being one of the richest provinces in the country, we fund education at the lowest level per student in the country. In spite of years of advocacy from school boards, raising concerns about rising enrolment and shortages of learning spaces, the UCP has moved at a snail’s pace when it comes to building new schools. In spite of educators ringing alarm bells about unmanageable class size and complexity, no substantive solutions have been offered by this government to address either.
Wait a minute, didn’t the UCP increase the classroom complexity grant by 20% this year? Yeah, that’s a classic example of throwing around an impressive number that falls apart under even the most basic scrutiny. $13/student. That’s what the 20% increase amounts to. If we look at just one board, the CBE, they report that they spend $10 million more on classroom complexity every year than what is funded by the government. Even with the complexity grant increase, that still leaves the CBE with an $8.5 million dollar shortfall on complexity funding every year. And that’s at current levels of support which fall far short of what is actually needed to accommodate complex kids.
The books the Minister has concerns about could have been dealt with via a simple phone call. So why launch a huge public engagement? It’s because they want us talking about books so that we’re not talking about classroom supports, overcrowded schools, and the impending strike from teachers who are fed up with holding our education system together on a shoestring budget.
Where are the leaps to action on these pressing issues in our schools? Nowhere to be seen. They want us talking about books so we’re not talking about their abject failure.
The book banning (let's call it what it is) distracts from the healthcare and education mess. It also serves to convince parents that the public education system is so broken that they must make sacrifices in order to enroll their children in the private and charter schools run by failed UCP candidates. And then the UCP can justify capital funding going to these schools because- see, they tell us, it's what parents prefer, over those degenerate public schools. It also helps to break the teachers’ union if they don't have public opinion on their side. This is by design, much like the breakup of healthcare.
CTV had to print a retraction when they reported the information that the Edmonton Islamic Academy was to receive capital funding for their new build. I think that was probably the plan all along, and is still on the backburner, but was backtracked when Peter Guthrie resigned. The three charter schools are still getting grants because they are 'public'.
The UCP ex-teacher candidate in the Edmonton-Ellerslie by-election is campaigning on the 'dirty books in our schools corrupting our youth' platform, which means he is very likely to get in.
Nenshi is hesitant about defunding independent schools because... reasons. I agree we need to build a strong public system first. And before that you need to win that election. But let's get this very clear; the NDP need to stand up loud and proud in support of publicly funded, publicly delivered education.
Forget about Peoples Choice of Separation. Using taxpayers' money on education and health, rather than a useless referendum. We already know the result of the majority.