Telephone town hall on new K to 4 curriculum set for tonight

The province is hosting a telephone town hall on the new Kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum Tuesday night for residents of northern Alberta.
 
Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley MLA Marg McCuaig-Boyd says the curriculum needed to be updated as the current one is 30 years old and pre-dated the internet.
 
“We’ve been engaging thousands of parents, teachers, and (other) Albertans and just asking the question ‘What should our kids be learning?’ They’ve told us that schools not only need to teach the basics, but we need to have more problem-solving skills and help them be adaptable as they enter the world.”
 
She adds this must be done to help students be ready for the future.
 
“Despite some of the right-wing conspiracy theories that we’re going to be teaching them what we chose to teach, that’s not the case. We’ve been very open and transparent. We’re inviting input.”
 
McCuaig -Boyd says there is a focus on core subjects like reading and writing, but also something newer called wellness education.
 
“Knowledge 30 years ago and knowledge now has changed about wellness. Part of wellness is, with little ones especially, is talking early about things like consent and what is acceptable and isn’t acceptable when we talk about our bodies. As early as Grade 2, we’re going to be talking about that.”
 
She adds there would also be a mental health component to that wellness education.
 
That telephone town hall will start at 7 p.m. this evening. Registration is available through the province’s website. A similar one for people in southern Alberta will be held Wednesday.