Education Minister Adriana LaGrange (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By Canadian Press

Residential School Education

Experts, ATA slam leaked curriculum change proposals

Oct 21, 2020 | 2:10 PM

EDMONTON – The chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission says young children aren’t too emotionally vulnerable to learn about residential schools as a leaked draft of proposed Alberta curriculum changes suggests.

Senator Murray Sinclair says survivors have shared their stories with young children and there’s no evidence it was damaging.

A draft of proposed Alberta curriculum changes obtained by CBC News suggests that children younger than Grade 4 are too emotionally vulnerable to learn about residential schools.

In documents posted on CBC’s website, the government is advised to save that topic for older children and that Grade 9 students could potentially learn about residential schools as one example of “harsh schooling” in the past.

While Canadian residential schools are described as “traumatic material,” the draft for the kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum recommends students be taught about ancient Rome, battles of the Middle Ages and slavery in the Ottoman Empire.

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With those leaked recommendations, the province’s teachers’ union says they have lost trust in the curriculum redesign process, saying that this highlights the issue of teacher’s not being involved in the process.

“It is much more clear now why the government ended the agreement with the ATA last summer to work together on curriculum: teachers would not support this direction for curriculum,” said ATA President Jason Schilling.

“Teachers are experts in curriculum; they understand the readiness of young students for different pieces of content and they understand what it means to bring curriculum to life in the classroom. I am calling for the minister to unequivocally reject these proposals and to immediately bring teachers back to the table on curriculum development.”

The commission’s report in 2015 called on ministers of education to include the history and legacy of residential schools in kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculums.

(With files from Shaun Penner / EverythingGP)