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Draft K-6 Curriculum

Draft K-6 curriculum drawing criticism over social studies changes

Mar 30, 2021 | 5:01 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta’s proposed school curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 6 students is coming under fire for its proposed changes to social studies.

Carla Peck, a University of Alberta education associate professor, says it’s way over kids’ heads, with Grade 2 students learning about the fall of Rome and the reign of Charlemagne.

Peck says there’s so much information, the kids are being taught to recite facts rather than learn critical thinking.

Margie Patrick with King’s University says the religion section is so massive and detailed it risks going past learning into the realm of religious indoctrination.

Yvonne Poitras Pratt, a Metis scholar at the University of Calgary, says it glosses over First Nations prehistory and relegates Indigenous peoples to bit players in the celebratory history of European migration to North America.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange is taking feedback on the proposed curriculum over the next year and stresses it is still in draft form.

(The Canadian Press)