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Parents suspicious of curriculum consultation

Education minister hears concerns in Red Deer
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Education minister David Eggen visits with parents and educators at Father Henri Voisin School in Red Deer on Tuesday evening. (Photo by Jeff Stokoe/Advocate staff)

It didn’t take long for some Red Deer parents to express their distrust of the province’s plan to gather input on how to update school curriculum.

Tuesday morning a curriculum survey was announced and by evening Education Minister David Eggen faced concerns from parents at an hour-long public meeting that he led at Father Henri Voisin School.

Red Deer Public Schools parent Trish Robichaud said she’s heard rumours that sex education would be taught to young children.

“When it comes to sexual education specifically, that’s my job as a parent. I would be nervous to have a stranger teaching my child about sexual education,” said Robichaud to the applause of many of the 100 people in attendance.

She wanted to know if parents could have their children opt out of sex education classes. Eggen said parents did have that right, but also told her the curriculum hasn’t been written yet.

“We are building curriculum with our teachers, with our parents, with post-secondary institutions and the general public,” Eggen said.

“We’re not building curriculum from a secret place that we reach from behind here,” he said waving his hand behind him. “We’re doing it through processes that we’ll see over the next while.”

Albertans have a month to respond to the online survey.

Paul Vallee, whose children graduated from Red Deer Public Schools and will soon have grandchildren in the school system, said that the survey was useless.

He said after consultation comes the real work, the drafting of the curriculum, which will be done solely by educators. But parents, business leaders and others need to be involved.

“Let’s hear from an entire group of people that reflect the broader base of our culture not just a single strong voice. If you have a single group of people working on it and you all agree with each other — that’s a problem,” Vallee said who didn’t have an opportunity to ask his question, but spoke to Red Deer North MLA Kim Schreiner after the meeting.

A few times on Wednesday night, the topic of gender diversity and schools discouraging the use of “he or she” overtook curriculum discussion.

Eggen disagreed with parents’ interpretation of the situation.

“We’re looking to make sure to protect our kids, protect LGBTQ students and all students in a safe and caring environment,” Eggen said.

Guy Pelletier, board chair at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, said a variety of views and topics will be expressed at public meetings and curriculum was getting mixed in with LGBTQ policies.

“I think there’s a sensitivity with certain folks that there’s maybe a greater agenda of some sort. There’s a blending of those issues that probably isn’t deserved. I think the process needs to play itself out,” said Pelletier after the meeting.

“(Red Deer Catholic) always felt we had a safe and caring environment. Not felt that, but we had evidence that we did. So we didn’t have to do much to our policy.”

Pelletier said when it comes to curriculum consultations, the public needs to take the minister and his department at their word that they’ll take the input gathered seriously and that there will be more opportunities to contribute.

Someone asked Eggen if the provincial government wants to eliminate Catholic schools.

“I’m very proud of our Catholic education here in the province of Alberta so there’s no intention to change anything. Some people like to spread rumours. This is me here, I’m Minister of Education, saying to you here now that’s completely not true,” said Eggen.

szieilinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com