We hope the NDP government of Alberta will do the right thing and return autonomy to the individual classrooms of Alberta. Many schools and educators, who know what works best, will chose worthy, time-tested and proven curricula that gets BACK TO BASICS!
Dr.Nhung Trans-Davies and her associates offered a fantastic education forum in Edmonton on May 29, 2015. Over 200 were present including Dr. David Swann, the leader of the Liberal Party of Alberta; Mark Smith, the Education Critic of the official opposition Wildrose Party; several more elected officials; and many professionals, educators, parents and concerned citizens.
Dr.Nhung Trans-Davies and her supporters (including PCE) have been fighting relentlessly for a reversal in the Discovery Math curriculum, which has caused a dramatic drop in math outcomes for Alberta students in the past decade.
To read more go to the C.D. Howe Institute Report, by Anna Stokke, 'What to do about Canada's declining math scores.'
This forum also put forward the argument that Inspiring Education, a curriculum overhaul set to be implemented in 2016, will result in similar declines in student outcomes in the remaining core subjects, as this curriculum uses the same ill-conceived methods of 'discovery', 'problem-based learning' and 'constructivism'.
We join Dr.Nhung Trans-Davies, her associates, teachers, parents, and concerned Albertans when we ask that the government of Alberta put a halt to this unproven curriculum overhaul and return autonomy to the classroom, so educators can chose to use traditional methods and direct-teaching techniques. These have proven their worth to students here and around the world.
To read more about Inspiring Education read our paper, published on this site: Inspiring Education-The Undermining Parental Choice
For those who were unable to attend this forum, Stuart Wachowicz, a director on the PCE board, Dr.Trans-Davies, and two more excellent speakers were recorded. All their presentations were absolutely fantastic, concise and clear. These presentations are worth watching:
- Dr.Nhung Trans-Davies: An overview of the issues with Discovery Math
- Stuart Wachowicz: On Inspiring Education
- Dr.Vladimir Troitsky: A math professor's perspective of the issues inherent in Discovery Math
- Dr. Robert Craigen: The failure of Discovery Math across Canada; CD HOWE report overview
The new education Minister, David Eggen, did not attend this education forum, nor has he met with Dr.Nhung Trans-Davies or Parents for Choice in Education to date. There has been no acknowledgement from the NDP at the time of the publication of this post, of the significant issues inherent in Discovery Math or Inspiring Education. We understand it is busy times for our fledgling government, but we hope that we will both be able to sit down with Education MInister David Eggen soon!
We here at Parents for Choice in Education hope the new NDP government will take the concerns of parents, educators, professionals, all the concerned citizens across Alberta seriously, read the wonderful research available that speaks to the failure of the methods used in these 'new' education curricula, and reverse the direction of Alberta Education.
We hope the NDP government of Alberta will do the right thing and return autonomy to the individual classrooms of Alberta. Many schools and educators, who know what works best, will chose worthy, time-tested and proven curricula that gets BACK TO BASICS!