Danella Aichele, former teacher with the Calgary Board of Education and Krystal Wittevrongel, former director of research at MEI.As Alberta’s teachers strike dominates headlines, talk has focused on class sizes and student complexity. An important question is being ignored altogether: What is the purpose of public education? Most Albertans would say it’s simple: to teach students how to read, write, and think critically. The old “reading, writing, arithmetic.” But a look at the professional development priorities of the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) suggests that the union may have a different mission in mind: activism.The shift away from academics is clear. Teachers in Alberta are contracted to work 1200 hours per school year, of which about 900 are spent directly teaching students. Outside of this time are a variety of additional duties, such as extracurricular activities, student supervision, and professional development (PD). .MacBAIN: Parks Canada gets it wrong, again.There are about 10 PD days per year that teachers get extra training and development on what the ATA deems important for student success. Increasingly, these priorities seem to emphasize ideological training over academic instruction.Indeed, the ATA’s teacher training is organized into seven categories, ranging from “Fostering Effective Relationships” to “Environmental STEM,” with the greatest number of options falling under “Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments.”.Here, teachers are encouraged to “unlearn racial biases,” “support gender and relationship diversity in school communities,” and “care and connect” with students via “social and emotional learning.” Other workshops train teachers to “recognize and address anxiety in schools” and “help students who may be experiencing mental health issues.”All of these sound noble in isolation, but when these themes dominate professional learning, academics risk taking a backseat.The ATA’s second-largest focus is “Developing a Foundational Knowledge about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.” Workshops include “ᑕᐯᐧᐃᐧᐣ tapwewin: Dismantling Anti-Indigenous Racism,” which asks teachers to “critically reflect on systemic racism,” and in “More Than Words: The Significance of Land Acknowledgements on the Journey of Truth and Reconciliation,” teachers are encouraged to mobilize such acknowledgments with “concrete actions” in their professional practice..NEUMANN: Alberta’s democracy needs some sober second thought.Under the heading of “Engaging in Career-Long Learning,” the ATA offers workshops on exploring “the intersection of AI and our social and emotional world.” Meanwhile, “Fostering Effective Relationships” workshops train educators on how to deal with “difficult parents” and “rethink ‘boys will be boys.’”Even the “Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge” stream, which one might expect to focus on curriculum or best practice, encourages teachers to move beyond “fact-based learning,” choose “books for belonging,” and create “inclusive and effective learning environments for students from diverse linguistic backgrounds.”.These workshops paint a picture of an education system increasingly concerned with ideology, identity, and emotion and less with literacy, numeracy, and academic rigour.Parents may be surprised to learn that the union representing Alberta’s teachers devotes far more professional energy to social transformation than to subject mastery. And the numbers suggest they’re voting with their feet.Waitlists for charter schools and independent schools continue to grow, suggesting that the mission, vision, and values of the ATA are not aligning with those of Alberta parents. Families are seeking classrooms that emphasize academics over activism and choosing to exit the traditional public education system in favour of non-union-bound alternatives. .BEST: Judges are remaking Constitutional law, not applying it, and Canadians’ property rights are part of the collateral damage.The ATA argues there is “only one pot of money for Alberta schools” and opposes funding for alternatives like charter schools and independent schools, insisting that “every child deserves a place to learn and grow.” But if parents no longer believe that public schools are focused on learning, can we really fault them for seeking alternatives?Public education is a cornerstone of democracy, but only when it serves the public, not an ideology. So when the strike drags on, perhaps it’s time to ask not just what Alberta’s teachers want, but what Alberta’s parents expect because at the heart of this strike is not just a labour dispute. It’s a battle over the very purpose of education itself.Danella Aichele, former teacher with the Calgary Board of Education and Krystal Wittevrongel, former director of research at MEI.
