The Mr. Clarke Minute

Over the weekend, the Government of Alberta released their plans to pass legislation requiring educators to disclose to parents if their children, ages sixteen and under, are using alternative gender pronouns in the school.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, following her attempt to “depoliticize the discussion” over parental rights, stated that parents “are the primary caregivers and educators … regardless of how often the extreme left undermines the role of parents, I want you to know that parental rights and choice in your child’s education is and will continue to be a fundamental core principle of this party and this government, and we will never apologize for it.”

At what age should we encourage students to explore their individuality both outside the confines of their parents and their teachers?

Does placing a wall of mutual tension between student and staff when a child is seeking help prevent these personal discussions from happening altogether?

Will this embedded mistrust between the public and its educators damage the role in loco parentis plays out in the future?

It is concerning that there is continually an effort from conservative governments to implement arbitrary social barriers between teachers and students. This is not to say left-wing governments are perfect either, but a core component of our role as educators is to build relationships in confidence and acting with a quasi-parental role through in loco parentis. Placing another barrier within the student/teacher relationship only encourages students to hide themselves better rather than seeking out an initial pathway to exercise personal agency.

In playing devil’s advocate, for those who would support this legislation, I can understand the urge to helicopter and censor your child’s educational experience. Individuals have different beliefs, values, and in the modern day where everyone with a keyboard is a social scientist, it is reasonable to be informed as to what your child is navigating in their everyday experience.

Regardless, there appears to be a lack of consideration for how this legislation reaches out into other areas of student/teacher relationships where teachers are ethically bound to be the acting parent while having these students in their care, yet legislation targeting this brings in a host of unanswered follow-up questions which do not seem to be considered for now.

Even if this is just an attempt by a conservative government to establish political authority within the system, it is also worth considering these governments tend to focus more on the social aspect of public education rather than discussing the material concerns (i.e. funding/class sizes). Notice how there is never a big weekend announcement preceding a new semester about news on this front.

What are your thoughts on the recent moves here in Alberta?

On the podcast this week:

Connie Jakab - Connie is a speaker, author, and CEO of Jakab Co. Connie has written multiple books including Culture Rebel and Bring Them Closer both in a parent and teachers edition. Her work mainly revolves around coaching others to engage with their true path, as well as managing trauma within ourselves and in the classroom. She tells some fascinating stories about rejecting the mainstream beliefs in Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) as well as her experiences getting absolutely roasted by junior high students after her talks.

Staci Bailey - Staci Bailey is a Secondary Humanities & CTS teacher and has been in the profession for just over a decade. On part one of our conversation, my cousin and I discuss ‘nugs, not drugs,’ her ‘abstinence is awesome’ clothing, our expectations of teaching versus its reality, figuring out what kind of teacher we wanted to be, her experience as an EA, definitely never losing student work, Tetley tea, Diet Pepsi, and, much more.

Upcoming Guest:

Shannon Dube - Shannon is currently the President for ATA Local 48 as well as the Numeracy Coordinator for the Fort McMurray Public School Division. On part one of our conversation, Shannon and I discuss the weirdness of incentivizing teachers out of the classroom, planning Professional Development for more than eight hundred teachers and the challenges that come with trying to please everyone, if the post-covid learning loss even exists, how the government is tying funding to learning loss, how school cultures develop in isolation, and, much more.

Listen to the show here —> linktr.ee/mrclarkeafterdark

Link to news article used above: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-government-to-unveil-parental-rights-policy-this-week-premier-says