Hon. Dave Hancock's Address to the Greater Edmonton Teachers' Convention

On March 3, the Hon. Dave Hancock, Minister of Education, spoke to the Greater Edmonton Teachers' Convention. Key excerpts from the text of the speech include:

It is my personal belief that Alberta is at a tipping point. The results of the next election will determine the direction in which Alberta moves for decades to come. In essence, Albertans are going to be asked what kind of province they want to live in...

So we have to ensure that one of the questions on the political agenda – whether it is during the upcoming leadership race or the next election – is about the desired future for education. We need to make sure the direction that is chosen is one which recognizes the importance and value of education in creating an Alberta that is dynamic, cohesive, socially equitable and prosperous...

We must help all Albertans understand that it is our investment in education that will determine our future.

I would encourage you to read the speech in its entirety - it's an important one.

Tripartite Discussions: Alberta Education, ASBA and ATA Issue a Joint Statement

A joint statement was released today by Alberta Education, the Alberta School Boards Association and the Alberta Teachers' Association regarding the Tripartite discussions. The letter stated that they will "not be moving ahead with an agreement at this time." These discussions began last fall and centred around workforce stability and the transformation of K to 12 Education.

New Math Curriculum: Popular Item on the CAPSC Blog

While the new math curriculum is not so new anymore, it is still a popular subject amongst CAPSC blog readers. According to the analytics available for our blog, parents visit our site on a daily, weekly, monthly basis looking for information on this subject area.

With full implementation of the new math curriculum for grades K to 9 now complete, implementation will move to grade 10 this fall. As a result, we were not surprised to find that one of the popular key words of late on our blog site includes Math 10c. Math 10c is a starting point for the 20/30 -1 and -2 streams. Other grade 10 options include Math -3 (most trades, workforce entry) and Math -4 (Knowledge and Employability). Alberta Education's math webpage offers a variety of resources for both parents and students as they look at the math sequences available at high school.

As for the math diploma exams, removal of the written portion is still proving to be a source of controversy. An interesting blog post by an executive member of the Math Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association attempts to answer the question, "What is the value of the mathematics diploma exams for Alberta Students? ~In particular, what is the value of the written response section of the mathematics diploma exam?" How will the diploma exam be impacted once the new math curriculum is fully implemented K to 12?

Finally, CAPSC stumbled upon a great resource for parents thanks to the above blogger. The Math Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association has a webpage dedicated to math links and more interestingly, a list of books related to math topics such as number concepts, shape and space, and data analysis your child may enjoy reading.