Individualism Run Amok
Betsy DeVos would be thrilled to have a [school] system like yours,” says Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University, about Alberta. Donald Trump’s secretary of [...]
K-12
K-12
On Track to Graduate
If you come on this side,” says Keyshaun Mountain Horse, “one of our students drew a design to intimidate our opponents.” The profile of a skull wearing a feather headdress is drawn in black felt [...]
By Doug Horner
Artist in the Classroom
Most jobs ask you to do practically the same thing every day, but do it more efficiently, make it prettier, survive the mundane. Most jobs do not ask you: If you could change the world, what [...]
Private Schools
Should Alberta—or any other province—provide funding for private schools? A discussion of this question can quickly become heated. Some people frame the issue as being about parental rights or [...]
By David King
Chilling Effect
I was in my classroom marking essays in October 2010 when the phone rang. The guidance counsellor told me she had two very upset parents in her office. Apparently, their daughters had seen a film [...]
By Dale Wallace
Going Public
The Morinville revolt began on March 1, 2010, at Donna Hunter’s kitchen table. The mother of three was looking through school registration materials for her oldest daughter, Scarlett, who would [...]
Testing, Testing
In March, a delegation of 13 Finnish high school principals and ministry officials visited high schools in the Crowsnest Pass, Calgary, Edmonton and Grande Prairie. While in Alberta, they joined [...]
School Principles
These days, I enjoy being a citizen. But for 29 years I was a citizen politician, managing campaigns, working as the research assistant to the leader of the opposition, serving as a government [...]
By David King
On the Block
The stands in the gym at Sherwood Park’s Salisbury Composite High School are packed. Parents, students and fans wave signs urging their teams to give their all for that one last victory. This [...]
MOST READ
MOST READ
Why She Runs
It's a half hour before dawn when Rachel Notley emerges from her hotel elevator, and I barely recognize her. She’s wearing her running clothes and a battered pair of Asics Gel running shoes. Despite having arrived in Calgary late the night before, she has a schedule to keep and she’s eager ...
The Plans to Strip-Mine Coal in the Mountains
It looks like spectacular wild country, but some see it more as a big money sandwich.
The top layer of that sandwich is comprised of alpine grasses, forget-me-nots and stonecrop, glacier lilies and ancient, brave pines whose branches have been gnarled and weathered by centuries of wind. In summer, solitaires and ...
Suddenly There’s Room at the Inn
On a recent Thursday outside the Coliseum Inn, a woman in wrinkled clothes balances a large blue sleeping bag atop her shoulder. In the parking lot a man pushes a shopping cart overflowing with clothing. Outside the lobby doors, a man asks, “Hey, got a dollar?”
The scene is at odds with ...