Alberta education minister supports LGBTQ students
According to Global News, David Eggen, Education Minister in Alberta, emphasized support for the LGBTQ community. He stated this in an open letter via the social media platform Facebook on August 16.
He said students should form Gay-Straight Alliances. In the letter, he said, “You have the right to feel safe and welcome at school?You have the right to use the washroom that is consistent with your gender identity. I want you to know that I will support each and every one of you.”
According to Eggen, Alberta Education will give resources to have “safe and welcoming” schools, where “rights are being respected.” He concluded the letter by saying, “And remember: I’m with you one hundred per cent.”
Students lose academic edge in the summer
According to CBC News, the University of Waterloo has done the first big study into the loss of literacy and numeracy skills in the summer for Canadian children. Previous research has focused on American students and shown that while there is little setback for children of more advantaged families, children of disadvantaged families can show between one and three months of literacy and numeracy skills loss over the summer.
2010/11 AU student demographics data show 31% of AU students have dependents. Many of their Canadian children are likely to go through this numeracy-literacy summer academic skill loss.
Janice Aurini, Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, said, “”It’s not because the parents don’t love their kids, It’s just they just don’t have the resources to help their kids.” The study was done in Ontario.
UBC Faculty of Education 9th in the World
According to The Georgia Straight, The University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Education was ranked as number nine in the world and fourth in North America based on the QS World University Rankings. It was ranked alongside 62 other Canadian schools and faculties of education.
Blye Frank, Dean of the Faculty of Education, says that new discoveries on the neuroscience of learning are changing education. Methods of assessment have changed with this research, which takes into account Indigenous students.
Frank said, “Students here who do the IB concentration graduate with the B.Ed, but they also graduate with a certificate which allows them to teach in any IB program or school in the globe.”
Scott Douglas Jacobsen is an AUSU Councillor. He works with various organizations, and runs In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, and In-Sight Publishing.