Dear friends, I hope this finds you well. It's hard to believe that it has been almost four years since we started coming together to advocate for changes to the Alberta "New Math" Curriculum, to reestablish best practices (standard algorithms/times table/etc). Our efforts have indeed changed the dialogue in Alberta regarding how math is taught and some positive changes to the math curriculum were made as a result. However, in order to ensure that best practices in all areas (math, science, social studies, language arts) remain the focus for our children's education, we need to clean house on Oct 16, as the last set of School Board Trustees, influenced by a cabal of educrats and Tedtalk stars, were overwhelmingly (except for a few like Orville Chubb Ward C) disappointing in their response to our concerns with the new math curriculum and the whole school curriculum rewrite. Despite the glaring evidence of harm to our children's well-being and academic achievement, the previous trustees remained enamoured with the "new math" ideologies, the unproven inquiry/discovery-based system, the lack of accountability (less quantitative measure of performance, ie report cards/provincial achievement tests), and the excessive technology use in the classroom. In effect, they were complicit in wasting millions of dollars to line the pockets of tech companies and organizations and textbook companies promoting unproven inquiry/discovery-based learning, all the while taking money away from parents who are forced to hire tutors to ensure their children meet standards for fundamental knowledge and skills. The new School Board Trustee should value an emphasis on knowledge content in all subjects (not mere "competencies"), high standards of excellence (esp in math where time-proven, standard methods are important), evidence-based teaching practices (not an overemphasis on discovery/inquiry-based learning), and objective measure of performance (maintenance of Provincial Achievement Tests). They need to ensure that the changes that we had successfully effected in the math curriculum will continue to be prominently supported and practiced throughout the province, and not allow our system to be swayed by 21st century learning ideologies (enabled by the 2013 Ministerial Orders). They need to be an advocate for our children by being accountable to the parents, for we are the voices of our children. My message to you will be much fewer and far between, as I am hopeful that the new batch of trustees will be more informed and will carry on our message of ensuring our children's right to a good education. Keep in mind, that the answer to correcting our education system is not by asking for more money, but by using the money we have more wisely; otherwise, we further disadvantage the already most vulnerable and disadvantaged students. But, I may not rest fully until I see David Eggen prove himself to be a strong leader by rewriting the 2013 Ministerial Order that deemphasized the importance of our children acquiring knowledge in school (it's all about discovery, competency, and learning how to look things up, ie googling, they say). How does a parent sleep at night knowing this? The Education Critic Leela Aheer promised (at a meeting I had on July 17th) to fight this Ministerial Order for us. Let's see what she can do. And perhaps, the new school boards will also stand up for standards of excellence in our schools. All the best to you. Kindest Regards, Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies mrgranthd@yahoo.ca https://www.facebook.com/Alberta-Math-Petition-715037091853017/ Exhibit A: Both equally intelligent men. One has facts and knowledge to think critically through his argument against the proposed ill-informed Alberta curricular changes. One is lacking facts and knowledge about the problem, and it shows. Conclusion: A strong content/knowledge-based curriculum is prerequisite for critical-thinking, ie don't build a house out of straw https://soundcloud.com/frontiercentre/content-knowledge-is-key-to-education-cbc-edmonton Exhibit B: Be wary of those who use our platform to gain votes (ensure they are sincere and informed). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/cbe-math-coaches-calgary-schools-tests-teachers-specialists-1.4349500 Exhibit C: Not really sure if any of the current/potential political leaders are any good/genuine, but our concerns with the curriculum is indeed political since it is the ministry that makes the decision to enact a Ministerial Order that calls for the deemphasis on knowledge. It's only democratic to speculate the worse case scenario (I don't necessarily agree with Kenney's tactics). Therefore, do not dismiss the voices of informed parents (recall what Eggen did to me). http://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/david-staples-culture-wars-heat-up-school-trustee-races http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/notley-jason-kenney-school-curriculum-alberta-1.4276762