Dear fellow petitioners, I know you have signed this online MATH petition, but there is also a PAPER PETITION that we are circulating to strengthen our voice against the Inspiring Education initiative, which has not only caused great harm to our math education, but is also in the process of breaking down the rest of our education system. Because of the complexity of the Inspiring Ed issue, the online petition -- https://www.change.org/p/honourable-education-minister-gordon-dirks-knowledge-is-power-stop-the-breakdown-of-our-children-s-education -- has not been effective for us. Therefore, we have decided to circulate a PAPER petition at ground level to reach out to and inform parents of the concerning Inspiring Ed's proposed policy shift in education. Please sign the PAPER petition if you see it. It is a separate statement to stop the larger experimentation on our education system. The Inspiring Education initiative is costing millions, and with the looming budget cut, the money would be better spent on saving our teacher positions, building schools, etc. And if you can help us collect signatures, please email me at mrgranthd@yahoo.ca. Our goal is to increase our voice to at least 10,000 strong. With the math, as many of you know, I met with Minister Johnson in June 2014 and he agreed to changes to re-emphasize the importance of basic math facts/times table and to remove the need to use multiple strategies. Johnson was only brave enough to include the use of standard algorithms as optional. This year our efforts have been two folds: 1)to ensure that teachers are aware of and are following through with these changes and 2)to have the standard algorithms (eg long division) made mandatory. I have spoken to many parents this year, and it upsets me that many teachers are still teaching the multiple strategies, with neglect of the standard algorithms. I respect teachers above all, but as a parent, you need to inform the teachers that the curriculum no longer mandates the teaching of multiple strategies, that you want your child to focus on mastering the standard algorithms. Tweet Minister Dirks and remind him that he is in possession of a position statement submitted by nearly 100 mathematicians in Alberta on Feb 3rd, 2015, recommending that the standard algorithms be made compulsory. Will he listen to the experts??? When left as optional, as a mother told me today, her child's teacher decided to skip the lesson on stacking with carry-over method in favour of teaching other strategies to add/subtract. What a disservice to our children!! And I am livid to learn that the Professional Development Consortia that the ministry has been saying is working to inform teachers of the agreed changes is actually going around preaching the following to teachers: ""When children are involved in tedious pencil and paper calculations, almost no mathematical thinking is necessary; students simply follow procedures. When children are solving problems and using calculators, they are using their mental power in more important ways – reasoning, conjecturing, and testing ideas." Kindest regards, Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies More info on the Alberta Math Petition facebook page