Despite challenging times ahead, minister is optimistic about education’s future.
On the very day the world was to end, Alberta’s minister of education spoke optimistically about the future.
“I never come away from meeting with teachers without a sure and certain knowledge that the future of our children and our province is in very capable hands,” said Minister of Education Dave Hancock in his address to the more than 400 delegates attending the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s 94th Annual Representative Assembly (ARA), held in Edmonton over the Victoria Day long weekend.
In his speech, given May 21, Hancock attributed some of the “most productive and most valuable” years of his term as education minister to his relationship with the ATA and the province’s teachers. The minister expressed his appreciation for the work teachers have undertaken “to transform our education system into one that will meet the educational demands of the 21st century and ensure that we continue to be one of the best education systems in the world.”
In light of the provincial budget, however, ensuring that Alberta maintains an excellent education system will be a challenge. “This year’s budget was not one that any of us wanted,” Hancock said, characterizing the budget as difficult and one requiring “a lot of collaboration” between stakeholders to guarantee that Alberta emerges with the best of the best education systems.
Predictable and sustainable education funding, something the minister favours, would contribute greatly to this goal. To achieve foreseeable and viable funding “means we have to have predictable costs,” and the major cost—teacher salaries—is difficult to predict. Hancock challenged teachers: “Would you … be willing to agree to fixed increases for five years or more in return for stability in education funding?” He added, "It is important that you note I said ‘fixed’—not increases tied to something like the average weekly earnings index or the consumer price index."
Despite fallout from the budget, “education in Alberta is not expiring—unless of course the world ends later today,” the minister said in an aside, to the laughter of delegates. He singled out the five-year agreement between the ATA and the government as having provided a period of stability in which “tremendous results” were realized. He cited Inspiring Education and education stakeholders’ concerted focus on the province’s education system to ensure that every child maximizes his or her potential.
Hancock encouraged stakeholders to uphold their focus. “I believe that if we do not spend time focused on bargaining issues and spend more time as we have on educational policy and what the true outcomes of what we want to achieve are, we will focus on a more professional relationship … that will be good for our students, our system and for teachers.” He added that it is crucial that teachers be allowed to make the professional decisions needed to produce the results a transformed education system will require.
“It is difficult to predict what the future will bring, but I believe we will only build an educational system our students need if we focus our conversation on the future and build public understanding and interest in the value of education to our community and our society.” Hancock said that over the past three years, he’s had the pleasure and privilege of engaging in such a discussion with educators.
“It is my hope that one way or another we will continue those discussions and that action into the future. Professional leadership of teachers and the ATA will be crucial to our success,” he said.
