Technolandy

Day 23 (of 2025/26) 3 news items: Alberta teacher strike?

Teacher job action – an interesting thought I had was whether or not this (and BC’s contract negotiations going on now) will lead to some… ‘experimentation’ about using AI tools to personalize learning and shake up/transform the way education is done… not that I’m excited about this, but there can definitely be some cases made due to the traumas caused by some in-person learning experiences… there’s a reason why many don’t always think back fondly of their school experiences…

1. Alberta Teacher Strike: https://globalnews.ca/news/11457054/alberta-teachers-reject-contract-offer/ – key issues seem to be the pay raise (12% over four years) and vagueness around ways to address class size (now kind of a federal issue since the Supreme Court did a ruling on BC’s suit on classize and composition language a few years back… no longer just ‘up to provinces’) 
2. Connected to the job action is continued pushback to be more inclusive of students and have a re-re-re-look at the provinces book ban and transgender laws https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/protestors-call-for-changes-to-alberta-education/ anti-trans laws were antiquated years ago – and we should be more proud of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms existing for all Canadians irregardless of which bathroom or sports team they end up with. I know I will not be informing parents of pronouns nor names that students choose to use in our building unless the student wishes me to – schools need to be a safe space where students can experiment and explore their true selves – same as it was when students were punk… or goth… or now, no longer having to hide in metaphorical closets. Because we need to recognize that calls “for an end to “personal ideologies and private agendas” is in itself a personal ideology and private agenda…
3. And the government is looking to support families of children under 12 with financial support – $150 a week, which is great if the $10/day daycares can take older students, but often there are not enough Early Childhood Educators for the proposed/promised spots already: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-to-pay-families-of-younger-children-should-teachers-strike-oct-6-government-says-1.7647498 – mind you $150/week x 30 students… but, let’s set a class at 25 students… 150 X 25 = $3750/week for teachers might be a good ways ($3750 x 40 weeks is a 150,000 salary and we can get rid of a salary grid)

It’ll be interesting to see how this influences contract negotiations on the west side of the Rockies…salary is always an issue, but maybe instead of class size limits (which become goals) we reframe the discourse to “class size targets” for example – we are aiming for 25 but for funding purposes (which can be dealt with differently than just based on full time equivalencies (fte) with a +/- of 3 – so that depending on class composition (we could say IEPs, but I’d prefer more street level data that might go beyond rewarding communities/families who can navigate the medical/educational complexities to get designations faster than others…