Alberta Politics & Government Thread 4.0

[surferguy]

lol there is a new user named StickingUpForFuzz viewing this thread right now. lol

[Slava]

Originally Posted by surferguy

lol there is a new user named StickingUpForFuzz viewing this thread right now. lol

Probably funded by the Canmore non-residents tax?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Slava

Probably funded by the Canmore non-residents tax?

People do it for me for free, no funding needed. Something about my charm.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

People do it for me for free, no funding needed. Something about my charm.

I don’t believe that - you have your own SuperPAC

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by BigThief

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...-school-spaces
$90 million from the government doesn't seem very f'n private.

I find it a little strange that $10 million is just announced for the renfrew school being built on the edge of the city.

Construction is halfway complete and the government officially makes the announcement.

I believe we rarely see that with the construction of public school.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by surferguy

I don’t believe that - you have your own SuperPAC

Pickles and Clay

[#-3]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

I find it a little strange that $10 million is just announced for the renfrew school being built on the edge of the city.

Construction is halfway complete and the government officially makes the announcement.

I believe we rarely see that with the construction of public school.

Point taken, but generally I would leave Renfrew out of the war on private schools. I think that school being well funded is a good thing.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Looch City

I almost lost control of my vehicle and ran them all over.

Almost.

I'm happy to provide a voice sample to yell this for you when it happens.

[para transit fellow]

While I have high regard for Renfrew's early intervention efforts, I fail to see why an equivalent-quality elementary education is not adequately provided in the public school system.

An example: A single parent living on AISH should be able to get her kid (facing development delays) into a similarly structured public school program without paying $450 per month

[DJones]

Originally Posted by para transit fellow

While I have high regard for Renfrew's early intervention efforts, I fail to see why an equivalent-quality elementary education is not adequately provided in the public school system.

An example: A single parent living on AISH should be able to get her kid (facing development delays) into a similarly structured public school program without paying $450 per month

Public system isn't set up for that. They are designed to be one size fits all. At that point it would just be a charter school. But that kills the whole idea because Charter schools get normal funding while seems obvious that Renfrew would require additional funding.

They are a specialized non-profit organization that was spearheaded by individuals. There's not a chance in hell the public system would be able to replicate it. That's a model that should be copied not discouraged.

[Fuzz]

Why shouldn't it be public? Why can only a private organization do that? What fundamental barrier exists?

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Why shouldn't it be public? Why can only a private organization do that? What fundamental barrier exists?

How on earth would a system that necessitates a flat funding structure and equal treatment for everyone that wants it replicate a specialized organization with additional funding and control of both their students and the learning system?

They would lose before they even begun. They can't even handle kids with anger problems. Trying to dump these kids into that system would be a nightmare for everyone.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by DJones

Public system isn't set up for that. They are designed to be one size fits all. At that point it would just be a charter school. But that kills the whole idea because Charter schools get normal funding while seems obvious that Renfrew would require additional funding.

They are a specialized non-profit organization that was spearheaded by individuals. There's not a chance in hell the public system would be able to replicate it. That's a model that should be copied not discouraged.

Q) if there is no agency in an Alberta town to spearhead comparable response to such challenges, does the student go without schooling?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by DJones

How on earth would a system that necessitates a flat funding structure and equal treatment for everyone that wants it replicate a specialized organization with additional funding and control of both their students and the learning system?

They would lose before they even begun. They can't even handle kids with anger problems. Trying to dump these kids into that system would be a nightmare for everyone.

You haven't described any fundamental reason. You created some restrictions and then said "see, that won't work!" That's not a reason. Teachers can't control kids because they have too many to deal with and too few resources. These are things that can be fixed, as evidenced by other jurisdictions elsewhere in the world that do it.

[Ped]

Not Alberta, but Doug Ford in Ontario is trying to pass a law that exempts FOI requests from the premier, cabinet members, and parliamentary assistants, and is also retroactive, so any requests currently waiting will be nixed.


The government's laughable argument:

“This legislation… will keep confident cabinet confidentiality, so any interactions of the Executive Council members amongst themselves will be confidential, and I think that’s in the best interest of the people, so that we can have candid conversations, important discussions, without any potential blowback,” Crawford said.

https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2...ffices-secret/


I'm sure Danielle is paying very close attention.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

You haven't described any fundamental reason. You created some restrictions and then said "see, that won't work!" That's not a reason. Teachers can't control kids because they have too many to deal with and too few resources. These are things that can be fixed, as evidenced by other jurisdictions elsewhere in the world that do it.

Most other jurisdictions don't follow strict one size fits all philosophies on education and funding.

Like sure, there's no reason the government couldn't replicate Renfrew and fund it appropriately and put someone in charge that knew what they were doing. Aside from it going directly against the core idea of equal education. Only reason Charter schools get a pass is because they get equal funding.

There's nothing stopping the government from having 4 or 5 different education streams with different goals, funding, and curriculums. That's a completely self imposed limitation that will inevitably fail the kids who that will never work for. Same with school fees. You can have people pay school fees that are related to your children. That's normal in most countries.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Ped

Not Alberta, but Doug Ford in Ontario is trying to pass a law that exempts FOI requests from the premier, cabinet members, and parliamentary assistants, and is also retroactive, so any requests currently waiting will be nixed.

The government's laughable argument:
https://www.cp24.com/local/toronto/2...ffices-secret/

I'm sure Danielle is paying very close attention.

Eh? Why would she need to? This government has already rejected FOI requests out-of-hand and has been found to non-compliant with FOIP legislation.

[Fuzz]

Didn't Smith already put in her own version a year or so ago? Maybe it's more limited than this, but I recall it limiting cabinet communication and the like.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by DJones

Most other jurisdictions don't follow strict one size fits all philosophies on education and funding.

Like sure, there's no reason the government couldn't replicate Renfrew and fund it appropriately and put someone in charge that knew what they were doing. Aside from it going directly against the core idea of equal education. Only reason Charter schools get a pass is because they get equal funding.

There's nothing stopping the government from having 4 or 5 different education streams with different goals, funding, and curriculums. That's a completely self imposed limitation that will inevitably fail the kids who that will never work for. Same with school fees. You can have people pay school fees that are related to your children. That's normal in most countries.

Ok, cool, so you admit that it could be done in a public, publicly funded system, and the barrier is "equal education", something you apparently came up with.

Inclusion is not just about learners with special needs. It is an attitude and approach that embraces diversity and learner differences and promotes equal opportunities for all learners in Alberta. Alberta’s education system is built on a values-based approach to accepting responsibility for all children and students.
Every learner has unique needs. Some learners have profound and ongoing needs and others have short-term or situation-based needs. This calls for flexible and responsive learning environments that can adapt to the changing needs of learners.

https://www.alberta.ca/inclusive-education


From my understanding the goal is to make outcomes as even as possible, not give every kid the identical equal education.

[DJones]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Ok, cool, so you admit that it could be done in a public, publicly funded system, and the barrier is "equal education", something you apparently came up with.



https://www.alberta.ca/inclusive-education


From my understanding the goal is to make outcomes as even as possible, not give every kid the identical equal education.

Equal education is simply each student gets the same curriculum, funding, and classrooms. It's a core tenant of how we run public schooling.

The alternative is generally called specialization or streamed education. In Europe they'd identify the kids and put them in an appropriate school. That being a Renfrew type school within the public system. Same for high schools. Trade stream goes to this school. University stream goes here. It's all public meaning government funded, all the schools just aren't identical.

So yes, its entirely possible for public schools to become specialized. It's a choice we made decades ago to not do that.