Alberta’s current history curriculum focuses on many of the wrong things. From kindergarten to grade 12, students miss out on quintessential historical events including but not limited to, the cold war, the rise of China, current politics, and more. It can be argued that the rise of China as a world superpower is the most significant historical event in the last fifty years. There is currently an oppressive communist regime on the rise known for enslavement and tyranny. China has even unlawfully imprisoned multiple Canadians. However, that is not the most shocking part. The most shocking part is that if you ask the average Canadian high school student who Xi Jinping is, they will look at you with a blank stare. Or how about you ask who Ronald Reagan and Fidel Castro are? In all honesty, what are the chances they know the answer? Of course, students are not responsible for this gap in education. They are merely a victim of it.
Today’s youth are growing up with no knowledge of the very world they inhabit. It is without a doubt that the lack of discussion regarding simple current events will have serious consequences. We spend far too much time on rudimentary topics. It is astonishing that the entire grade 10 social studies curriculum focuses on solely globalization. Is globalization important? Yes of course, but is it worth spending hundreds of hours on? Most certainly not. I do in fact believe that what is taught in the current curriculum is ‘mostly’ useful content. However, it is my opinion that students are capable of handling a more complex and expansive view of history. For example, in the AP social studies course, students spend the first week on globalization and then the rest on European history. So the fact is that it can be done.
The Solution?
Our world changes at a snail’s pace. Today’s CCP mimics Nazi Germany. The Cold War runs parallel to modern North Korea. From nuclear threats to concentration camps, we have seen all these issues before. We are well aware of the threat they pose, and yet, we choose to ignore them when they are happening right in front of us. In order to combat humanity’s destructive nature, we must first acknowledge its existence. The current curriculum teaches concepts, which is a generally positive thing. However, what’s missing is a connection to current events. Teach the concept of nationalism but then go one step further and connect it to Putin’s Russia or Trump’s America. In order to inhabit a modern world, it is essential that we all have at least a basic awareness of political values and the ways they shape our society. Teaching students about contemporary problems is not a choice but rather an obligation.
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