Hundreds of protesters gathered at the steps of the Alberta Legislature this afternoon to argue against the new Education Act and how it impacts home schooling in the province.
The protest was organized by the Alberta Home Education Association, which supports and advises people who home school their children.
The group wants changes made to Bill 2 – the Education Act.
Their concern mainly is regarding the section that enshrines the Alberta Human Rights Act into the Education Act.
Parents are concerned the new act will infringe on their right to teach their children what they want.
“I think that all parents have the right to teach their children their morals, their beliefs, their family values, without threat of court action, or threat of someone coming into their home and saying you can’t use that book, you can’t teach your kids that,”says Barb Duteau who home schools her three kids, “it’s a matter of religious freedom, it’s a matter of social freedom.”
But it’s not just about religion according to some parents,
“We simply want the freedom to choose if you want to choose according to religion, if you want to choose according to no religion at all, wonderful, whatever you want,” says parent Paul Vandenbosch, “This should be a concern for every parent. Because everyone with children wants to be able to teach them according to the way they’ve been brought up, the way they know what’s right, because each family is an individual unit.”
Home schoolers don’t necessarily follow a set curriculum because they don’t follow a typical 9 to 3 school day.
“But home educators don’t have school bells in our homes,” explains Vandenbosch, “It’s not like now we’re teaching and now we’re not. We educate all day everyday.”
Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk spoke to crowd outside the Legislature to calm their fears and say nothing has changed for home educators.
“What you do at home, your values, you will not be asked to develop any particular curriculum,” announced Lukaszuk, “There is no reason to believe that you will be required to do anything differently than you have up to now.”
“Not only the minister of education, but no ministry of this government will ever, ever venture into interfering with what we do at home, with what we practice at home, and what we believe in that home. That is our private lives and that will be respected.”
No all parents agreed with the minister. They believe the wording still leaves them open for prosecution and want the Act changed.
With files from Vassy Kapelos
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