Alberta may make evolution classes optional

No other provincial human rights legislation touches on parental rights in education, said Linda McKay-Panos, a human rights law expert and head of the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre at the University of Calgary.

Human rights law is in place to protect against discrimination on the basis of a number of factors, such as race and gender. It’s hard to figure out what type of discrimination is being targeted with the proposed change, McKay-Panos said, suggesting the issue instead falls under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“It’s kind of an odd place to put all this,” she said. “They could have interpreted the charter already to include that protection if they want to exempt their children by freedom of religion.”

The government chose to put the concept into human rights law because it is considered more entrenched than school policy, and the government believes it is a deeply held right, Blackett said.

The proposed bill has passed a first reading and will be debated next week in the legislature.

Blackett said if people believe the wording of the bill is unclear and could lead to complaints beyond what the law is intended to cover, the government could tighten up the language before it passes.

“If that’s the main worry than we can certainly narrow that down, we’re reasonable people.”

Even the question of where the students who can’t hear a certain lesson will go is a problem, said Bruseker.

Teachers are required to watch over the children in their care and to send a student out to the hallway alone isn’t always a possibility . Libraries often aren’t staffed anymore, and office staff already have their hands full.

It also raises the question of whether a child who sits out portions of the curriculum will still write a provincial exam and whether missing key pieces will be a problem.

Most importantly, it calls into question the purpose of a public education system, said Bruseker.

A zoologist by training, Bruseker said he’s well aware that he’s unlikely to change the mind of someone who strongly believes in creationism. But teaching kids to talk about ideas and listening to others is what matters.

“Isn’t it more healthy to have that discussion and create the opportunity for kids to deal with these controversial issues and have the discussion in class?” he asked.

“Isn’t that, the development of critical thinking skills, isn’t that really what public education is supposed to be all about?”

- The Canadian Press, photo courtesy of Kevin Dooley