DO WE NEED AN ABORTION BUBBLE AROUND SCHOOLS?

DO WE NEED AN ABORTION BUBBLE AROUND SCHOOLS?

My teacher’s hat is never far away. Whenever I read or hear of an issue that relates to schools or education, I always stop and find out more. And today, I was delighted to read about the introduction of a new safeguard for my grandchildren, who are still school age, called an abortion bubble!

Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says her government will amend legislation to extend abortion protest bubble zones around K-12 schools in Alberta. It stems from a recent anti-abortion protest outside a local high school complete with placards and graphic abortion photos. Hoffman remarked, “Anyone who thinks it’s OK to engage in that behaviour, be forewarned — it’s not — and our government would take steps to make sure it’s completely outlawed.” Isn’t it reassuring to know that our government is protecting our children and grandchildren from protesters practising their right to free expression!

Our government has been very proactive in keeping our children safe and free from harm. They have recently passed Guidelines for the Accommodation of Transgender and Gender Independent/Non-Conforming Students and Staff. This includes their rights to choose the school washroom which they feel most comfortable using, based upon their gender preference. Lord knows, I wouldn’t want a six year old boy, who is unsure of his gender, to have no choice in the washroom he wants to whiz in! This is an important educational decision!

Recently, our government has tackled the onerous problem of the status of our LGBTQ student and staff populations. Legislation known as Bill 24 requires all school boards, charter schools and private schools to publicly post policies that say school principals will immediately create a gay-straight alliance (GSA) upon student request. Schools will provide a room for the GSA to assemble and feel safe from the prejudice and possible mistreatment by others. 

Our government’s benevolence knows no bounds when children’s safety is a grave concern - abortion bubbles, washroom options, and GSA safe rooms. This year our guardians of child safety have passed legislation that all cannabis stores must be located over 100 meters away from schools and hospitals. They do not want children to be closely exposed to the evils of marijuana, so they must be located a football field’s distance away.The fact that many of their parents are possibly growing four marijuana plants each at home, is irrelevant. 

While the government has been so absorbed in making sure our children are safe from some of the social issues of our day, they have dropped the ball on the actual role of schools - to educate! Because it has not been a government priority, our educational standards and academic excellence have taken a back seat. Standardized testing is minimized because it is too stressful. Grade retention is eliminated and homework conflicts with hockey practises or martial arts lessons. Mental math, math minutes and memorizing number facts is hard work and children feel badly if they fail, so let’s eliminate them. Our ranking on international math and science assessments continues to drop as we water down our course content and lower our standards of performance. Correct spelling and knowledge of grammatical conventions is now the responsibility of the computer, not the student. 

The pursuit of academic excellence has disappeared as a government priority. It has been replaced by an educational system where students are now sheltered from exposure to abortion issues and marijuana markets, but are now allowed to determine that they are neither male or female but rather they are gender neutral and can use the school washroom where they feel the most comfortable. Now, that is what I call progress!