Teaching under a Kakistocracy

We live in strange times. There are billionaires building personal rocket ships to leave the planet while teachers in Alberta are spending their own money on school supplies and food for students. That contrast says a lot about where we are as a society and about how little our provincial government values education.

Teachers are doing their best to stay afloat in a system that keeps asking for more while giving them less. All while being governed by a kakistocracy — a word that literally means “government by the least suitable and competent people.” It’s an old Greek term that fits Alberta’s current government.

At the time of writing, teachers have been on strike for more than three weeks. By the time you read this, they may already have been legislated back to work, but still waiting for the fairness they were fighting for. If this frustrates you, you’re not alone. Across this province, support for teachers has grown stronger. Parents and communities see what’s happening. They see the overcrowded classrooms, the growing list of special needs without support, and the rising costs that teachers are covering out of their own pockets. And now, they see a government forcing teachers back to work without a fair deal.

I know it’s small comfort, but the past few weeks have opened a lot of Albertans’ eyes. People are finally seeing the strain on our public education system for what it is: the result of years of underfunding and neglect.

To quote former Education Minister David King; “Any government that undermines or abandons the project of improving public-school education in the face of difficulty is undermining and abandoning democracy.”

And that’s exactly what’s happening. This government isn’t just cutting budgets, it’s cutting into the very heart of what keeps our democracy alive: an educated, informed public.

Instead of fixing classrooms, Danielle Smith spends our money on pet political projects that most Albertans never asked for. Trying to pull us out of the Canada Pension Plan. Replacing the RCMP. Re-opening coal mining in the Rockies. Chasing Ottawa at every turn. None of that helps our kids learn to read or prepares them for the jobs of the future.

Right now Alberta is being governed by a party that is more interested in fighting imaginary battles than solving real problems. They talk a big game about freedom and opportunity, but they’re the ones taking both away.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Alberta has every advantage a province could hope for. We have the natural resources, the talent, and the drive to be the best place in the country to raise a family and build a future. What we don’t have right now is a government that reflects those values.

As I’ve said before, Alberta is something we make together. It’s built, day by day, by the choices we make and the people we elect. We can choose a government that invests in our children and gives every kid a fair chance. Or we can keep letting the kakistocracy steer us further off course.

I believe Albertans want fair, transparent and honest governing. I believe the majority want a competent and ethical government. Based on the tens of thousands of people attending education rallies, and the thousands of volunteers collecting signatures for the Forever Canada petition, we know Albertans want better government now. I want to help them achieve that with legislation that will help restore ethical government.

Better is possible. We just need a government that’s willing to do the hard work of investing to make it happen.