Canadian province to add Filipino in curriculum

THE province of Alberta in Canada would include Filipino in their curriculum by September 2020, their premier announced over the weekend.

“I am very proud to pronounce that our government will work with you to develop a kindergarten to grade 12 Filipino language and curriculum,” Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said at a gathering of Filipino- Canadians in Calgary on Thursday ( Friday in Manila).

“So that will be done for use in Alberta’s schools across the province. We’ll be reaching out to you in the coming weeks through our Department of Education to begin the consultation,” she added.

In a statement by the provincial government, Notley said Alberta was “a welcoming place made richer by its cultures and languages.”

She said the Filipino community, as one of the largest and fastest- growing populations, had brought essential skills to Alberta’s workforce and added to its social fabric.

A K to12 Filipino language and culture curriculum, she said, would ensure that the Filipino community could continue to grow deep roots and make the province even greater.

The Alberta provincial government said the Filipino curriculum was offered at the high school level in school districts, such as the Calgary Catholic School District, Edmonton Catholic Schools and St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Schools.

Alberta Education Minister David Eggen said adding Filipino would address the issues surrounding racism.

“Providing learning opportunities for students in a variety of language programs helps youth maintain their heritage, strengthen their cultural identity and build language and literacy skills,” Eggen said in a statement.

“Strengthening language programs based on local need and demand can be an effective tool in addressing racism,” he added.

A Filipino community leader said the declaration was a historic gift from Alberta.

“The official declaration of having the Filipino heritage language in the curriculum of Alberta schools is a historic gift by the Alberta government to the Filipino community,” Dolly Castillo was quoted as saying.

“Th i s s t rongly demonstrates the respect for a culture’s diversity and uniqueness through its language. Programs like this instill pride in students and their heritage, and results in active and engaged citizens.”

However, despite the declaration of the Filipino language in the K to12 curriculum, it will not be mandatory.

“School authorities have choice and flexibility in offering language programming that best meets the needs of the communities they serve,” the provincial government said in a statement.

Aside from Filipino and Canada’s official languages of English and French, there are 26 other languages that are being offered in Alberta such as Chinese, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Polish, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese and Korean, as well as indigenous languages.

According to figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are 837,130 people living in Canada, with 170,000 people living in Alberta alone.