FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Teaching 2010 Resistance responds to “heavy-handed” allegations by Solicitor General
 
October 26, 2009 – Funding cuts to B.C. schools, totaling over $118 million, coincided with the September launch of the controversial “Spirit School” curriculum, an Olympic propaganda campaign with a budget four times the size of the axed B.C. School Sports.  Community-based Teaching 2010 Resistance recently reignited debate with the release of an alternative curriculum exploring social and environmental concerns associated with the Olympics.
 
The mention of a critical teaching curriculum has raised the spectre of dissent for government officials and Olympic bigwigs.  Solicitor General Kash Heed, Premier Gordon Campbell and top Olympic cop Bud Mercer have urged teachers to reject the project’s “critically-minded” teaching resources, which educators have the chance to preview this Wednesday.
 
“It’s a bit ludicrous to have people like [Solicitor General] Kash Heed accusing you of inciting criminal activity just for bringing a critical perspective to young people,” observes Marla Renn of Teaching 2010 Resistance.
 
Last week, Heed was quoted in The Province saying that the group intends to “use the classroom to recruit kids to break the law [and] to commit acts of vandalism.”
 
Says Renn: “That’s a pretty heavy-handed accusation.  If Heed had looked, he would have seen that all our materials are open-ended and discussion-based.  We present a critical argument, but we’re not there to make kids agree with everything we say.  If a teacher has a problem with any of the content, they are welcome to modify it before presenting it to their classes.”
 
Premier Gordon Campbell expressed concern that the initiative forces youth into the midst of a political debate which will “take away” from children’s “enthusiasm.”
 
Community organizer Nat Marshik responds, “Youth have been excluded from practically all critical debate over the Olympics – it seems they are only welcome if they’re celebrating.  But today’s youth will inherit all the Olympic legacies – including environmental degradation, impoverished social and educational services, restricted civil liberties, and government debt.  Whether we like it or not, youth are directly impacted by the Olympics, and they have a right to be included in an honest discussion of its costs.”
 
More information: contact orn.youth@gmail.com; teach2010.org
 
Event for teaching professionals:
SFU Harbor Centre, 515 W. Hastings
Room 2245
Wed., October 28th, 2009
6:30 - 8:30 pm