Misdirection in Geography
It all begins with an idea.
Daniel Aldunate
History, Law, and Geography Teacher
Mississauga, Ont
December 10, 2024
Recent events have returned the public’s attention to the intersection of politics and education. Missing from the discussion is whether we are effectively preparing students with the critical thinking skills necessary to face a world beset by extremist rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and misinformation. These skills could also inoculate students against campaigns of disinformation in their own education- useful when leaders warn of political or corporate interference inside the classroom. Critical literate students, oddly enough, may find the source of the meddling hails from the very same legislative halls sounding the alarm.
The Ontario Ministry of Education has recently released a new grade 9 geography curriculum[1]. Of all mandatory courses, this is the one most predisposed to political and corporate encroachment. Its contentious scope - natural resource use, climate change, immigration, and housing development - attract powerful forces seeking favourable narratives. Yet, behind a veil of confidentiality, one can only speculate on the Ford administration’s backroom maneuverings on these sensitive issues.
Opaque political mandates make spotting the politicization of education challenging[2]. Curriculum policies crafted behind closed doors by anonymous officials belie claims of transparency. Moreover, when external experts are consulted, they do so under the seal of non-disclosure agreements[3]. We may never know if their suggestions were taken in whole or in part to fit a preconceived narrative. With the origins of curricula unknown, we are nevertheless mandated to lunch on the proverbial sausage.
Since its untimely release[4], educators nonetheless have noted some rather curious changes. Gone are long-standing concepts like the greenbelt and ecological footprints. Questions about fossil fuels and pipelines have been scrubbed. Conspicuously absent is language on decarbonization and net zero targets – both critical for addressing the climate crisis. Indeed, these are awkward topics when your policies call for more highways and greater natural gas use[5].
Also telling is the abrupt removal of the perennial question, “Does the financial benefit of extracting natural resources justify related social and/or environmental impacts?”. This is a convenient omission given the ongoing tragedy of Grassy Narrows where 90 per cent of the residents suffer from mercury poisoning[6][7]. It also represents a lost instructive opportunity on the need to protect the environment and the rights of communities over short term- financial gain.
What the new curriculum does include, however, are hopeful references to innovative environmental solutions and vague directives on examining issues from multiple perspectives. Fair enough, but students must be adequately prepared to test claims made by industry propagandists[8] and climate change deniers. How else will they be able to scrutinize innovative models of resource development for the taint of greenwashing? [9] Given the urgency of the climate crisis, a critical thinking student will likely conclude the new curriculum’s equivocation as only serving those who wish to distract and delay concrete and credible action.
Politically unseemly, frontal assaults on curriculum are rare. Politics and industry prefer flanking maneuvers via classroom resources[10][11]. Both the boon and bane of curriculum delivery, teachers often rely on government/corporate stamped textbooks to provide support and handy narratives. It is here where vague directives of curricula are crystalized and classroom inquiry and discussions are shaped and nudged into favourable directions. I once rejected a textbook because its forestry and mining coverage read like it was written by an industry PR firm.[12].
Ontario educators once relied on the well-curated Trillium List for approved resources. The current emaciated list offers teachers few options— and none for history, law, and geography courses[13]. Underfunding has left schools with resources woefully out of date or non-existent. Twenty-year-old textbooks do an embarrassingly poor job of supporting current environmental goals, diversity initiatives, and respect for Indigenous voices. The neglect is so dire that even the Auditor General felt it necessary to weigh in[14].
Mining and energy conglomerates are all too happy to fill the void left by retreating ministries. Groups like Mining Matters[15], FortisBC[16], and ConocoPhillips[17] are producing handsomely packaged classroom resources that some may mistake as balanced. Even trusted brands like Canadian Geographic have been caught promoting fossil fuel-funded curricula. [18]
The political and corporate influence in education raises serious concerns about how to best prepare students to critically engage with the world around them. Although I do believe that a teacher’s politics are their own, it’s clear that I am part of a machine that is political. And, if the government is moving education in a particular direction, can we, as Howard Zinn put it so many years ago, really be neutral on a moving train? As political and corporate interests quietly shape what gets taught- and what doesn’t - in classrooms, the importance of equipping students with critical thinking skills cannot be overstated. Anything less risks creating a generation ill-equipped to tackle the pressing challenges of their time.
[1] https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/canadian-and-world-studies/courses/cgc1w/overview
[3] https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum-review/revision-process See the “*” in the Writing component . It states: External professionals and experts involved in the writing, editing and expert review phases of the revision process are required to sign Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements.
[4] Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, Value‑for‑Money Audit: Curriculum Development, Implementation and Delivery https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en20/20VFM_03curriculum.pdf p34-35
[5] Enbridge Gas is ‘fighting for its survival’ — and that means keeping Ontario on fossil fuels https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-enbridge-gas-municipalities/
Clash over natural gas comes to Ontario's electrical grid https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/natural-gas-clash-looms-ontario-electrical-grid
[6] Please see the outstanding article by David Bruser, Jayme Poisson https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/ontario-knew-about-grassy-narrows-mercury-site-for-decades-but-kept-it-secret/article_f8a92cb6-6c92-5861-93ab-f5fb4f7cabf5.html
[7] Sadly, the situation is getting worse. https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/waste-from-mill-worsening-mercury-contamination-in-river-near-grassy-narrows-study-1.6898341
[8] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-suncor-oil-rich-kruger/
[9] See the following:
· https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Greenwashing-Toolkit-Part-1.pdf
[10] In central Alberta, public school teachers gather for session on ‘bright future for oil and gas’ https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-teachers-pathways-alliance/
[11] How the Oil and Gas Industry Smuggles Corporate Propaganda Into Schools https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/discovery-education-oil-gas-schools-1235015174/
[12] Geography in Action pp162, 164 (still used in many boards and still on the Trillium List in the French version only)
[14] Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, Value‑for‑Money Audit: Curriculum Development, Implementation and Delivery https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en20/20VFM_03curriculum.pdf p37-40
[15] https://miningmatters.ca/ Catering to Indigenous communities, they provide an elementary-level “activity book” translated into Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut https://miningmatters.ca/resource/mining-matters-activity-book
[16] https://www.fortisbc.com/in-your-community/learning-resources-for-students
[18] Pippa Norman https://www.biv.com/news/human-resources-education/huge-conflict-interest-canadian-academics-denounce-fossil-fuel-funded-curricula-8268011
Ainslie Cruickshank https://thewalrus.ca/why-are-oil-and-gas-companies-developing-lesson-plans-for-teachers/