Home Social Landscape Featured Articles An Education for "Character" in Alberta Schools, 1905-45

An Education for "Character" in Alberta Schools, 1905-45

 by Amy von Heyking

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Textbooks used in literature classrooms continued to stress the secular virtues associated with good character. The Canadian Readers series, used in Alberta schools from 1923 to 1935, was very much like the earlier Alexandra series, but included more Canadian content. The Canadian readers included stories which emphasized the golden rule and other moral lessons. The Good Samaritan, Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell were featured in reading selections. Students were still introduced to the courage of important historical figures such as Lord Nelson. Reading selections for older students emphasized the virtues of hard work and service, and were divided into sections with headings such as "Joy in Work" and "Stories of Achievement."

History lessons, on the other hand, changed significantly. In the earlier grades, the teaching of history was abandoned. Instead, students listened to and read history stories in their citizenship classes. In 1922 the program of studies for the citizenship courses declared that it was the responsibility of teachers: " to provide suitable work life activities in classroom and school, as a medium through which the citizenship experience obtained by children naturally in family and playgroup will take form and meaning in accordance with what is implied in living as an adult member of present-day organized communities, social and political." History stories were intended to interest students in the past and help them appreciate the demands of group living. While traditional history courses had emphasized the facts students should learn about the past, the new course demanded that teachers create in their students an appropriate "group spirit." The understanding of citizenship embodied in the new courses was characterized by a willingness to get along in the group and fit into the family and society. Civics textbooks portrayed the family in harmonious terms which they hoped would extend to the rest of society. James McCaig's Studies in Citizenship, used in Grades 7 and 8, described the middle-class domestic tranquility to which all families should aspire:

The happiest homes are those in which all the members of the family work together and have their interests in common. In the evening, they sit around the table together and tell of the strange or amusing things that have happened during the day. They brighten the remainder of the evening with songs, games, telling stories or reading interesting books. They picnic together, they go to the country together, if they live in the town, or to the town together, if they live in the country. The entire family is united in close bond of sympathy and affection.⁵

The emphasis on harmony and co-operation extended into general lessons in history and citizenship. Groups like the League of Nations Society and the United Farmers of Alberta pressured the Alberta government to eliminate passages in texts that glorified war and instead stress the need for world peace and co-operation. In response, there were some modifications to history texts, and new interpretations were given to historical content covered in Alberta classrooms. In 1923 the program of studies for high schools directed teachers to familiarize students with the reasonable claims of both Canadians and Americans during the War of 1812. In lessons on the development of responsible government, British politicians were not to be portrayed as stubborn and domineering and Canadians as wise and enlightened. Educators also attempted to address the political divisions between English and French within Canada, which had become apparent during WWI, by dealing more kindly with the French regime in Canada: "Our history should be so taught to give English-speaking Canadians a clear and sympathetic understanding of French-Canadians and vice versa. On such a mutual understanding, and on the tolerance and co-operation which spring from it, depend the unity and prosperity of our common country."

The association of the concept of good citizenship with co-operation and group living meant that group activities were extremely important in student life after WWI. Teachers were encouraged to involve students in choirs, literary and dramatic societies, and clubs of all kinds. Experiments in student government, either in the form of student councils or parliaments, were seen as particularly good training in leadership and group decision-making for students. Organizations like the Junior Red Cross and Canadian Girls in Training involved students in community service projects. However, the war had increased an anti-militarist sentiment, and under pressure from women's organizations, the government abandoned cadet training for boys. Physical training, however, became a central part of every student's citizenship education.

Good citizenship, in the period after WWI, was equated with taking up one's designated economic and social responsibilities. The huge increase in the number of children in school led the public and educators to call for a more appropriate school curriculum, which would prepare all children for responsible citizenship. It was argued that schools should determine what students are best fitted for, and then prepare them for their future role in society. The program of studies for Alberta elementary schools said that schools "shall prepare the individual to do better those things which he is likely to have to do anyway." The emphasis on "getting along" and "playing by the rules" led naturally to the use of the metaphor of sportsmanlike behaviour in descriptions of good citizenship. Games and sports, therefore, took on an important role in the training of these new citizens.

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