A CBC article entitled “Alberta educators grapple with referendum lessons in the face of neutrality law” indicates that some Alberta teachers don’t understand how they can instruct on current affairs in the classroom while remaining impartial.

It is not especially hard for Alberta teachers to cover the province’s October 19 referendum questions without taking a side. At least, it’s not hard for good teachers.

Bill 25, which took effect on September 1, tells school authorities and staff not to take positions on political, social, or ideological matters. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has been clear that the point is not silence. He wants students forming their own views, and he has said teachers who present multiple perspectives without revealing their own will serve students well.

The law, in his framing, is a guideline for how contentious conversations should be approached, not a ban on having them.

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The article does highlight one teacher who explained how he dealt with the issue, saying, “I adjusted my approach a little more to make sure that I'm really balancing it a little bit more, informing parents a little bit more, and just making sure that we don't get into topics that would be too sensitive.” That is ordinary social-studies practice applied to a current ballot, not an act of political courage.

It sounds simple, because it is.

Nicolaides has said he expects professionalism and wants students to decide for themselves. A lesson that withholds the teacher’s preference and gives both sides a fair hearing meets that standard on its face. None of this requires teachers to pretend the questions are simple. They just have to apply some discretion and sense to their instruction methods.

The professional expectation was already there before Bill 25, and if the Teachers’ Association had been encouraging that principle, perhaps the bill would never have been needed. Codes of conduct required a professional approach to controversial material. The new statute mainly restates that expectation in statute and raises the cost of getting it wrong. Teaching about the referendum neutrally is still the familiar task. Define the terms, state the effects, present the arguments, and keep your own vote to yourself.

Teachers are not being hindered from instructing students in Alberta about the referendum and the questions within it. If a teacher finds it impossible to keep their personal views out of the classroom, perhaps it’s time for that teacher to consider a trade where they aren’t entrusted with educating Alberta’s kids.