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Alberta Education Guiding Statments and Values

The following is reprinted here from Inspiring Action on Education: A Discussion Paper. Is presented here for discussion and comment on developing a value based medium.

Guiding Statements
The vision, values and principles describe the purpose, motives and intentions that underpin our education system, and which guide and are reflected in each area of policy and governance.
Vision
To inspire and enable students to achieve success and fulfillment as engaged thinkers and ethical citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit within an inclusive education system.
Values
Values describe the ideals we seek to embrace and fulfill in the operation of the education system. This discussion paper adopts the following values from the Inspiring Education Steering Committee Report:
Opportunity: Learners are exposed to rich learning experiences that enable them to discover their passions and achieve their highest potential.
Fairness: Learners have access to the programs, support services, and instructional excellence needed to achieve desired outcomes.
Citizenship: Learners have pride in their community and culture. They have a sense of belonging and work to improve both the community and the world.
Choice: Learners have a choice of both programs and methods of learning.
Diversity: Learners’ differing needs, cultures, and abilities are respected and valued within inclusive learning environments.
Excellence: Learners, teachers, and governors achieve high standards.

Lovely

Lovely: delightful; highly pleasing, of a great moral or spiritual beauty (Random House Dictionary)

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

         Be acceptable in Your sight, 
         O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, NKJV)

"The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, 

      But the words of the pure are pleasant." (Proverbs 15:26, NKJV)

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
      But the prayer of the upright is His delight." (Proverbs 15:8, NKJV)

"For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men." (Romans 14:17-18, NKJV)

Pure

Pure: untainted with evil; innocent; free of or without guilt; guiltless (Random House Dictionary)

"Blessed are the pure in heart, 

For they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8, NKJV)

"Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?

         Or who may stand in His holy place?
 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
         Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, 
         Nor sworn deceitfully.
 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
         And righteousness from the God of his salvation." (Psalm 24:3-5, NKJV)

"Your word is very pure;
         Therefore Your servant loves it." (Psalm 119:140, NKJV)

Whereas justice refers to the presence of righteousness, purity refers to the absence of evil. For something to be pure, it has to be completely free of any defect; even the slightest defect means it is not pure. Morally, adhering to a standard of purity means that it is not a matter whether one thing is better or more righteous than another, for if it has the slightest immorality, it is no longer pure.

When evaluating media based on purity, one must first decide whether it is just and noble. Then one must ask, "Is the justice or nobility of the message in any way diminished by some condoning of evil, or is the message pure?"


This definition needs to be reworked; by these standards nothing can be defined as pure.

Just

Just: guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness; righteous (Random House Dictionary)

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; 

      And what does the LORD require of you 
      But to do justly, 
      To love mercy, 
      And to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8, NKJV)

"For He repays man according to his work,

      And makes man to find a reward according to his way." (Job 34:11, NKJV)

"Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,

      But a just weight is His delight. " (Proverbs 11:1, NKJV)

Truth and justice are very closely related. Being just is not possible without the true standard, yet justice is what puts truth into action. In the Bible, "just" is used similarly to "righteous." It goes beyond simple legal justice, to doing what is moral and right. Justice is truth and righteousness in action.

In terms of evaluating media based on whether it is just, one must ask, "Is this telling me to do what is right or wrong? Does it have a moral message or an immoral one?"

True

True: being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false; real; genuine; authentic; sincere, not deceitful (Random House Dictionary)

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'." (John 14:6, NKJV)

"Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me'." (John 18:37)

"God is not a man, that He should lie,

      Nor a son of man, that He should repent. 
      Has He said, and will He not do? 
      Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19, NKJV)

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." (John 17:17, NKJV)

"Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
      But those who deal truthfully are His delight." (Proverbs 12:22, NKJV)

"Therefore, putting away lying, 'Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,' for we are members of one another." (Ephesians 4:25, NKJV)

We live in a postmodern culture that denies the existence of absolute truth. Everything is relative and subjective, they say. The problem with holding to relative truth is that it acts as a license for anything, regardless of values. In fact, a value system cannot exist without a definition of truth, for there can be no values without a true standard to compare it to.

Truth is the accordance with an actual state. It is what is not false or deceitful. Truth is honest and sincere. Truth is required for trustworthiness; if something is not true, it cannot be relied on. To the Christian, Jesus Christ is truth itself, as he said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." God is also truth, and the Word of God is truth. If something is true, it aligns with the truth of God, Jesus Christ, and the Word of God.

To evaluate media based on the value of truth, one must ask "Is this true or is it false? Is it sincere or is it deceitful? Is it trustworthy or is it unreliable?" If it attempts to convince people of untrue things, or for untrustworthy reasons, it is deceitful and not true. Knowledge of what is true is needed to evaluate media based on the value of truth.

Since fiction is a form of media imagined by its author, it by definition cannot be evaluated by the same standard of truth as nonfiction. However, rather than classifying it as untrue by default, it has its own standard by which it can be evaluated for truth. It is not the content of a work of fiction that must be evaluated for truth, but the themes. When evaluating fiction, one must not ask "Is this factual?" but rather "Is the message of this work true, or does it try to deceive me?"