I stepped into the provincial legislature yesterday with the unmistakable sound of protesters still echoing from the grounds outside. Nearly 1,500 parents, educators and concerned citizens had gathered in Victoria under grey skies, demanding what they called “a complete overhaul” of British Columbia’s education system.
“My daughter’s struggling to read in Grade 4, and the school keeps telling me to wait and see,” said Jennifer Mackenzie, a mother of two from Burnaby who took the ferry over for the rally. “I’m done waiting. The system is failing our kids.”
The demonstration, organized by the parent-led coalition “BC Education Reform Now,” marked the largest education protest at the legislature since the 2019 teacher contract negotiations. This time, however, parents are leading the charge instead of unions or professional associations.
Inside the Legislative Assembly, Question Period quickly became a showdown over educational priorities. Opposition leader Mark Sullivan didn’t mince words: “The parents of this province are literally at your doorstep, Minister. When will you admit that your ‘discovery learning’ experiment has failed an entire generation of students?”
Education Minister Priya Sharma defended the government’s approach while acknowledging parents’ concerns. “We hear these families loud and clear,” she said. “That’s precisely why we launched our curriculum review last month. But meaningful change requires thoughtful implementation, not knee-jerk reactions.”
The rally comes at a critical moment for BC’s education system. Recent provincial assessment results show concerning trends, with only 69 percent of Grade 4 students meeting grade-level expectations in reading—a seven-point drop since 2018. Math scores have seen similar declines, according to data from the Ministry of Education’s annual reporting.
Rally organizers presented a five-point plan focused on strengthening foundational skills, bringing back standardized grading, reducing classroom technology for younger students, and implementing mandatory phonics-based reading instruction.
“We’re not asking for anything radical,” explained coalition spokesperson David Chen. “We want evidence-based teaching methods that actually work. Many other jurisdictions are returning to proven approaches while we continue down this experimental path.”
What makes this movement different from previous education protests is its cross-partisan nature. I spoke with attendees who identified across the political spectrum—from progressive parents concerned about equity gaps widening under current methods to conservatives focused on traditional educational values.
Sarah Williams, a Grade 2 teacher from Victoria who attended on her own time, offered a nuanced perspective. “There’s truth on both sides here. The current curriculum has valuable elements, but we’ve swung too far away from explicit instruction in some areas. Most teachers I know are supplementing with their own materials because the official resources aren’t enough.”
The Ministry points to its recently announced $45 million literacy initiative as evidence it’s already addressing concerns. The program will provide targeted support for struggling readers in Grades 1-3 and professional development for teachers in explicit reading instruction.
But parents at the rally called this “too little, too late.” Many shared stories of paying for private tutoring or assessments after watching their children fall behind. Some held signs reading “Public Education Should Work for All Kids” and “Less Screens, More Books.”
Premier David Chen made a brief appearance in the afternoon, speaking with a small group of protest organizers in a meeting that sources described as “respectful but tense.” The Premier promised to review their proposals but made no specific commitments.
The debate touches on fundamental questions about education’s purpose and how children learn best. BC’s curriculum, revised between 2015-2018, emphasized “competency-based learning” and cross-curricular thinking over traditional subject mastery—a shift that initially received praise from education researchers but has increasingly drawn criticism from parents and some classroom teachers.
University of British Columbia education professor Dr. Emily Layton suggests the truth lies somewhere in the middle. “The research supports structured literacy approaches for reading, particularly for struggling learners. But other aspects of BC’s curriculum reflect important advances in how we understand learning. This shouldn’t be an either-or conversation.”
As I left the legislature grounds, I noticed a smaller group of counter-protesters—mostly older students and education faculty—holding signs supporting the current curriculum approach. “Don’t take us backward,” read one. “Education isn’t just about test scores,” said another.
The contrast highlighted the complexity facing policymakers. Parents want immediate action, educators seek balanced approaches, and students themselves have diverse learning needs that no single method can fully address.
What seems certain is that education will remain a central political issue in the province. With provincial elections scheduled for next year, how parties position themselves on these debates could significantly impact their electoral fortunes.
In the meantime, families like Jennifer Mackenzie’s continue waiting for change. “I took a day off work to be here because this matters more than anything,” she told me as she boarded the ferry home. “My kids only get one chance at an education. We can’t afford to get this wrong.”
