AS the provincial election slopes towards its final week, some social issues slipped into the campaign between the managed photo ops in hard hats.
Take Pat Pimm, a Liberal MLA from Peace River North, who managed to put his foot into his mouth when he spoke of the "grief" and the "trouble" caused by special needs students in the classroom at a recent all-candidates forum.
Pimm mused that those "issues" were causing some parents to seek out private schools for their kids.
Pimm's words were poorly chosen and appeared to lay the blame for problems on kids with special needs themselves rather than a system that is failing them.
But the idea that teachers are struggling in their classrooms with an increasing number of social and behavioural issues, large class sizes and few supports to address them is one both educators and parents likely recognize.
Thankfully, few people are advocating a return to a segregated system where kids who are different are shunted off to be warehoused by themselves.
Having kids with different abilities in the classroom helps teach children the tolerance and compassion they'll need when navigating a wider world.
But kids with special needs require extra time and attention and that translates into money. Sadly, special education supports are one of the budget items that have suffered under a decade of underfunding public education.
Not providing that support does no one any favours - not the kids who need the extra help, or their classmates who also deserve a fair shot at learning free from classroom crises.
