The tangled web of politics and education

Do education and politics mix? Two parties vying to run New Brunswick say no, and promised this week to keep politics out of education. 

...government will bring together educators, academics, parents and the business community to contribute to a world-class education planning framework that is focused on students rather than politics.PC Party of New Brunswick, education platform

We need to take the politics out of this and sit down with educators, parents, students, and stakeholders to build an action plan to improve our education system.Brian Gallant, New Brunswick Liberal leader

Meanwhile in B.C., students missed the first week of school because the relationship between the province and the teachers' union is so tense they couldn't sit down to negotiate. Twitter has been a hotbed of debate amongst teachers, government, parents and students. Even beloved musician Raffi has been part of the debate, and lamented that the government is playing politics. 

But can you really remove politics from education? Alan Sears doesn't think so. The University of New Brunswick education professor joins us to explain.