In his State of the Union address for 2013, President Barack Obama had several big themes, my favourite of which being education reform, focused at the high school level. In his address, he said: Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to
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centre of the universe: Full Stop
The Nipper is learning punctuation. They were studying periods, exclamation points, and question marks in class. He told us they have hand signals for each one (they clap for an exclamation point, raise their eyebrows and touch their chins for a question mark, and they hold their hands out in
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Don’t Be *THAT* Person On the Freeway
We see you, and just look what you did! Filed under: Education Tagged: Driving, Helpful Hints, Traffic
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Four-day school scheme shows Tories view Fort McMurray as not much more than a work camp
Public School District students await dismissal for the week on a Thursday afternoon in Fort McMurray. Actual students may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Edmonton-Calder NDP MLA David Eggen; former Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Guy Boutilier. And where, the good people of Fort McMurray should be asking themselves today
Continue readingThe Liberal Scarf: Hudak would end support for students from low income families with attack on 30% tuition rebate
Tim Hudak rolled out his latest double down on right-wing policy, announcing he would end the 30% tuition rebate for Ontario post-secondary students. Hudak and his post-secondary education critic, Rob Leone framed the tuition cut as not helping mature students or single parents (ironic, given the not so high regard
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Your Fat is Profitable – US Food Industry Battles Against Regulations
As long as someone is making money it is win, right? I think the trick is going to be finding a way to make vegetables cheaper than a McBurger. Then watch out people, the next vegetable uprising shall being! Filed under: Education Tagged: Food Industry, Profit over People, Regulations
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Eighty Men Died Trying to End That Spree
It seems like the only time we really have is time that’s under pressure from five different directions. We were at the rink Thursday, Friday, twice on Saturday, and yesterday. We’ll be at the rink again tonight, tomorrow night, Friday, and Sunday nights. It’s the nearing-the-end-of-the-regular-season crunch to get all
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Sound and fury, signifying nothing
There’s a truly great moment in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, when Macbeth voices his last, and perhaps most moving, soliloquy about the fleetingness of life, and the meaning of what we do on this mortal coil. Life is devoid of meaning, … Continue reading →
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Just an earthbound misfit
Just a wee preview, then. No long-winded stories about Canadian pilots. No jibber-jabber about aeroplanes. Just this: The skellington of the Nieuport 17, covered in tissue paper, shrunk and strengthened. Tomorrow is Painting Day.
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Taking an Aeroplane Across the World
I have been peeling glue from my fingers for a week. This, too, is strangely cathartic. Insert long-winded, slightly purple prose about shedding the old skin and leaving troubles behind, blah-blah-blah. In reality, there are little fingerprint flakes all over my favourite spot on the chesterfield. Don’t tell His Nibs.
Continue readingbastard.logic: The Original Torture Memos
FLASH: Idaho State Sen. tables bill mandating the torture of Idaho youth en masse. No, srsly: Coeur d’Alene Sen. John Goedde, chairman of the Idaho Senate’s Education Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to require every Idaho high school student to read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” and pass a test on it
Continue readingcentre of the universe: I don’t need no arms around me
It occurred to me that in putting together this aeroplane methodically, piece by piece, painstakingly gluing one tiny piece of balsa wood to the next, that this has become my therapy. It wasn’t a huge revelation. I didn’t fly through the streets of the greater metropolitan valley centre area shouting
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Redford government floats risky scheme to impose contract on teachers
An Alberta Teachers Association member gets ready to give an important lesson to the Redford Government. Alberta teachers may not be smiling quite as broadly as illustrated if the government imposes a contract on them by legislation. Below: Education Minister Jeff Johnson. Trapped in a no-deficit, no-tax-increase cage of its
Continue readingcentre of the universe: Take these broken wings and learn to fly
This is a balsa and tissue paper model of the Nieuport 17 aeroplane flown by Billy Bishop during WWI. Well. Technically, this is the completed fuselage of said aeroplane. In the top left corner of this photograph are the parts for a Sopwith Camel, which Bishop also flew, although only
Continue readingArt Threat: NSCAD students disrupt university board meeting to announce manifesto
Last week over 100 students from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, concerned about how government funding cuts will impact the future of the university, disrupted a Board of Governors’ meeting to announce a political manifesto. The Manifesto for a Vibrant, Strong, and Independent NSCAD, which can be
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: Interacting with those we disagree with
What do you do with people you don’t agree with? Do you agree to keep quiet about the topics you disagree on? Do you cut them out of your life? Or keep them in your life but with a mental note not to take seriously any of their opinions? Do
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: I like it when Physics answers the “Big Questions” – Immovalble Objects and Unstoppable Forces
No preamble necessary, watch and learn folks. 🙂 Filed under: Education, Science Tagged: Immovable Objects, Physics, Science, Unstoppable Forces
Continue readingAnother Step to Take: blogging about blogging
“Writers deserve to get paid for their work” says a popular blogger in defense of putting her blog behind a paywall. The arguments and comments made by her fans and detractors alike fascinate me because they touch on several important issues such as what work is and what we use
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: We don’t want your dirty gold: corporate donations and the university
The following is a piece written by contributor Kevin Harding and guest contributor Natalie Gan. The piece was written in 2010, but is being published on Politics Respun for the first time. The issue of controversial corporate donations to public universities is a live one, with the Munk School at
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: What Paulo Coelho and other global leaders tweeted about at World Economic Forum in Davos
by Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive, Jan. 31, 2013: Let’s agree in one point: we can have anything, but we CAN’T have everything #wef — Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) January 25, 2013 The tweet by Paulo Coelho, the world-renowned Brazilian author of The Alchemist, was one of the most popular of world leaders’ reflections during last week’s World
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