On Unions and Boycotts
The elementary schools in our board have decided to boycott the local paper because one columnist has been known to take a decidedly negative view of teachers. So a local…
Marie Snyder
On Student Stress
I've been teaching long enough to have watched a generation of students file passed me. It's fascinating from a social science standpoint because I can watch trends evolving before my…
On Expectations and Time Limits
In the words of Tina Fey, "The show doesn't go on because it's ready; it goes on because it's eleven-thirty." I had a rough semester with several students pushing every…
Truth is Like Poetry
... and people fucking hate poetry. It's a line from the excellent film The Big Short, which is brought to us by Adam McKay, the director known for goofball comedies…
On Justice and Hatred
I had an online discussion at Dawg's Blawg about the primary theme of Tarantino's newest film, The Hateful Eight, and it got a bit too provocative to manage a sincere…
On Those Counterfeit Diplomas
An editorial in today's NYT suggests that some recent high school graduates are not competent in basic skills that should be required to earn their standing. The headline refers to…
On Desires and Commodities
I've just been reading books and watching films lately. I'll write again soon. But check out this passage from The Obsolescence of Man by Gunther Anders, first published in 1956:…
On Aging and Playfulness
My city is full of construction in preparation for Light Rail Transit. I hit the bookstore today and was walking towards the hardware store for some blinds when the sidewalk…
On Making Change
For decades, I've been bringing cloth bags to the grocery store to avoid using plastic bags and bringing home superfluous garbage. But for decades, it's been an annoyance for the…
On Those Statues Again
There are dueling petitions out to continue (which curiously disappeared) and stop statues of all 22 prime ministers being planted on the grounds of Wilfrid Laurier University, my old school…
On Population Control and Freedom at Any Cost
China has officially ended its one-child policy, and the New York Times argues against any similar policy ever existing again. The Chinese government’s decision to end its draconian one-child policy…
On Childhood Angst
Can children be existentialists? What I’m asking isn’t so much whether or not it’s possible, but should we allow it? If I dare to claim to define some central ideas…
On Reading and Writing
I teach grade 12 university-level philosophy, and I teach it as a university prep-course. So we read primary sources, and we write essays longer and more complex than the standard…
On Sex Work
Bill C-36, which passed into law almost a year ago, begins like this: “Whereas the Parliament of Canada has grave concerns about the exploitation that is inherent in prostitution and…
The Lives of Others
I have this poster on the wall of my classroom: It’s important to know. It’s necessary to understand how things work. And then it’s vital to act rightly in the…
The Election on Last Week Tonight
In case you haven’t seen this yet:
Call for Questions
Another civics teacher and I are hosting an all-candidates debate for potential MP of my school’s riding, which, for the first time, is not my own riding even though I…
Just in Time Learning
The experience that most prepared me for teaching wasn’t teacher’s college, it was working in a huge insurance company. They trained me to work efficiently and stay working until the…
Has the Green Revolution Actually Arrived?
There’s an article floating around sub-titled “The Year Humans Got Serious about Saving Themselves from Themselves” by Jonathan Chait. It starts with a litany of climate change-driven bad news with…
On Achievement and Death and Stuff
First, a bit about boredom: “Boredom may lead you to anything. After all, boredom even sets one to sticking gold pins into people…one may choose what is contrary to one’s…