Reflections From Cuba
The following is one of several pieces I wrote on my Blackberry Playbook while on a recent holiday in Cuba. Because Internet access and outside information is limited there, I…
Education
Foundation Skills Assessment: Another Dirty Trick
By Rachel Goodine The FSAs, or Foundation Skills Assessment tests, administered annually in British Columbia since 2000 to students in grades 4 and 7, are once again under way. They…
Austerity is the Real Story at the OLP LDR Convention
Eric Hoskins | Gerard Kennedy Sandra Pupatello | Charles Sousa | Harinder Takhar | Kathleen Wynne Slush filled sidewalks are tough enough to traverse first thing in the morning. They’re…
Canada Has Moved Backwards On Education: Our Past Demands Free Post-Secondary
Canada 140 years ago was a more intolerant, sexist, and unequal place, but on one important issue it was far more progressive than the Canada of today, and that’s on…
Trent University to Host North at Trent 2013 Lecture Series
by Trent University | Jan 18, 2013: Trent University is pleased to once again host the North at Trent 2013 lecture series, featuring three free public lectures from Trent and…
A brave new world: Why moving beyond university can precipitate crisis
As students approach the completion of their university education some are excited to enter the “Real World”. Others are in no rush to “move on” – perhaps out of fear…
We can get there from here #nlpoli
People across the province are astounded that some students at Memorial University cannot correctly identify countries, continents, and oceans on a map of the world. Geographic illiteracy shocks people. Well,…
The Grad School Gospels – Part 5: The University Graduate Entitlement Complex
The Grad School Gospels is a series of posts inspired by Dirk Hayhurst‘s The Bullpen Gospels. In the Bullpen Gospels, Hayhurst tells stories from his struggle to self-actualize through professional…
A plea to the OCDSB…
… even if the teacher’s action tomorrow is declared illegal, do NOT reverse yesterday’s decision to close all elementary schools. And here is why: Student safety – if told to…
OCDSB elementary school closure
The Director of Education has just announced that all OCDSB elementary schools will be closed on Friday. All Ottawa peeps in the English public system should plan accordingly. (0) Trashy,…
OCDSB Trustee to seek the…
… Ottawa-Centre Dipper nomination. Trustee Jennifer McKenzie has announced her intention to seek the nomination for the Ottawa-Centre NDP candidacy. Trustee McKenzie will continue in her role as trustee and…
High School Isn’t What It Used To Be
Imagine the embarrassment of being a teenager again, except now your source of torment is not limited to forced school interaction with ruthless bullies, but now occurs at home and…
What Does Adbusters Ask of You in 2013?
From the people who suggested the modest idea of occupying Wall Street, Adbusters has sent out a new half dozen suggestions to fix the economic cancers of capitalism. Here’s my…
Privatization Via Blackmail
If you want to see why there isn’t much of a real left wing in the USA, this graph of those seeking the White House in 2008 pretty much covers…
Noam Chomsky Reflects on Contemporary Education
Despite the fact that it was fraught with a marking load I would not wish on anyone, my career as an English teacher offered many satisfactions, not the least of…
The Grad School Gospels – Part 4: On Grad School Goggles and the Cult-Like Nature of Grad School
The Grad School Gospels is a series of posts inspired by Dirk Hayhurst‘s The Bullpen Gospels. In the Bullpen Gospels, Hayhurst tells stories from his struggle to self-actualize through professional…
The Grad School Gospels – Part 3: Academe Can’t Be Your Everything
The Grad School Gospels is a series of posts inspired by Dirk Hayhurst‘s The Bullpen Gospels. In the Bullpen Gospels, Hayhurst tells stories from his struggle to self-actualize through professional…
"Free to Be" — 40 years on
For what I think will be my last post of the year, I wanted to reflect on something I heard about a couple of weeks ago — the 40th anniversary…
Tuesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your Christmas reading. – Naomi Klein comments on what we should take from the Idle No More movement: Chief Spence’s hunger is not just speaking to Mr.…
Is Canadian Progressivism a Farce?
The topic came up recently in a discussion I had with a prolific and thoroughly progressive blogger who will go unnamed. He lamented that he had become fed up with…