Thoughts on Education
This is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on education but some thoughts on certain aspects of the education system. It is written within the context of the Ontario…
learning
Smarter Kids Emerge From Montessori Programs
If you’re looking for opinions on education all you need to do is ask parents what they think. If you want actually useful data to plan policy then talk to…
My 1,000 days with Duolingo
This past Sunday, I reached a milestone. Or, as we say in French, Dimanche dernier, j’ai franchi une étape importante. On Sunday, I hit the 1,000 consecutive day streak learning…
On not Grasping for the Good
I’m taking a university course on Asian Wisdom, which I’m really enjoying. My prof told a story about Buddha that concludes that we should only tell others of a better…
The Book of Knowledge: 1
When I was growing up in the Fifties and Sixties, having an encyclopedia in your home was the bee’s knees, to use my grandmother’s phrase. It was a sign of…
Learn Faster by Knowing Less
People learn when they can experiment with whatever they are working with, be it something physical like carpentry or something mental like philosophy. Teachers can even encourage faster learning by…
Bring Back the Salons
Today if someone mentions a “salon” you probably think about a haircut or manicure. But in the 18th century, prior to the French Revolution, salons were the focus of civil…
WTF is wrong with people these days?
Into everyone’s life comes the realization that we are not young and in between the time when we were, the world has changed. Not always for the better, either. In…
Dictionary vs Dictionary.com
Did you know that doxastic is a philosophical adjective relating to an individual’s beliefs? Or that doxorubicin was an antibiotic used in treating leukemia? Or that doxy is a 16th…
A New Year’s Resolution That’s Actually Fun!
I am so pleased to host this guest post by writer, Karen Weeks. Karen perfectly captures why the arts are so important to us all – at any age! I’ve…
Kanile’a Islander GL6
What a difference two strings make. Late last week, I traded my Jupiter Creek steel-stringed baritone, solid-body uke for one of these Kanile’a nylon-stringed GL6 “guitar-leles” which the company calls…
Ukulele Workshop Today
I just returned from Orangeville where Broadway Music hosted a two-and-a-half hour musical workshop this Saturday by Manitoba Hal today (which will be followed by his concert tonight from 8-11…
Reading music and music theory
I write about reading a lot, because I read a lot of books. There are other kinds of reading – other languages, too – that I don’t write much about.…
Amo, Amas, Amat…. and what?
My well-thumbed copy of Eugene Ehrlich’s book, Amo, Amas, Amat and More, is dated 1985. It’s amusingly subtitled “How to Use Latin to Your Own Advantage and to the Astonishment…
Zero-tolerance No-Touching Rule… for Kindergarteners?
I’ll never forget the first day I got called in to teach a Kindergarten class. It was probably one of the most terrifying experiences of my life to see 30
The sum of all knowledge
In his 2004 book, The Know-It-All, A. J. Jacobs tells of his quest to become “the smartest person in the world” by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover.…
Online Sex Ed Course Decreases STI Risk in Teens
A lack of education around sex can lead to a lot of unwanted things like sexually transmitted infections and diseases to pregnancies. For many people sex is a taboo subject…
A Short-Term Blog Hiadus
Thoughtful, inquisitive Paul… So, in case you haven’t already noticed, this space has been pretty quiet for the past month or, hmmm, maybe even longer. Over time, I have gone…
Tips for Barack Obama on How to NOT Suck in the Next Debate
Fight Night! (GIF from GifWich) So, ummmm, the Obama VS. Romney rumble in the mountains (it was in Colorado…get it?) was less a debate than it was two Economics professors…
The Truth About Disappointment – Movie Monday
So, the past couple of months there have been some high profile political loses, at all levels of government. Whether I agree with the loses, like in the case of…