Educational theorist William Heard Kilpatrick once wrote: “If people face a rapidly shifting and changing world, changing in unexpected ways and in unexpected directions, then what? Why, their education would stress thinking and methods of attack.” If it wasn’t for...
Year: 2013
When politics dictate the economy
Diane Francis, National Post, November 2, 2013 The united States is one of the most competitive and innovative countries in the world. Canada, on the other hand, is a laggard in both categories. In competitiveness, Canada did not even make this year’s World...
Economic liberalization cuts poverty
A new video shows that poverty reduction targets in the developing world have already been met. The reduction has come from some of the most populous countries- namely China and India- reducing poverty levels through economic liberalization. The video also states...
Politician Salaries: You Get What You Pay For
This year’s federal budget included a 1.6 percent salary increase for MPs. Backbench MPs will now make $160,200, with salaries for cabinet ministers and party leaders topping out at $320,000 for the Prime Minister. As always, this pay increase sparked populist...
Featured News
Why University?
In this essay, I explain that young people should come to university to be educated, and not to become credentialed; the public should support universities because universities educate young people, not because they produce credentialled workers. Why should a...
A Lamentable Tale of Two Colonies
During the whole of recorded history, the empire has been the most constant and common form of political organization. A basic, self-evident feature of all empire-building has been the successful occupation of the lands of the local, Indigenous inhabitants by outside...
Incredible Drivel
Your pet is causing global warming In this morning's Winnipeg Free Press: Fido's Footprint - Pets are a growing part of the climate change conundrum
Common Sense Education X: Focus On The Essentials
Common Sense Education gives parents, teachers and students a direct window into the foolish fads that afflict our public education system. This last of ten episodes concludes with a plea to schools to focus on the essentials to advance student achievement. The series...
Common Sense Education IX: Education Faculties
Common Sense Education gives parents, teachers and students a direct window into the foolish fads that afflict our public education system. This ninth of ten episodes reveals the vast gulf between what teaching methods education faculties believe work, and what...
Common Sense Education VIII: Teachers’ Unions
Common Sense Education gives parents, teachers and students a direct window into the foolish fads that afflict our public education system. This eighth of ten episodes exposes the real reasons behind much of the advocacy done by teachers' unions. The series is written...
Taxes, Bureaucrats Should Top Liberal Concerns: Party has chance to change policy landscape
The Manitoba Liberals may make gains next election, so they should adopt some winning policy ideas.
Common Sense Education VII: Standardized Testing
Common Sense Education gives parents, teachers and students a direct window into the foolish fads that afflict our public education system. This seventh of ten episodes emphasizes the value of standardized testing as part of a balanced approach to measuring student...
Common Sense Education VI: Benefits Of Direct Instruction
Common Sense Education gives parents, teachers and students a direct window into the foolish fads that afflict our public education system. This sixth of ten episodes shows why direct instruction and subject matter knowledge is important for students. The series is...
Why Shouldn’t Princeton Pay Taxes?
For the latest evidence of the town-gown divide, look no further than New Jersey, where earlier this summer residents of Princeton banded together to sue the prestigious school in their backyard. The residents argued that Princeton University, which boasts the largest endowment per student in the country, should no longer be entitled to its tax-exempt status because the school makes money—from its scientific patents, ticketed concerts, on-campus eateries and more. The Ivy League school is operating like a business, the plaintiffs say, so the tax code should treat it like one.
Carbon Dioxide: The “Gas of Life”: Tiny amounts of this miracle molecule make life on Earth possible
It’s amazing that minuscule bacteria can cause life-threatening diseases and infections – and miraculous that tiny doses of vaccines and antibiotics can safeguard us against these deadly scourges. It is equally incredible that, at the planetary level, carbon dioxide is a miracle molecule for plants – and the “gas of life” for most living creatures on Earth.