All Canadians agree that schools should be places of learning. There is also near-universal agreement that school is for everyone, not just for the privileged elite. This is one of the reasons why schooling is mandatory to age 16 or 18 in every Canadian province and...
Michael Zwaagstra
Michael Zwaagstra is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre and public high school teacher. He received his Bachelor of Education and Master of Education from the University of Manitoba and Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University in Virginia. He is the author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning, and co-author of What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them. He is a frequent author of education policy research and newspaper columns across Canada. His research mainly focuses on curricula, teaching instruction and public education. Michael’s research and commentary have been featured in radio, television and newspapers across the country. Michael lives with his wife and children in Steinbach, Manitoba.
Research by Michael Zwaagstra
Teacher and Senior Fellow at Frontier Center for Public Policy, Michael Zwaagstra, joins Geoff Currier to discuss his latest commentary entitled "Brainwashed Students Aren’t Critical Thinkers". (~20 minutes)
Brainwashed Students Aren’t Critical Thinkers
There is a fine line between teaching and brainwashing. Teaching informs students about the world around them and helps them become critical thinkers. In contrast, brainwashing provides students with heavily skewed information that leads to one predetermined...
Content Knowledge Is The Key
"The older teacher thought first of his subject matter, that it get learned... The good teacher of the newer view well understands how it is the process itself, especially as socially conditioned that educates; and he makes every effort to get and keep the process...
Featured News
Fostering a Constructive, Business-Friendly Regime Sustains Innovation, Not Government Money
For standards of living to grow, productivity growth must be strong and continually renewed. That is one notion that nearly all economists can agree on. So, it is not surprising that politicians scramble to discover new or not-so-new ways to boost productivity growth....
Big Tech Influence Can Tip Elections
Behavioural psychologist Robert Epstein believes Google can and does influence voters and that research teams in Canada and elsewhere need to monitor how users are being swayed. Epstein, the former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today and founder of the American...
Bring Back Standardized Testing
The decision by the Manitoba government to eliminate most standardized tests from Manitoba public schools over the last decade was a mistake and should be reversed.
Practice Makes Perfect: Homework Does Have A Purpose
During spring break, the last thing many students and their parents probably want to think about is homework. However, it is a relevant topic because there is an ongoing debate in educational circles about the value of homework.
Homework Good for Students, Study Says
Better to reform its use than abolish it.
Back To The Drawing Board
Even though homework opponents have claimed that homework is a poor use of students’ time and should be abolished, the reality is that there are solid reasons for making it a key part of the learning process.
Manitoba’s School-closure Moratorium One Year Later
The school closure moratorium in Manitoba makes little sense as it forces empty schools to remain open while doing nothing to address the greater problem of declining student enrolment across the province.
Time for the School Closure Moratorium to End
The school closure moratorium in Manitoba makes little sense as it forces empty schools to remain open while doing nothing to address the greater problem of declining student enrolment across the province.
Inconvenient Indoctrination
While the movie, An Inconvenient Truth, continues to be shown in public schools, a 2007 court ruling in Britain has highlighted the fact that propaganda films like this one should not be relied upon by teachers as an unbiased source of information about climate change.
An Inconvenient Court Ruling
Teachers need to ensure that students receive a rigorous education where they learn the facts and all the different perspectives regardless of whether they fit into the popular version of environmentalism.
Questionable Graduate Programs For Teachers And Administrators
Recent reports written by Arthur Levine, the former president of Teachers College Columbia University in New York City, called into question the quality of most graduate programs for school teachers and administrators in the United States. While the situation does not appear to be as bleak in Manitoba, there are signs that the University of Manitoba is making some of the same mistakes outlined in the Levine report.