Part 1 of 6 : The Role of a ‘Christian Paideia’ in Western Education
Education
Students Deserve Action, Not More Excuses
Student academic achievement is heading downhill in every single province in Canada. That’s what the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report shows. Over the last twenty years, there has been a steady decline in the math, reading, and...
Problems With Teacher Certification Go Beyond the Education Bureaucracy
Want to become a public-school teacher? If so, you need a teaching certificate from Manitoba Education’s certification unit. Provincial regulations state that prospective teachers must hold a Bachelor of Education degree from a recognized university. This requirement...
Maybe the Residential Schools Should Just Have Been Better?
Most of the attention on the subject of indigenous education in the last three decades has been on residential schools. But other aspects of this important topic have been ignored. Quite simply, the real tragedy of indigenous education is not that some indigenous...
Featured News
Our Health Ministers Need to Take a Lesson from Hockey Coaches
Those of you who are tired of my rants about the demise of our once great health system will be pleased to know that this is my last editorial. I am retiring from the BCMJ Editorial Board; currently, I am the longest-serving member (more than 20 years). I have been a...
Zinchuk: Oilpatch Only Spending Half What It Spent in 2014
Back in the lofty, pre-Justin Trudeau government days of 2014, back when oil was booming, pipelines were planned to east and west coasts, and Alberta and Saskatchewan were swimming in money, around $81 billion was spent in capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the Canadian...
Traditional Teaching is not Obsolete
Artificial intelligence has come a long way. Unlike the rudimentary software of the past, modern-day programs such as ChatGPT are truly impressive. Whether you need a 1,000-word essay summarizing the history of Manitoba, a 500-word article extolling the virtues of...
What Opportunities Will Be Forbidden to Your Children?
f you are a parent, you grew up in a “benighted” period when people were assessed and given opportunities on the basis of merit consisting of achievements such as grades, test scores, prizes, etc. That archaic period is now over. People today are assessed according to...
Bringing Back Grade 12 Exams Makes Sense
The Grade 12 provincial math and English exams are coming back to Manitoba. While they were suspended for several years during the COVID-19 pandemic, the province recently announced plans to reinstate them next year. Not everyone is happy to see these exams returning....
Ontario College of Teachers Undermines Its Own Credibility
The good news is that inflation appears to be slowing down. The bad news is that no one seems to have told the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) since they plan to impose a 17.64 percent fee hike on all Ontario teachers this year. Unsurprisingly, teachers are not...
School Boards That Tout ‘Inclusion’ Must Practise What They Preach
If there was a prize for the most dysfunctional school board in the country, the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) would be a serious contender. Not content with the chaos and divisiveness that took place last year, WRDSB trustees appear determined to...
Learning Styles Myth Needs to be Rejected Once and for All
Are you a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a tactile-kinaesthetic learner? If you think this is a valid question, then you, like many others, have fallen for one of the most pervasive education myths out there. It’s not hard to test this claim out. Take a large...
Woke Rot Runs Deep in Ontario Schools
Finally, there’s a ray of hope in the Halton District School Board (HDSB). After months of defending the indefensible, HDSB trustees passed a motion asking its director of education to draft a dress code for teachers. If this dress code requires even a minimum level...
School Board Meetings Should Happen In-Person
The Winnipeg School Division might soon allow delegates to present remotely at its board meetings. One of its rookie trustees recently introduced a notice of motion to allow this virtual option. Trustee Rebecca Chambers argues that this change would make board...
How We Teach Reading Really Does Matter
Reading is the most important skill taught in school. If students don’t learn how to read, not much else that happens there is going to matter. That’s because being able to read is important in virtually every job. Without the ability to read, life itself will be a...