When Parents Get The Upper Hand in Education

Yesterday I wrote a post about the Hamilton parent suing the school board for its refusal to notify him when a range of topics objectionable to his beliefs was being covered in the classrooom. His intention was to withdraw his children each time topics such as marriage, environmentalism, evolution, gay people were mentioned, these subjects somehow anathema in his religious world.

Today I came across an article dealing with the consequences of giving parents too much power, as has happened in Alberta, already not the most open-minded member of our confederation:

For over a year now, parents in Alberta have had the right to compel a teacher to defend herself before a human rights tribunal for discussing topics such as gay marriage or aboriginal spirituality in the classroom.

It’s caused quite a chill — reluctance on the part of many teachers to include anything in the curriculum that might upset a parent and provide the basis for a complaint to the HRC.

The piece goes on to discuss the impact the legislation has had on education:

“Teachers started to change how they taught, with English teachers realizing they’d have to send letters home for almost any literature they studied. The quality of English education started to fall — and has continued to fall in the two years since (the legislation was passed),” [former English department head Dale] Wallace writes in a recent issue of Alberta Views Magazine.

Wallace asserts that it’s almost impossible to teach high-school English literature that doesn’t have references to sex, homosexuality or religion. Canterbury Tales has a religious theme; The Merchant of Venice includes homosexuality; Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has sexual content as does Timothy Findley’s The Wars.

“As a result, challenging novels such as 1984 are replaced with safer ones, like Pride and Prejudice ... provocative, thoughtful films such as Apocalypse Now are replaced by films with different themes altogether, like Cast Away,” Wallace says.

I hope you will check out the entire brief article to learn of the consequences that can ensue when the intolerant are given power.

More helpful Advice From the World's Richest Woman

She may be the world's richest woman, but she still has time for 'the little people' with this sterling advice for job creation and increased productivity.

The Limits of Growth

I remember within the past year opining to my wife that the long-term fate of humanity is grim. With an ever-expanding population, growing demand for limited resources, and an economic model that is predicated on relentless expansion and consumption, there will be no utopian solution to the intractable mess we have created on earth.

Victims of our own excesses, humankind's ultimate fate is likely extinction.

Like the prophets of the Old Testament, who did not really predict the future but often spoke unpleasant truth to power, Chris Hedges in his latest column addresses this issue, but he does offer a solution/projection of sorts, one that many people in general, and the power elite in particular, will not find at all pleasant.

The Price of Pluralism

There is a price for the privilege of living in a pluralistic society, and that cost, which the majority of people willingly pay, is tolerance for the views and beliefs of others. Tolerance, while not requiring the embrace and adoption of the values held by others, does entail respecting those values. That is something that fundamentalists, be they Christian, Muslim, Jew or whoever, do not seem to understand, judging by the actions of Hamilton dentist Dr. Steve Tourloukis and his supporters.

The Toronto Star reports the following:

A number of conservative Christian and Muslim parents — unusual political bedfellows — suddenly are asking schools across the GTA to notify them when their child’s class will discuss topics ranging from homosexuality and birth control to wizardry, evolution and “environmental worship,” so they can withhold their child from classes that contradict their religious beliefs.

They are giving schools the same five-page “Traditional Values Letter” used by a Greek Orthodox father who has sued the Hamilton school board for refusing to warn him when his children’s teachers plan to talk about family, marriage or human sexuality. Hamilton dentist Dr. Steve Tourloukis said Monday he only wants those issues taught to his Grade 1 daughter and Grade 4 son “from a Christian perspective.”

Without a hint of irony, Tourloukis says, “I’m not an extremist, but I must ensure that my children abstain from certain activities that may include lessons which promote views contrary to our faith.”

Am I being hypocritical in not extending tolerance to his point of view? I don't think so, simply because my view of public education is that it plays a vital role, not just in imparting facts and developing critical skills, but also in socializing people so that they become fully functioning and contributing citizens, integrated into society at large. This is hardly the dark 'agenda' or conspiracy to promote a particular way of life that neo-conservatives seem obsessed about.

And therein lies the problem with the fundamentalist mindset. It is so narrow and exclusionary that any opposing viewpoints must be suppressed.

Hardly a recipe for either a healthy faith or a healthy society.

Pat Robertson Pines For Simpler Times

Every time he speaks, TV evangelist Pat Robertson demonstrates how cruel dementia is:

H/t Antonia Zerbisias

A Q&A With Allan Gregg

Many thanks to Accidental Deliberations for providing information on this Q&A with Allan Gregg, a good companion piece for his Assault On Reason article/speech. This Hill Times article on Gregg's thesis is also worth perusal.

If You Say It Enough Times ...

Recently I have been writing about the vital role critical thinking plays in a healthy democracy; this morning, after reading the letters section of The Star, I couldn't help but think about one of the oldest and most frequently-used techniques to inhibit that process: repetition.

Repetition , a strategy frequently accompanied by displays of demagoguery and fear-mongering, works on the premise that if you say something frequently enough, it will be perceived by many as true. A strategy especially favoured by the reactionary set, perhaps one the best examples is the myth that both small and large-c conservatives are good fiscal managers. A check of the fiscal health of both Canada and the United States over the past 30 years or so when under conservative rule easily puts the lie to that fable.

Yet the belief persists.

This morning, a letter written by Gary Brigden from Toronto, in part addresses this issue. Enjoy:

Re: Canada getting less competitive, Business Sept. 6

Once again the facts get in the way of pronouncements from the Harper government.

According to the World Economic Forum, Canada has slipped to 14th place in world standings in global economic competitiveness. Since 2009, Canada has slipped five spots in global competitiveness. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been in charge the whole time, yet he always speaks about how well Canada is doing compared to the rest of the world.

How is it that with all of our natural resources, our stable banking system and supposedly superior education system, we continue to slide downwards in global competitiveness?

Well, it turns out our education system is not training youth for the jobs of the future. Our research and development lags way behind most countries. And, most importantly, our government’s role in promoting innovation through procurement practices is severely lacking.

Ironically, while the Harper government seems to think lower wages, less safe work environments brought about through legislation and less attention to the environment overall will miraclously boost our GNP, the opposite is true.

As is usually the case, democratic socialist goverments account for 8 of the top 10 placements in global competitveness.

How is it again we keep hearing from Conservative and Republican governments that we must give more tax breaks to the corporations and rich people to create jobs, while the facts claim and prove the exact opposite?