Author Archives:
A Review of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
I have a rather equivocal opinion of The Road. On one hand, it’s a beautifully phrased novel, full of powerful images and rich language. On the other hand, the plot is rather pedestrian, and the author’s defiance of writing conventions is tiresome. There’s no doubt that McCarthy is a gifted writer. Many passages are profoundly beautiful […]
Reflections on a 21st Century School
I recently had the opportunity to spend a day at Thomas Haney Secondary School in Maple Ridge, BC. The school is known for its commitment to flexible, personalized, learn-at-your-own-pace education, and is touted by many as an exemplar of progressive pedagogy. As a teacher curious about the phenomenon of “21st century learning”, but also a little […]
Let’s Hope High School Won’t Be Your “Glory Days”
After another day of classes, and another round of adolescent glowering and truculence, I am reminded of Springsteen’s classic, “Glory Days”. Nobody said it so well: let’s hope your years in high school won’t be your glory days. If they are, then the rest of your life will be a big disappointment! One of the most […]
Embracing Windows 8… Somewhat
The inner geek in me couldn’t resist. For $40, I had to try the upgrade of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 8, on my desktop computer. I’m not unhappy with Windows 7 – it’s a very solid OS – but I wanted to try something new, and see for myself what has become a virtual […]
Presumptuousness in Education
Here’s a comment I made today on Scott McLeod’s progressive education blog, Dangerously Irrelevant. My response is to his question, “When will we view educators that opt out of the use of social media for professional learning as an aberration rather than the norm?” ______ As someone who embraces many social media technologies but who […]
The Port Mann Mess
Pete McMartin has offered another masterfully lopsided argument! It would be hypocritical of us “southsiders” to complain about the Port Mann toll if we had asked for a toll bridge earlier. But we hadn’t. We wanted the same deal everyone else was receiving, including the drivers of the new Sea-to-Sky highway, Pitt River bridge and Park […]
David Stockman on Crony Capitalism
If anyone knows about “crony capitalism”, it’s David Stockman. Stockman was a Republican stalwart and budget director for Ronald Reagan who helped shape Reagan’s failed campaign of supply-side (or trickle-down) economics. In the following interview with Bill Moyers, Stockman discusses the fundamental corruption of the American politico-economic system. His assumptions are still quintessentially capitalist, but […]
The Rip Van Winkle Effect: Back in the Classroom after Eight Years
Last September I knew I had to make a change, and so I took the plunge and moved back into the classroom after eight years in distance learning. I decided to leave DL because I really missed the classroom. I wanted to work face-to-face with students again, and embrace the challenges and rewards that come […]
Skydrive: Slowly Working My Way to the Cloud
I haven’t been very keen to embrace the “cloud”, but in the last few days I’ve witnessed how simple and useful it can be. Two days ago I downloaded Microsoft’s new Skydrive app to both my laptop and my home desktop computer. By allowing me to seamlessly synchronize data, this app extends the capacity and […]
The Shock Doctrine Documentary
Though it’s been out for a few years, the documentary on Naomi Klein’s The Schock Doctrine remains a powerful and illuminating summary of her ideas. I thought I’d post it again. Klein has faced some criticism by those you might consider to be her natural allies on the progressive left. Perhaps it’s because she is an […]