In her May 20th column, Why I can't vote for Tim Hudak, our long-time friend, Tasha Kheiriddin, raised questions concerning the Tory plan for reforming K-12 education in Ontario.
education
There is no question that a great education is essential to success in the 21st century. Completing high school, for example, markedly reduces the chances of unemployment or the probability of remaining trapped in low-income jobs.
The importance of education to a childs future success explains the increasing interest on the part of parents, and therefore politicians, in ensuring not only a functioning but thriving education system. Supporting parents in choosing their childrens education and fostering competition between schools is vital to such efforts.
There is no question that a great education is essential to success in the 21st century. Completing high school, for example, markedly reduces the chances of unemployment or the probability of remaining trapped in low-income jobs.
The importance of education to a childs future success explains the increasing interest on the part of parents, and therefore politicians, in ensuring not only a functioning but thriving education system. Supporting parents in choosing their childrens education and fostering competition between schools is vital to such efforts.
While the recent federal budget received much attention for its debt and deficit forecasts, a smattering of legislative reforms giving First Nations greater control of on-reserve education went largely unnoticed. Hand-in-hand with the proposed reforms, the feds also promised an additional $1.25 billion in core funding for on-reserve education over three years, on top of the current $1.5 billion spent annually. All of which was supported by the Assembly of First Nations.
There is almost no aspect of life that has not been fundamentally changed and re-ordered over the past 100 years through new technology and innovation. Think for instance, of how we communicate, travel, work, and even rest, and youre hard pressed to find one aspect of life that has not been materially altered by technology.
Recently, a concerned parent pointed me to a film being shown to his child's sixth grade class, called "The Story of Stuff." The movie, created in 2007, depicts a world in which big corporations, in cahoots with big government, pretty much destroy the entire planet and maliciously poison the environment for their own filthy ends. According to the Story of Stuff website, the film has been viewed 15 million times, and is one of the most-watched environmental-themed online movies of all time.