Archive for the ‘Education Debates’ Category
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Why Ottawa’s investment in research will touch all Canadians
The recent federal budget’s third-largest investment – $1.33-billion – targeted research infrastructure… [which] for most people conjures images of bridges, roads and water mains… what is research infrastructure? … the tools researchers need to do their critical work… the powerful DNA sequencers that unravel the genomics of disease, and species of trees that are the lifeblood of our forestry sector… this investment… positions Canada to narrow the productivity gap in international competitiveness.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, globalization, Health, standard of living
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Fareed Zakaria: ‘We are meant to be engaged with the big questions’
what fuels economic success and innovation… may be… factors like having an education system where you are able to disagree with authority, challenge authority, and think outside of the box; where you can fail and then pick yourself up and try again. To this extent, a liberal education provides you with a rounded education in every sense of the word. It teaches you how to write, which I think is the most important aspect, because you learn how to think. It teaches you how to learn. These are soft skills but they’re not lesser skills.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living
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Value education in liberal arts
Liberal arts education comes from humankind’s gift of critical inquiry – deciding what it is we can honestly say we know and claim to understand. Nothing serves humanity more than, first, the intellectual rigour to discern – at least for now – what can be known and, second, the critical insight to discard claims of knowledge that are grounded on limited knowledge and entrenched beliefs… It teaches students to be brave enough to doubt, seek wisdom and adopt a rich vision of life.
Tags: ideology, multiculturalism, standard of living
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Universities are vital investments for all orders of government
… among the three orders of governments, the provinces have the most to gain from strong universities… The economy requires adults to be more than just full of information. It needs creative, innovative and imaginative thinkers… But… the benefit of universities goes well beyond a bright and curious work force. It plays the role of applied research, which holds the keys to economic diversification.
Tags: budget, economy, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, standard of living
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Bringing higher education into the 21st century
Coates makes four principal recommendations: Cut university enrolment by 25 to 30 per cent… Rethink the funding formula for post-secondary education… Be more open-minded about blue-collar jobs, community colleges and polytechnics… Don’t sit on the sidelines waiting for the government to provide job-ready workers. “It is crucial that we change our assumptions about the role business can and should play in upgrading the skills of Canada’s workforce.”
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living, youth
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Applauding Premier Wynne’s initiative to teach children emotional intelligence
… emotional intelligence can be learned. Researchers… have developed specific programs to teach social skills, such as reading facial expressions. If reinforced early, repeatedly and consistently, these skills can become second nature — and transform a child’s life… in the area of emotional intelligence… The work done with our children can help all kids treat each other with respect, throughout their lives
Tags: child care, disabilities, mental Health, standard of living
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Catholic school boards can’t be wished away just yet
Amalgamation, consolidation or elimination is an idea whose time hasn’t come — yet… Clearly, if one were redesigning an education system from scratch, there’s no question that separate school boards make no sense as public policy. But that’s not the question. Today’s challenge is how to dismantle, delicately, what we have inherited — how to liberate the laity from Catholic constraints, and how to spare the rest of the expense.
Tags: budget, ideology, rights, tax, youth
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This is the path of innovation
In fact, there is no choice to be made between basic research, which is driven by curiosity, and applied research, which is driven by need. Foundational research is how applied scientific discoveries get started, and universities cannot encourage innovation without fostering excellent basic research… To say that foundational research is indispensable for scientific breakthroughs is fully compatible with promoting innovation.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, privatization, standard of living
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To Siri, With Love
like many autistic people [who]… don’t quite understand the rules of the game, Siri is a nonjudgmental friend and teacher… My son’s practice conversation with Siri is translating into more facility with actual humans… the next generation of virtual assistants will not just retrieve information — they will also be able to carry on more complex conversations about a person’s area of interest.
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Ontario orders school board trustees to cancel pay raises
Trustees at several boards, including Windsor, Halton and the Durham region, recently passed motions to increase their honorariums, anticipating an end to the legislated four-year wage freeze for the public sector. They made the move even though Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government says its central task is to get public sector unions to accept pay freezes and temper their expectations as the province struggles to eliminate the deficit.
Tags: budget, ideology, tax
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