Tag: Ontario Human Rights Commission

Michael Zwaagstra: Alberta Election Will Impact Schools in a Big Way

Commentary The Alberta election campaign is now underway. Polls indicate that it will be a tight race between Danielle Smith’s UCP and Rachel Notley’s NDP. With the NDP well ahead in Edmonton and with most of rural Alberta locked in for the UCP, the election will almost certainly come down to Calgary, where the UCP…


Michael Zwaagstra: Education Schools Do a Poor Job of Training Teachers

Commentary Nearly a century ago, Lawrence Lowell, the retiring president of Harvard University, described his university’s education school as “a kitten that ought to be drowned.” While Lowell’s words were offensive, his point was clear. Education schools have a poor reputation. This was true in the early-20th century and it remains true today. In 2006,…


Under Scrutiny, Education Fads Aren’t Making the Grade

Commentary Does the name Lynden Dorval sound familiar? It should. Lynden Dorval was the high school physics teacher who was fired ten years ago by the Edmonton Public School Board for defying his principal’s no-zeroes grading edict. Dorval thought it was ridiculous that teachers couldn’t penalize students who chose not to hand in assignments. He…