It’s important for schools to have a knowledge-rich curriculum that sequentially builds on knowledge year by year. Alex Trebek taught us that
Canadians were saddened to learn that longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away recently from pancreatic cancer. For more than 35 years, Trebek was a familiar face in our homes. There was no better way of testing your general knowledge than seeing how many Jeopardy! questions you could correctly answer. The outpouring of emotion over…
He was an early and vocal critic of Nazism., an unapologetic opponent of eugenics and derisive towards the concept of racial purity
G.K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton was born in 1874 and died in 1936, just two weeks into his 63rd year. During his lifetime, he was one of England’s most notable writers. His output was truly prodigious, including novels, poems, short stories, newspaper columns and such. Today, it’s probably fair to say that he’s best remembered for…
Tens of thousands of new students from nearly every country in the world have joined Dan Levy in relearning history from Indigenous perspectives
Since its launch in 2017, the massive open online course Indigenous Canada has been among the most popular MOOCs in Canada. But in 2020, its popularity skyrocketed. “It all started in March with COVID,” said course instructor Paul Gareau. “Normally around 300 new students register each week, but in March we started getting around 1,000. Then, when…
Few people don’t have harsh opinions. Trump and Biden are generally thought of as great or awful
For the past few months, I’ve watched way too much TV dealing with the U.S. presidential election. I tried to keep a reasonable balance by watching CNN and Fox. I often saw their diverse reports on the same item and you would think they were talking about two different stories taking place in two different…
Best known for his role as the Sgt. Davis Quinton on Corner Gas, he has more than 100 film, television and stage credits on his resume
Lorne Cardinal turned down a role in the popular television series North of 60 to attend theatre school. His agent thought he was crazy to pass on such a marquee opportunity. But Cardinal’s acting coach in Kamloops, Dave Edwards, told him nothing was more important than training if he wanted to make a career of it. So…
Bringing back wonderful memories of laughing, learning and engaging with TV shows that people have gradually forgotten
Most of us have been busy during COVID-19 with work and family. Fortunately, I recently found some spare time to revisit a few TV shows of my youth. The inspiration came from three social media posts crafted by Ed Conroy. He’s a cultural historian who founded Retrontario in 2006 to “celebrate the neglected corners of…
There’s a good chance the global shift from skepticism to possibility about extraterrestrial life is about to extend even further
Is there life on other planets? That question has intrigued man for generations. Most people used to scoff at the suggestion of the existence of UFOs and tales of little green men from Mars (or worse). Societal attitudes have shifted due to our increased fascination with Roswell/UFO sightings, Phoenix Lights, Lubbock Lights, and depictions of…
Do we really believe that deception, dishonesty, manipulation and lack of accountability lead to peace, happiness and meaning in life?
If we look honestly at the media that much of the world consumes, we shouldn’t be surprised that we’re living in a time of crisis. One of the goals of education is to develop the capacity for critical thinking in young people. This doesn’t mean we condemn anyone else, but it does mean we learn…
Early newspapers were often more interested in expressing the opinions of the owners than the facts
Fake news is a popular term these days. It’s hard to imagine why. Much more inflammatory and even manufactured ‘news’ has been with us all through history. Pamphleteers of the French and American revolutions may be the most famous. Among the best was Thomas Paine. But the average person with an axe to grind and…
When making daunting decisions, having people who have experience in industries under discussion is invaluable
Nothing has been more vital to the functioning of Canada’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic than the Internet. Yet recent appointments to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reveal a government oblivious to its necessity. Nirmala Naidoo, for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Ellen Desmond, for the Atlantic and Nunavut, were added to…
Canadians were saddened to learn that longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek passed away recently from pancreatic cancer. For more than 35 years, Trebek was a familiar face in our homes. There was no better way of testing your general knowledge than seeing how many Jeopardy! questions you could correctly answer. The outpouring of emotion over…
