Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts

Friday, 30 November 2012

Ripped from the headlines

How tragic.



That a girl's family hated her so much that they thank her killer. Just awful.

Too soon? Sorry.


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Thursday, 9 April 2009

Communication 101

The fight against obesity is alive and well. They're taking it to youngsters in school so that it can be controlled or prevented before it takes a firm grip on people. From an article in Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail:

Schools and chain restaurants should be required to post caloric information beside menu items to arm consumers with the knowledge needed to make healthier choices as part of the growing battle against obesity, the Ontario Medical Association proposed yesterday.

The doctors' group wants school pupils to be able to see the number of calories in a slice of pizza, a basket of French fries or a ham-and-cheese sandwich listed beside the price of the item.

It's critical to educate young people about their bodies' energy requirements and the nutritional content of food, particularly as childhood obesity reaches epidemic proportions in Canada and many other developed nations, the OMA said.


I'm afraid I don't think that would work. I just don't see kids paying much attention to a seemingly meaningless number on a food item. I have a better idea. Why not indicate the relative calories in products using visual aids? I suggest something like the following scheme posted on packaging, menus or walls (click to enlarge):




Now, that's language students can easily understand and appreciate!

Monday, 9 March 2009

Fraser Institute report

According to an Edmonton, Alberta teacher, an annual report ranking all the schools in the province "is doing more harm than good." Mr. Peter Shipley, who has a daughter in grade seven, went on to say "What comes out of it is a lot of frustration for schools that are low on the list, but it’s not going to end anytime soon because that’s the nature of our society — always compare, compare, compare."

What I'd like to know, is how are school administrators to know if changes are needed if comparisons aren't made? I wonder if he's also against testing students since exams just "compare, compare, compare." Perhaps, they shouldn't keep score at sporting events, either--it's so hard on the...er...um...team with the lower score. (I'm sure Shipley would object to referring to it as the "losing team". ) Okay, one last shot at this guy: It's probably teachers with views like Shipley that are dragging down some schools.

Saturday, 10 January 2009

Vehicular Assault

Yesterday morning at 9:00 a.m., I moved my car from my building's parking lot to allow it to be cleared of snow (the lot, not the car). I parked my car across the street at a busy shopping mall. I would find out at about 4 p.m. that I had left the vehicle unlocked all day long.

As I approached the car, I noticed right away that the driver's door lock was in the raised position. I was very uneasy as I got in and checked my console and glove box, almost expecting to see something was missing. Though there was nothing of value, anyway, I breathed a sigh of relief that no one had disturbed the sanctity of my car.

If you've never had your car or home ransacked, you wouldn't know the ugly feeling of violation. It's sort of how I imagine a woman would feel after being sexually assaulted, but of course, far, far less devastating. But the thought of some low life who probably has b.o. and bad breath along with a wanton disregard for anybody's property or feelings going through your personal stuff is not a pleasant one.

There was a time when my vehicle would get broken into on a regular basis. I lost jewellery, a briefcase with personal papers inside, and even had my wire wheel covers stolen. When you first discover the crime, you feel like you could kill the bastard if he were right there.

Anyway, the absence of criminal activity on this day made me think of Michael Moore in Bowling For Columbine where he found a number of homes with unlocked doors in downtown Toronto, and commented on the contrast between Canadian and U.S. cities. I don't buy that large Canadian cities are filled with angels as Moore would have everyone believe, but it was a pleasant surprise that even in a busy shopping mall parking lot just outside Toronto, with hordes of young people from nearby schools coming and going, my open vehicle remained unsoiled by strangers' hands.

Sunday, 4 January 2009

Q & A's from around the web

Why does my school make us pull up our pants?

If you don't like it, go enrol in plumbing school.

Friday, 21 November 2008

Q & A's from around the web

How is todays schooling different from 50 years ago ?

nothing different

Jews are considered humans now... anyone that notices them thieving is considered a racist.

They used to like, teach ya stuff, man.

they didn't go around killling each other and raping and having sex in school.

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

Mmm, mmm, good

If you ever wondered why kids' writing skills have been deteriorating for, well, quite frankly, decades, this blog entry may shed a little light on the situation. What follows is a letter copied verbatim that my daughter brought home from school about ten years ago. I just happened across it today and decided to post it. The teacher who wrote it committed an error in virtually each and every sentence in it, sometimes making three or four errors in a single sentence. In fact, she wastes no time in her assault on the English language by screwing up the salutation!

Parent and Guardians

The school council had become aware of another fund raiser that is no cost to you but could be a great benefit to the school.

Unlike the Kellogg’s fund raiser where it was for a short time span, this is one that continues over every year. Campbell’s food has a program that can benefit the school in many aspects. They ask us to collect soup labels (the entire label in GOOD condition). This includes all soup labels form Campbell’s, Chunky Soups, Classic Soups, Hearty Request, Half Fat, Special Selections, and Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Crackers snacks. This also includes their larger size can of 48 oz cans of soup.

The labels must be sent in by May 15, 1999, but we can continue to collect them to put them into out 1999/2000 year totals. We will be notified in early spring 1999 with details on how to register for the years 1999/2000 program. This program has been running 25 years in the U.S. and is now launched across Canada in the fall of 1998. The program runs from September to May every year with the labels’ count carried over to the next year.

With the help of friends, relatives and the school in whole we would be able to make a big dent in collecting the labels Here is some of the merchandise categories:
Computers, Sport & Equipment, Musical Instruments, Electronics, Videocassettes, CD-Roms, etc.

Please forward your entire label in good condition to the school so we can get started on a great fund raiser with nothing our of your pocket except the food you would put on your table.

If any questions please do not hesitate to call or talk to one of the school council representatives. Thank You for your support in helping your school get better for the sake of all the students in St. Stephen.

Friday, 26 September 2008

Q & A's from around the web

Which schools for studying architechture?
I'm about to apply, but I'm still not sure which are the best choices of schools because I haven't been living in the States for a long time...

Art Vandalay School of Architecture