Something on my Mind: A Class Act

Dear Honourable Education Minister: Congratulations on your new appointment. You have both a significant portfolio and a very difficult challenge ahead of you. I wish you and your cabal of colleagues well. You will need it.

You don't know me, so perhaps my two-bits' worth doesn't really matter to you. Maybe that would stop any normal person, but you know me...well, actually, that just it, you don't.

Let me introduce myself briefly: I am a man of many hats. The patient folks who read this column religiously have heard this line before, but I'm counting on a fresh audience (of one) to hear me out. My “hat collection” includes that of a family man, taxpayer, common citizen, and last (and possibly least), an educator.

Let me simply make three (3) simple suggestions to you; and they are suggestions, not demands or rants, not calling you out or calling you down. We all need to be reasonable for the common good—agreed? And the common good in this case is the current and future welfare of our children.

1. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Many folks have a vested interest in the success of education, and for the most part, I suggest we're all prepared to maintain the status quo. While I can't honestly speak for all the players, there's a common sense assumption here: whatever we're doing is working fine.

And you do understand the use of the term “we,” don't you? I am speaking of the public, private, home, charter, separate, and alternate education models.

We all have our preferences and perspectives, and I don't think there should be any thought of any one model trumping another. In other words, there's room for us all.

“Choice” has been the big word in Alberta education circles for years, and I think we should maintain the same choice(s) we have all been enjoying.

2. Deal with facts, not opinions. Opinions do have their place, and I'm not suggesting we give them up. However, when you are looking objectively (versus subjectively—there's that fact-versus-opinion tension again) at the educational landscape, base your decisions on facts--not biases, not polls, not hearsay.

And make sure you ask yourself and your team a lot of questions to get the facts straight.

Questions like: What are we producing? What's (not) working? Where can we improve? How can we compete? Are we preparing our students adequately for the real world? Is this fair—or better, is this just? Is there another way to do this? Are we using our money wisely?

Just for the record, when I apply the questions from the above paragraph to my world of private schools and home schools, I get giddy.

And I think you should get giddy, too, especially when you see what is coming down the pike in those educational communities. That is, when you see the academic, moral, and vocational successes that these types of schools are achieving.

Please don't let biases, polls, or hearsay tell you otherwise. And based on the last question you would get really giddy when you discover the millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars that are being saved through these particular choices.

Oh, did I mention that the “millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars” were just for last year alone? Multiply that amount by the few decades that we've been operating, and you will see the value (pun intended) in allowing for the role of private institutions.

3. Listen to the stakeholders, not just politicians. I've been to a plethora of Alberta Education workshops and seminars (eg., Inspiring Education) over the past few years. Intriguing times, indeed. Not sure if private schools and home schools were proportionately represented, but at least we had a seat at the table. Keep providing a chair for us, Honourable Educational Minister: We're deeply, actively, and rationally concerned about education.

Let public school stakeholders weigh in on public school matters, private school stakeholders weigh in on private school matters, and home school stakeholders, well, you get my point. We're down here in the trenches and have a real grasp of the issues. Listening to us would be to your advantage.

So, please, “Honour Roll” Education Minister, do the right thing for all Albertans, not just for a select, er, class.

 

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Something on my Mind: Flash. Drive. War.

I follow news religiously (just an expression, Maurice), a fact I don't know whether I'm ashamed of or proud of. My source is generally the Internet, followed by the radio (usually on the way to work). Newspapers are great source, too, but only if free, along with a doughnut and coffee. And bringing up the rear would be the usual water cooler gossip.

So if you have a computer, car, cafe, or cooler, you'll be as informed as I am.

So I don't need to list the ongoing travesties that are plaguing our poor planet on a daily basis. You have the same news sources that I have. Name your country, name your crisis. Right now, I'm thinking of the ISIS campaign of mayhem, atrocities, and savagery—and that's before their lunch on any given day.

I actually refuse to follow that stuff anymore, it's so horrific.

Let's all take a deep breath, or the emotional equivalent, and ask ourselves a simple question (and if it's that simple, I may know the answer): Have things ever been any worse in the history of mankind?

Looks like I probably need a simpler question, because I don't know the answer. And I haven't been around since the origin of mankind—no matter how old I look--so I can't speak to that very accurately. But I can guess, and you can guess along with me.

Let's start with the name game, say, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin, and Pol Pot. Great; now let's pull in some countries where lots of mayhem, atrocities, and savagery have happened, places like the Congo, Armenia, China, and the Sudan—just for starters.

Notice how I cleverly didn't use the same countries as the listed dictators? This is how bad it is.

Now on to wars: Can we at least reference ones that we should all be familiar with—Boer, WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, and Iraqi? Again, notice how I have avoided duplicating the dictators, with the countries, now with the wars themselves? This is not good.

ISIS is a rogue movement and needs to be eradicated in no uncertain terms. There appears to be no respect for international law, no response to political compromise, and no reserve of moral scruples. Throw a venomous religion into the mix, and you have trouble.

But is the long war on the infidels (ie., non-Muslims) the worst attack on any section of humanity we have ever experienced? Well, let me respond with a series of questions myself:

Worse than the death march in Bataan? Worse than Hitler's gas chambers? Worse than the Soviet Gulag? Worse than the millions that perished under Mao? Worse than the Armenian genocide, thanks to the Turks? Worse than Syrians versus Syrians?

And that's only the past 100 years or so. If we dabbled in the history covering, say, the colonization of the so-called New World, the numbers would shoot up exponentially.

I'll stop here. Do your own historical research beyond what I'm saying, please. You will tally up millions upon millions that suffered mayhem, atrocities, and savagery—and ultimately, death--at the hands of (drum roll, please) their own people.

These are not “evil American” wars. These are not even white man-inspired wars. Nor are these the results of the British or Protestant so-called bigotry. There's a lot of historical tripe and groundless blame being peddled today in wannabe academic circles.

The debacle of ISIS grief is a drop in the bucket when compared to even one of these dictators, countries, or wars. The difference, in my opinion, is not the graphic, grisly nature of their barbarianism; the difference is in the media exposure.

There was little in the way of media exposure in the wake of the dictators, countries, and wars of the past 100 years that even comes close to what we are seeing today. Re-stated: What ISIS is doing is evil, very evil, but no more evil than any one of the other flashpoints of vulgar dictatorships, imploding countries, or senseless wars.

ISIS just appears to be worse than these other tragedies. We have seen the odd clip of an old war here and a genocide there, but not much else. Too bad: We have a planet that has flowed with human blood for centuries, something we should never forget. Somehow, no picture means no issue; and many pictures means bigger issues.

I am sickened by what little I see first thing in the morning on my news stroll. But I believe I would have been ten times (hundred times?) more sickened had I seen the excesses of (pick your dictator, your country, your war) in the past 100 years.

Maybe, just maybe, the worst weapon in war these days is the Smartphone.

 

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Something on my Mind: Pardon Me?

I heard the other day that May is “Better Hearing and Speech Month,” but I wasn't, uh, listening. I said to myself, Why do we need “Better Herring and Screech” month? I thought fish and booze was a banquet in a Newfoundland outport.

Listening is an art, a virtue, and a lifestyle. If you're around anyone with a bent towards good listening skills, you are one fortunate person. You really need to hang out with good listeners, marry a good listener, and get a job where your boss is—you guessed it—a good listener.

If you yourself are good listener, may I have your phone number, please? If you're a good listener, you're bound for success. And said success is measured in strong, safe, and secure relationships: Lovers love listeners, as do preachers, kids, and the lonely and bereaved.

Listening is not merely the act of not speaking when spoken at. Those who wait only until the speaker stops are not listening; they're simply re-loading.

No, good listening skills involve the art of focused attention, the virtue of sweet concentration, and a lifestyle of dogged determination.

Bad hearing may not be so much an issue with the ear, as it is with the mind. (Please note: People with genuine hearing issues are exempt from the following comments!)

It's the questionable excuses I struggle with. Ask any teacher or parent about any subordinate (fancy-schmancy word for student or child) and their hearing problems. Ask them how many times they repeat, shout, and finally beg for said subordinate to listen to them.

Students need to be good listeners. Teachers are always giving instructions, going over concepts that demand a keen focus. That would be one of many reasons why electronic gadgets should be banned from the classroom.

Concentration—or the lack thereof—is likely the biggest impediment to listening. (I'll do my best to be clear and kind on this point, Maurice...Maurice...are you listening to me?) Between those plugs that kids stick in their ears and those dumb, er, Smartphones they stick in their faces, coupled with a flabby mind, it's a wonder there aren't more mistakes, missteps, and mishaps by the next generation.

Even a limited vocabulary can contribute to a hearing problem, or at least what we perceive to be a hearing problem. If I hear a word I have never heard of, I may not grasp what the speaker is talking about--and that could lead to all sorts of wrong responses.

I know how much I appreciate people listening to me. I was Son Number Four (to steal a Charlie Chan line), so there wasn't always time, energy, or motivation to hear me out. (Hi Mom: You were always a good listener; I was thinking more of my older bros.) Even after all these years, I still like someone to listen to me.

As a father of nine, I need to be sensitive to those dynamics in my own family. Each child-cum-teenager-cum adult has his or her own respective way of needing a good listening ear. I can be a listening ear by simply being there.

Strangely enough, listening can also be done when one is alone. Even when there is no one else speaking, that's the time to listen to one's own thoughts. Solitude sometimes is the best environment for a period of measured reflection. We need to listen to ourselves sometimes.

Silence, then, can be one of the most productive contexts for developing listening skills—whether you're listening to yourself or someone else.

True listening is done with other senses, at other times, and in other ways. We need to listen with our hearts, our eyes, and our minds. Listening may or may not involve words: Maybe we read (hear?) between the lines, sensing body language, or nuanced emotions.

Back to vocabulary: “Hearing” and “listening” are not necessarily the same thing, even though I have used them interchangeably today. You see, I may hear, but I may not listen. The former is simply being aware of the sound of words. Listening, on the other hand, goes much, much deeper, and begs a response of some sort—which could be as expressive as a silent nod.

In the everyday life of the common man, may I suggest you listen twice as much as you speak. Make it an art, a virtue, and a lifestyle. After all, it's no fluke that our Maker gave us two ears but only one mouth.

 

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Something on my Mind: Is Left Right?

Oh boy.

There is only one thing worse than an NDP-led minority government, and that's an NDP-led majority government. At least with a minority other parties can hold the government's feet to the fire, so to speak. But with last Tuesday's results, it's the electorates' feet that will now be held to the fire.

You might say we got burned big time, and the burning will just get worse over the next four years.

Actually, it wasn't all bad: The Wildrose, given up for dead only months ago, is now a revived and resurrected official opposition party. I see them being a force to reckon with in four years.

I hardly know where to start as I try to analyze Rachel Notley's win. In terms of faith, education, and business, I don't share the same worldview, value, or strategy, with any party on the left—be it NDP, Liberal, or Alberta. I'm still right (pun mercilessly intended) when it comes to most things.

As an evangelical, educator, and entrepreneur, I have some legitimate concerns. While they give lip service for the rights of all Albertans, the NDP track record in other jurisdictions suggests otherwise. Will Alberta's new government be any different?

Obviously, I write from a whole life perspective, and I believe the rights of all humans should be protected, from the cradle to the grave—the womb to the tomb, you might say. Have we just voted in a government that believes that? I sincerely hope so.

I have yet to see a clear policy on education, especially for non-public schools. I know the NDP's history, and I hear and sense things, so I am holding my breath. Alberta has always promoted school choice and parental rights. Are those still intact? What will happen to the many (and not only faith-based) private institutions and home education? Are we back to that “equal rights for all, but more equal for some” scenario? God spare us, if that's the case.

And then there's business, big and small--those economic engines that drive the economy: They need the freedom to re-invest and re-invent, to deliver and develop. They should not be shackled by extra taxes, inane rules, and conspiracy theories. There's money to invest in Alberta: Will it be welcomed, or will the NDP drive the much-needed capital elsewhere?

I have seen what an NDP-led government has done to the economies of Saskatchewan, Ontario, and British Columbia, in recent years. Speaking of BC, the similarity is uncanny between what happened there in the '70s and what just happened last week here in Alberta:. We see a long-reigning right-of-center party get thrown out, the left comes in, ruins the province, and it takes years to recover the province's former resilience.

Believe me, I was there during the reign of Messrs. Barrett, Clark, and Harcourt, et al. Not a healthy economical environment, let me tell you.

As stated here before, and many times at that, the NDP make great official opposition parties but ineffective governments. They don't know the difference between “running” a province and “ruining” one.

It is hard to believe that Albertans were in such an anti-Conservative snit that they voted in the New Democrats. That is irresponsible and irrational, quite frankly. I can't believe people are that stupid. Shame on them: They should have voted Wildrose.

I see by the the demographics it was primarily city people that voted left and country people voted right. Re-stated: City people left their senses and country people were right after all

That's a crass over-simplification, to be sure, but election-night maps don't lie. What is it with city slickers that make them lose their common sense when it comes to politics? Is it the smog? The noise? Maybe the pace?

Let me work in a drama metaphor: There has been the auditioning, the memorization of lines, and as of the last Tuesday, someone got the leading role, others got bit parts. This show is now going to run for another four years.

The rest of us are part of the audience. Apparently we got tired of re-runs. How soon will we get tired of this new performance?

Let's hope the new government is not a bunch of bad actors. It makes me think of a title for a new movie: “Dumb and Dumber, and Now Really Dumb.”

NDP: There's just something not right about them.

 

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