I was brought up Quaker, Christian in a mild sort of way. We didn’t talk lots about Jesus, but we knew what Christmas was meant to be about. We did Christmas pageants, we sang carols, we read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus every year. (Of course, we also read ‘Twas the Night…
Tag: humanity
Why I Vaccinate My Child
I first became truly aware of vaccination when I was about eleven. I’d had my standard (Ontario) childhood vaccinations, but didn’t remember them, and hadn’t actually thought about them. Then I read a story about Edward Jenner in Cricket magazine – and I never forgot it. As you may know, Jenner was the English scientist…
Should Evolution Be Taught In Schools?
Sean and I had fun watching this li’l video the other day. It’s fifty-one Miss USA candidates weighing in on whether evolution should be taught in schools. It’s a good question for categorizing candidates – those who know their minds, and those who don’t. Those who, like politicians, are trying desperately to say something that…
It’s November 29th and pouring outside. Time to LMAO and ROFL.
Yessir, it’s a gloomy, soaking day here. The students were inside for TWO recesses in a row, which never makes for an easy day. It’s still a long way to Christmas – in fact, it’s still a long way to the weekend. And as is so often the case, my shoulder muscles are like a…
Humanity’s Deepest Questions, courtesy of Google
Search engines are funny. Similar to my affection for my spam folder, I am fond of checking out the Google search terms that happen to lead strangers to my blog. Naturally, a lot of people are looking for book and movie reviews, which is fine, because I actually write those (while making no claims as…
11 a.m., 11/11/11
I took a gamble and brought my kindergarten class to the Remembrance Day assembly today, just after 11 a.m. We had talked about it beforehand, especially the minute of silence, and I think they were excited to take the challenge. I told them I’d spoken to the principal about it, and we both believed they…
PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE KINDERGARTNERS
In the first week of school this year, I passed a kindergarten colleague in the hall with a student hanging off her arm. As we crossed paths, she said, “I’m too raw of a mommy for this job.” I totally get it. Her being a “raw mommy” means that she exudes maternalism that the kids…
BANG Movie Review: Footloose (the remake) Meets Reality
It’s a classic: twinkle-toes city boy arrives in small town USA where the kids aren’t allowed to dance, and makes it his mission to get the bylaw changed – and win the heart of the preacher’s daughter. When we first saw the trailer for the new Footloose movie, Sean asked, “Why do they need to…
September 2001
Ten years ago today, it was my first day of school at the University of Toronto. I lazily listened to the radio after the alarm went off, until a breaking story about a wayward airplane interrupted the newscast. In the living room, I turned on the television and watched the second one arrive – the…
A Tribute to Jack Layton
Today, as I write this, millions have gathered their minds together to honour you, Jack. I hope you can see them. They drew all over the square with chalk and love. They got up hours before the sun, to make sure they could come see you. They are shedding tears for you and your family…