RE: Make School Day Work Smarter, Not Longer — December 17, 2012

99.5% of the time I agree with the Frontier's views but on this one I have to provide a different  viewpoint. The existing school system at the elementary level is modeled on the same system that existed in the 60's, 50's, 40's, etc. Children are present in school from 9:00am to 3:30pm. Let's take the average family of the 21st century whereby both Mom and Dad are both present in the workforce (unlike the 60's, 50's, etc. where Mom's were "stay at home"). The standard workday is 8:00 to 4:00 or 9:00 to 5:00. Either parent is now forced to either rearrange their work schedule in order to pick up their child(ren) or find suitable after school daycare (for children under the age of 12).

Now take this situation one step further and apply it to a single parent family that is living at or below a middle income level. The parent gets two weeks vacation per year. The average number of Professional Development days teachers receive are a minimum of 1 per month not including early dismissals. The single parent must arrange and pay for an after school sitter or daycare when their child is released from school at 3:30pm. The cost of this to the parent is significant in terms of percentage of their annualized income. Factor in that the parent must arrange for a sitter 10 days a year not including the two weeks at Xmas and the summer and one can see the system is fine if we were living in 1952 but doesn not work for 2012.

I would argue that the average school day should not only coincide with the average work day but should be 8:30 to 5:30 to allow parents to fullfill their career/job obligations and help contribute to our economy by allowing for more work time and more disposable income directed to things the family needs vs going to after school daycare.

Email - Winnipeg, Mb

RE: Quebec Shouldn’t be Given its Gun Registry Data — September 21, 2012

This column was an eye-opener. Not so much for Navarro-Genie's gun registry argument, but for the examples he gave of the intrusion of the Quebec government in people's lives.

I was aware of the requirement of women to maintain their maiden names upon marriage, but had forgotten, or was un-aware that, among other restrictions, all housing leases must expire at the same time, and that state permission must be sought in naming a child, or to send one to a non-French school. Top it off with the edict that all outdoor commercial signs must be exclusively in French and you have, I believe, the most totalitarian, intrusive regime in Canada.

As with all of their entrenched information-gathering systems already in place, the gun registry in-formation is merely another nail in the coffin for individual freedom in that sad imitation of a democracy.

Eric Hindson, Calgary

RE: Quebec Shouldn’t be Given its Gun Registry Data — September 21, 2012

Question:   Why do you care if Quebec keeps registering long guns, you are in Calgary, does it really affect you?  The majority of Canadian's wanted to keep the registry.

Honestly, I'd be perfectly content if Alberta was the one to leave the country.  You can take Stephen Hitler with you, and continue to ruin your local environment with all the tar sands production and those ugly tailing ponds.  Email from William Groombridge

RE: SaskEd Measures Up — October 9, 2007
Sask Ed might be measuring achievement but at what cost? We in SK no longer use the reliable CTBS because it would show how our student's achievement has declined over time. Manitoba with its socialist government might have problems in education but ours is absolutely terrible itself with huge sums spent on the new huge school divisions with administrators falling over themselves to waste resources. E-mail from Saskatchewan

RE: Lower Rural Prices a Benefit — July 17, 2007
We are no where close the to the typical Toronto-based media portrayal of rural areas as being places of no jobs and no hope to earn a living. However, we are achieving this success in spite of, instead of because of, national and provincial public policies. Email from rural Manitoba

RE: Grassroots Natives Need and Elected Chief — June 16, 2005
I'm glad to see and hear more people from the grassroots that see the problems in Indian country with our leadership, locally, provincially and nationally. Keep up the good work. - Email from Fairford First Nation, Manitoba

RE: I read your article on school taxes with great interest and found myself agreeing with many of the main points. My question is: under a system of per pupil grants with management being at the school level, how would you ensure that students whose needs are more expensive to serve (than average students) are being met ? In other words what incentive is there for principals to cater to needs of difficult students ? - E-mail from Arthur Olson, Winnipeg — March 30, 2005
The province already pays more for special needs students, although the system currently lacks transparency and needs to be repaired. In jurisdictions where school choice is a reality, specific public schools cater to the market for “difficult” students, and by specializing become much more effective in meeting their needs. They treat such hard cases as opportunities to increase revenue rather than problems to be ignored. We could do a lot more for the most challenged students by abandoning the policy of mainstreaming, which disrupts classrooms for the severely normal. You may also find this perspective from a retired teacher interesting. Click here .

RE: Apocalypse Cancelled — October 19, 2009

The Frontier Center has already done one fantastic job of trying to wrestle this GW monster to the ground, and thanks for sending this link. BTW my compliments to yourself and the FC on getting Lord Monckton here to give that excellent presentation. The food was great - I enjoyed my steak. - E-mail from Winnipeg

RE: Saving Lake Winnipeg with Better Public Policy — August 23, 2007
While you and your NDP friends have pushed Manitoba to being the number one hog province now growing at 15% per year, some of us know the real cost of cleaning up after your pork pals will be too little, too late. - Letter from Lake Winnipeg Cottager, Matlock, Manitoba

Fake Crime Waves
The information revolution is global in scope and unstoppable. The future shape of the industry will bring thousands of choices for consumers. They cannot be regulated by anyone, never mind a small band of officials in Ottawa. By continuing to try, they simply guarantee more hearings and enrich more law firms.

The Opportunity Cost of Copenhagen
Those at the UN Climate Change Conference should walk down the street to the Copenhagen Consensus headquarters; they should ask the experts there whether the resources earmarked for carbon reduction might be spent elsewhere and more effectively for men, women and children around the planet.

Pooh
For now, Winnipeg's greatest marketing opportunities lie abroad. The vast wilderness on our doorstep is a natural draw for stressed-out Europeans. Similarly, Manitoba's lakes, rivers and beaches should appeal to the planeloads of Japanese who flock to Banff or Whistler for the big outdoor experience every chance they get. This potential, however, remains undeveloped.

An ‘F’ for Social Promotion
Students must learn that graduating from school consists of more than simply putting in time. Social promotion sends the unfortunate message that effort and attitude make little difference in school.

Parents Want Better Report Cards
It would be hard to devise a less informative reporting method. As this parent rightly pointed out, without meaningful evaluations of achievement, there is no motivation for students to try harder. Her daughter’s school newsletter tells parents to expect their children to receive mostly 3’s since marks of 4 are received only for exceptional students. Perhaps the only “advantage” to this system is that it makes report card time extremely simple for teachers—too simple. Parents have the right to more specific information, not simply to be told that their child is working “at grade level.” The removal of scores simply removes precision in evaluation from report cards and leave parents wondering just how their child is progressing.

Improving University Teaching
Universities have institutionalized a system in which good professors are punished for teaching well while poor professors are rewarded for teaching badly. This perverse incentive system leads to an important challenge: how can university administrators make course evaluations an effective tool for rewarding good teaching? This column suggests a way of doing this.

A Consumer Controlled Healthcare Alternative
Here's how MSAs work. Singapore's government mandates that workers place between six and eight percent of their incomes into dedicated accounts, the exact amount depending on age. This money can only buy health services, and some of it must purchase insurance for long-term and catastrophic care. During their lifetimes MSA holders cannot use the funds freely, but their estates inherit whatever's left after death. Top-notch public hospitals fill the gap for those without incomes.

The Province to Students: Don’t Worry About the Real World
Considering the large number of students who choose to procrastinate, the last thing they need is to hear is that they can hand in their assignments whenever they want. Schools should prepare their students for life in the real world, not shelter them from the natural consequences of their actions.

Toward More Prosperous Cities
Cities have drawn rural residents principally because of economic aspiration, as people have abandoned rural poverty for the hope of a better life in the city. They did not flock to the city “for the fountains” or for “good” urban planning. Cities that facilitate achievement of aspirations are likely to attract residents, while those that do not tend to stagnate or shrink.