Education

  • The Secular Democracy and its Victims

    The Secular Democracy and its Victims

    Ray Pennings

    June 19, 2014

    Surely it is possible, within a liberal democracy, that we can, without bloodshed, lay bare some deep rifts between value systems. But we're only fooling ourselves—playing with house money—if we don't constantly scrutinize and re-evaluate the "why" questions beneath our differences. The preoccupation with "what" questions in the ongoing Trinity Western University (TWU) community covenant debate has left the "why" questions unanswered.

    If our freedom of religion and our freedom to associate mean anything all, surely they allow those who disagree to coexist, without coercing each other.

    Surely it is possible, within a liberal democracy, that we can, without bloodshed, lay bare some ...

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  • Academic Freedom

    Academic Freedom

    Doug Sikkema

    May 20, 2014

    A few weeks ago a California primary school, in an attempt to teach how propaganda works, required its eighth grade students to investigate whether or not the holocaust actually happened. While the appropriateness of such an assignment is questionable for 1...

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  • An Enabling Economy

    An Enabling Economy

    Brian Dijkema

    March 4, 2014

    Last week, Cardus's program director for Work and Economics, Brian Dijkema, sat down with the CEO of Christian Horizons, Janet Nolan, to talk about labour shortages, productivity, and the surprising economic and community benefits that come when disable...

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  • Waking to the Wonder

    Waking to the Wonder

    Doug Sikkema

    February 28, 2014

    But it’s not just lights. Breaking the seemingly solid rod of water as it flows from the tap, following the trick of shadows as they race across our yard, watching the heroics of squirrels as they leap from the poplars; although they can’t articulate it, I think my children know this world for the playground it is better than I do on my best days.

    My wife and I have twins, just over a year old now. They nap a lot, but when they’re awake, they’re really awake to the world in ways that make me wonder if I’m not partially asleep most of the time. Without thinking I flick the switch to turn their bedroom...

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  • Yada Yada Yada: What Was That?

    Yada Yada Yada: What Was That?

    Doug Sikkema

    February 21, 2014

    Every now and again someone scoops up a nice handful of mud-slinging rhetoric in order to splatter some earthy common sense all over the ivory tower. This past week it was Nicholas Kristof's turn. In his op-ed for the New York Times,...

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  • Corporate Faith

    Corporate Faith

    Peter Stockland

    February 13, 2014

    Yet when the Supreme Court of Canada hears arguments next month in the dispute between Loyola High School and the government of Quebec, the implications will be at least as far reaching as TWU's bid to marry an evangelical Christian ethos with accreditation of our next generation of lawyers. . . .

    Debate over Trinity Western University's bid to open a new law school in B.C. has overshadowed the religious freedom fight faced by a 166-year-old Montreal high school.

    Yet when the Supreme Court of Canada hears arguments next month in the dispute be...

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  • Trading Up: Women and the New Industrial Revolution

    Trading Up: Women and the New Industrial Revolution

    Naomi Biesheuvel

    January 24, 2014

    Yeah, we can do anything. We know. Our second-wave feminist mothers showed us that. But somehow, the third wave hasn't washed over society powerfully enough to supplement the current female role models, which remain—perhaps more than ever—overwhelmingly pretty, pink, perky homemakers. And the trends begin in childhood.

    Let me humbly attempt to say something on behalf of women.

    Yeah, we can do anything. We know. Our second-wave feminist mothers showed us that. But somehow, the third wave hasn't washed over society powerfully enough to supplement the current female r...

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  • The York University Question: It's not about sex—it's about the law

    The York University Question: It's not about sex—it's about the law

    Albertos Polizogopoulos

    January 13, 2014

    All of these characterizations are, in my opinion, wrong. Here's why. There is no question of, nor threat to women's equality rights in the accommodation request of an online university student. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    There has been much talk about York University's decision to accommodate the religion...

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  • The Cardus Travelling Circus

    The Cardus Travelling Circus

    Dan Postma

    December 27, 2013

    Sure, sure. Cardus believes cities can be much better than they are now. We believe a more cooperative labour environment would seriously raise the dignity and fairness of our workplaces. We think private education is good for everyone. Ideas matter when they get legs.

    "How and where ideas have consequence is as much a matter of who uses them, as what they say." —Michael Van Pelt and Robert Joustra, in Comment (2008)...

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  • My 2013 Top Ten

    My 2013 Top Ten

    Michael Van Pelt

    December 26, 2013

    And I'm very pleased to offer my own highlights of Cardus's year, as the grateful president of this enthusiastic young outfit. I won't try to be comprehensive—that's what our yearbook is for. Rather, let me share a few of the items that I'm most excited about.

    If you haven't been paying attention, I understand. Everybody wants your attention nowadays, and all of us face a thousand experts shouting a thousand opinions. So I'm grateful you're here, following Cardus.

    And I'm very pleased to offer my own highl...

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  • Allies or Enemies? I don't buy it

    Allies or Enemies? I don't buy it

    Naomi Biesheuvel

    October 31, 2013

    Versions of this story continue to play out every day, and it seems as though Christians are obligated to land in one of two categories: allies or enemies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    Many years ago, when I was president of a Christian student club at a secular school, a young man came through the door. He had a smattering of thoughtful questions for the group of friends in the room, but I could tell that something bigger was on his mind...

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  • Championing a Cause the Countercultural Way

    Championing a Cause the Countercultural Way

    Peter Stockland

    October 30, 2013

    Since last Thursday, Michael Van Pelt, Ray Sawatsky, and I have accompanied Paul Donovan, the principal of Montreal's Loyola High School, on a six-city tour. We've met with small groups and with members of the media to inform them of Loyola's upcoming Supreme Court case against the Quebec government.

    Crossing Canada on a Cardus mission during the past week has brought home what it means to be countercultural.

    Since last Thursday, Michael Van Pelt, Ray Sawatsky, and I have accompanied Paul Donovan, the principal of Montreal's Loyola High School, ...

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  • After the Scrutiny, What Good Remains?

    After the Scrutiny, What Good Remains?

    Dani Shaw

    October 28, 2013

    But institutions of faith are hardly unique in showing concern about their employees' off-duty conduct, or their students' sexual behaviours. And employees (or students) at such institutions are hardly the only ones who agree to restrictions on their personal autonomy.

    Considerable ink has been spilled and breath expended over whether or not faith-based institutions (Loyola High School; Trinity Western ...

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  • Pomp and Pluralism

    Pomp and Pluralism

    Brian Dijkema

    October 17, 2013

    omp, pageantry, press, parliament, pandemonium! Throne speeches might be light on actual content, but they never fail to show that our political institutions—for all their failures—are worthy of respect and reflection.

    Pomp, pageantry, press, parliament, pandemonium! Throne speeches might be light on actual content, but they never fail to show that our political institutions—for all their failures—are worthy of respect and reflection.

    The pundits have had their say...

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  • Diminishing Religion

    Diminishing Religion

    Ray Pennings

    October 9, 2013

    In presenting their initial cases, there was a surface amount of overlap between the two arguments. Both speakers (there were others on the panel, too, but I will narrow my summary) agreed that civic literacy required that students have an awareness of the various religions they will encounter in a multicultural society.

    Last week, as my colleague Peter made note of yesterday, McGill University hosted a conference prompted by the...

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  • Scholars are Worth More than Dollars

    Scholars are Worth More than Dollars

    Peter Stockland

    September 3, 2013

    Already, he is showing the twitchiness he develops as the prospect of diving back into the archives and rooting through centuries old documents draws near.

    Tomorrow I will put a young fellow of my close acquaintance on a plane to Paris where he will go back to researching the social implications of insect infestations on farms in early modern France.

    Already, he is showing the twitchiness he develops as...

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  • Families, Flourishing, and Upward Mobility

    Families, Flourishing, and Upward Mobility

    James K.A. Smith

    August 7, 2013

    It is certainly true that this dream easily slides towards idolatry. It can become a nightmare of crass materialism and selfish ambition. But we shouldn't confuse idolatrous perversions with more humble aspirations of families to simply enjoy a mode of economic security that is conducive with flourishing.

    If the "American dream" is anything it is a dream of upward mobility: the dream of getting ahead, climbing the ladder, leapfrogging from one class to another in a "land of opportunity"—all if you're willing to work for it. Too often, fantastic "rags to rich...

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  • Loyola's Freedom of Religion

    Loyola's Freedom of Religion

    Ray Pennings

    August 2, 2013

    Canada's Supreme Court will hear a case next spring that will greatly impact the future choices available to parents in the education of their children. Things got a bit complicated in Quebec in 2008, however, when the government passed a requirement that all schools (including private schools and home schools) teach a new program called "Ethics and Religious Culture." The ERC purpose is straightforward: "The new program, which reflects the preference of the majority of Quebeckers, will make it possible to offer the same education to all Québec students while respecting the freedom of conscience and religion of parents, students and teachers." .

    Update: The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Loyola on March 19, 2015. For an analysis on the ruling, click here.

    Canada's Supreme Court will hear a case next spring that...

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  • Setting Down Roots...or Not

    Setting Down Roots...or Not

    Peter Stockland

    July 9, 2013

    Reader's heart-strings were plucked by the trio's plight as they agonize over their inability to purchase real estate on the upscale West side, where even modest bungalows sell for $1 million-plus. "The challenge is to set down roots in the city you grew up in," The Globe quoted Vancouver urban planner Andrew Yan.

    The Globe and Mail's Report on Business carried a sob story this week about three 20-something Vancouverites who can't a...

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  • "Ring of Fire" Re-Kindling Northern Challenges

    "Ring of Fire" Re-Kindling Northern Challenges

    Andy Bayer

    July 5, 2013

    The discovery of valuable minerals in the so-called "Ring of Fire" in Northern Ontario has brought discussion of these social challenges to the fore once again. The Ring of Fire, discovered in the early 2000s, has been estimated to contain between $30 billion and $50 billion worth of mineral deposits. This land, currently in early development, is expected to produce between 3,600 direct and 4,500 indirect jobs. The Ring of Fire has the potential to be a catalyst of socio-economic development among nearby Aboriginal communities.

    When the northern Ontario Aboriginal community of Attawapiskat declared a state of emergency in 2011 because its houses were falling apart, it was analogous to the social state of emergency tha...

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  • A Long Way from Inclusive

    A Long Way from Inclusive

    André Schutten

    June 19, 2013

    Québec's insistence on creating exceptions for Christian symbols is especially unnerving. Stockland says, "It's the reduction of a belief that once moved the world to a collection of tchotchkes. It is faith as furniture." While some might see the exceptions for Christian symbols as privileging the Christian faith, the Christians in Québec should be most afraid: if the Loyola School case is any indication, Québec will only make room for Christian symbols and little else.

    Yesterday, Peter Stockland penned another exceptional blog in which he accurately describes Québec's religion problems as symptoms of a bigger issue. ...

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  • Sensible Common Sense

    Sensible Common Sense

    Andy Bayer

    June 4, 2013

    We have a federal government that is frequently at odds with experts in policy decisions: replacing a mandatory census with a voluntary one at the objection of statisticians; putting more petty criminals in jail to the chagrin of criminologists; reducing the GST even though economists say it is bad policy; and investing less in research, resulting in an exodus of PHDs to the U.S. in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. To be fair, there are cases where the government puts forth an evidence-based policy, such as the federal government's aboriginal property ownership plans. But this seems to be less and less the case.

    The phrase "common sense" has become ubiquitous in our culture.  This phrase implies that whatever is the most widely-held belief is the most correct.  In many cases, common-held knowledge is correct, but in Canada I believe our politicians have often based...

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