It’s a good start, but I’m actually a firm believer we should pay our politicians more. Yes, controversial, I know, but I have reasons for saying this.
It is a thankless job most of the time, and most work very hard. More money would also help attract more capable candidates who were willing to try what amounts to a 4 – 8 year “contract” position that allowed them to make a difference in how the country runs.
But…
take away the pension completely!
Let them invest whatever amount they want from their salaries in self-directed RRSPs. Maybe even offer a matching payment scheme, say 5%, like many private employers offer. The savings on pensions alone would more than cover any salary increases.
I’m all for formative evaluations. They are far more valuable as an indicator of progress than cumulative evaluations (read ‘final exams’, which are basically the modern-day version of educational dinosaurs).
However… I am also a firm believer in education as a two-sided effort. Teachers are responsible for providing the best possible learning experience, using the best possible teaching techniques and assessment techniques, and provide as much additional help as reasonably required to ensure the learner has every opportunity.
But… Learners must also be accountable for their side of the deal. That means doing the assigned work that is designed to help aid their education/learning. Even using “formative assessment” as a platform, failing to hand in an assessment – without reasonable excuse – can only be assessed with a zero. Just like an apple picker who fails to pick an apple from the tree will starve, a learner who doesn’t do the assignment can’t be assessed formatively or cumulatively if they haven’t submitted anything.
The treaty explicitly forbids any government from claiming a celestial resource such as the Moon or a planet, claiming that they are the Common heritage of mankind.[2] Art. II of the Treaty states that “outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means”. However, the State that launches a space object retains jurisdiction and control over that object.[3] The State is also liable for damages caused by their space object and must avoid contaminating space and celestial bodies.[4]
Question that popped into my head:
So… when does Molly Maid go to the Moon and Mars to clean up NASA‘s debris?
It makes great arguments about how we have evolved to eat certain types of foods (crunchy, sweet, and salty) based on survival instincts, and how we must use those instincts to replace processed foods with healthier choices.
While I agree with this article, particularly with regards to the “crunch” (chips are my Achilles heel…), it omits another – and potentially the biggest – “crunch” to which processed/junk foods appeal – the “time crunch“.
The processed food machines have also spent billions selling their “quick fix” meals to a society that, whether real or perceived, is also addicted to a time crunch. They have convinced us that time spent preparing meals is wasted, rather than time that can be enjoyed. As a result, many people would rather plunk their fat a$$ down in front of the TV with a pre-processed dinner cooking in the oven or microwave rather than take a little extra time to prepare a healthy meal. That needs to be addressed as well.
Shawn Peterson, a young man I have the pleasure of knowing from his days as a student of mine at the New Brunswick Community College.
His current achievement was noted on his own blog post here.
His idea? From his own blog posts:
What if the data already collected by hospitals was used to display real-time estimates for emergency rooms wait times?
His product gives patients an idea of how much time they should be able to expect to wait in a hospital emergency room, based on their injury. It can be accessed via computer or a mobile device.
Shawn worked closely with Saint John Regional Hospital staff and administration for this project and hopes to have the project implemented provincially next.
Shawn has always been a go-getter. He is also the wonderful wizard behind Propertize.ca, a web site that puts the Province of New Brunswick’s existing property tax assessment information pages to shame.
A shining example of local creativity, determination, and talent, I can’t wait to see what Shawn comes up with next!
Sociallogical (@soclogical) has been working hard to get the word out about what we can offer in the way of Social Media mentoring and training, and the wonderful team at Hemmings House Pictures put an awesome video together to help Sociallogical explain what we can do for you. Here’s the video:
Tired of watching social media pass you by as you sit on the sidelines? Interested in avoiding Social Media Stage Fright by learning what social media is and how you can use it to your advantage?
I am mentoring another offering of our “Understand Social Business” course with Sociallogical starting this weekend, and I can help you to become involved instead of being a spectator!
Our three week online course is limited to ten (10) participants, and is designed to walk you through the history of social media, how to use the tools, and will provide ideas on how you can grow a social business. There will be a minimum of three live online chats with all of us together, as well as continuous contact and feedback on progress.
To sign up for this course, navigate to http://learn.sociallogical.com and, when registering, use the coupon code CHRISLONDON.
Participants in the course will also be able to participate in our upcoming Uptown #Learnsocial Time Crunch on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 10 am – 2 pm. This special event is meant to make good use of your time to look closely at how you represent yourself online, how you plan to use social to grow your business in 2012, and connect you with others who can help mentor you throughout the year. The best part? This event is free for graduates and current students of the “Understand Social Business” course and will concentrate on the following areas:
• boost and enhance your online profiles,
• get honest critique and help improving your online social profiles,
• get answers to questions focused on personal and business use of social media, and
• refresh your headshot in a session with a photographer so you can refresh your online avatar (for a fee)
To sign up for this course, navigate to http://learn.sociallogical.com and, when registering, use the coupon code CHRISLONDON.
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Here are details about the course:
Course requirements
A decent comfort and ability to navigate and use the internet for daily needs.
Who teaches it?
Community Manager Mentors with demonstrated success and experience in building a network online and facilitating discussion and learning for others.
How hard is it?
If you can find what you’re looking for in an online newspaper or play a YouTube video, you’ll be able to work your way through this course.
How long will it take?
3 chapters planned for 3 weeks in total (15-25 hours).
Who is it useful for?
Entrepreneurs and business people, ideally those who can implement what they learn immediately in their businesses and functions.
There’s a basic understanding of what opportunities and risks social business creates that most people don’t yet understand. This course is meant to:
provide anyone in business with a good understanding of social business.
guide students through the creation of an online portfolio they can share to demonstrate proficiency.
To accomplish these goals, there are three main sections of the course, with live online class discussions, facilitated by the course mentor, after each section before proceeding to the next. This is a 3-week course that can be completed on your own flexible time (except for the 3 live discussions) in a total of 15 hours or 25 hours – depending on how far down the rabbit hole you wish to go with the recommended readings that support each section. The section titles are:
Chapter 1: How Did We Get Here? How Do I Start?
The impact and opportunities of social media, the importance of strong profiles and how to create them.
Chapter 2: How To Use the Social Media Tool Box
Overviews of the strengths and weaknesses of the main platforms for business: Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, and Facebook, as well as exposure to other useful tools. The lingo and behaviours found on each and how to get setup with these channels.
Chapter 3: How to Grow a Social Business
A look at all of the different operations inside a business and how social can have a powerful, positive impact on each. How to introduce these practices and tools to each function and exposure to analytics and driving business decisions based on powerful, live social data.
To sign up for this course, navigate to http://learn.sociallogical.com and, when registering, use the coupon code CHRISLONDON.
