lukin

Very good post Mr. Canada, and very accurate. Too many kids have very little discipline and it hurts those who come to school for the right intentions. Public schools are full of apologists. It's not the kids fault if they act out. Unfortunately some kids do come from awful environments. When they come to school, that is their chance to work hard, succeed and build the basis for a better life as an adult, breaking the cycle of the home-life they were provided as a kid. That element is not stressed enough. Teachers are expected to "nurture" these kids and show them "love". I'm sure it's hard to do that for some teachers who come to TEACH but are instead babysitting the disruptive at the expense of the kids who want to learn. I call this the liberalization of our public schools. These policies are put in place by the so-called educational experts with masters in education. I feel bad for teachers. They want to spend their time teaching , not spending a majority of their time dealing with 2 or 3 kids who ruin the experience for everyone. Here's a personal story that relates to education and the type of people who make the decisions. I had a cousin who was a grade 6 teacher. She taught for 5 years. She was what I would consider a warm and fuzzy teacher. There are plenty of those types of teachers. Her main goal was making sure every student felt loved and had a high self-esteem. Most of her attention was given to those who had behavioural problems. That was OK with her because she believed that she could make a difference in their lives. Basically everyone in her class succeeded because of lower expectations. So in essence, "dumbing things down". Anyways, the kids with behavioural problems were not getting any better, despite all the nurturing they were getting. Her classroom management was a joke. She had no control. The ahrd-to-handle kids didn't react positively to the nurturing, and the kids who were there to learn weren't getting the attention they deserved. She decided to pursue her Masters of Education. She succeeded in getting her masters. She quit her job as a public school teacher, and now works for the provincial dept. of education, making decisions that present public school teachers need to adhere to. This was very upsetting to me. I come from a family with a strong teacher tradition. I am not a teacher, but I do take great interest in public education, as I want, like everyone else, what is best for my kids. I respect teachers, because I know they work hard and have to put up with a lot of garbage imposed on them by the "experts". I think more money needs to go towards hiring more teachers, and less money needs to go to the administrative levels. Also, I believe that teachers need to adopt the policy of a good parent and tell their students, " I am your teacher, not your friend." If there is any beef I have with teachers it would be towards those who go out of their way to be buddy buddy with their students. I know there are teachers like that. When I here of teachers who have students as friends on their facebook page, I cringe. This was a longer post than what I had intended. It also took me a long time to type, as my typing skills are poor. I didn't mean to rant, but I am deeply concerned with the state of public education. What does everyone else think?

That was my initial point smallc. Why did you contradict me? Your absoultely right when you say one kid can destroy a productive class. THAT was my point.

Find some media that is fair and balanced, and you'll find people more interested.

There are too many kids like that these days. Not enough money to get an EA for each kid. So again the strong students who want to be there are left to fend for themselves, because they don't make themselves noticed by throwing disruptive fits. You have to come up with better rational than that smallc.

I think you misunderstood me. My concern wasn't aimed at students with definite learning diabilities. I understand that they need extra help, and in many cases, do not receive the proper help. My concern is aimed at students who have nothing more than behavioural issues. The students who have the ability but choose to cause problems fpr their teachers and classmates. Lets face it, public schools have low standards. It is nothing more than an idealogy full of the warm and fuzzy. For example, in many elementary grades, students are given social passes. These students may have chosen not to work hard in their class, or are just plain lazy. However, they are moved on to the next grade without properly completing the previous grade. So what happens in the next year? They fall behind because they are unable to do the grade level required work. They end up taking up a majority of the teacher's time. Students who are there to learn suffer because the teacher is too busy dealing with students who act inappropriately or who fall behind because of the social pass. Here is the problem with public schools. Instead of expecting students to strive and and fullfill high expectations, they are bringing all students down to a low level so that no one feels left out. This is a warm and fuzzy education. Sacrifice high expectations at the expense of the self esteem of a few. Like you mentioned, a big problem is funding. Schools need more teachers. Combining grades in one classroom is wrong. My son was in a grade 3/4 split class. It was the worst experience of his young schooling life. I don't blame the teachers for this. They do what they are told to do by their provincial education departments. When I called the school district superintendent, all he told me was that research shows that split grade classrooms were beneficial and positive. I told him that there is always research that proves the point you want to support, and that his argument was weak. I found out later that year that he never set foot in my son's classroom, but yet he knew about this convincing research. I know this may seem like a rant, but when it comes to the education of my kids, I get very involved, and right now, I am not liking what I see with the public education system.

Are you aware the communism represents the far LEFT of the political spectrum? You really contradicted yourself with this post.

I know your think your very intelligent after that last post. Maybe 80% is a little high, but a majority of the media in Canada favors the left. Look at Craig Oliver and Robert Fife of CTV. These two guys, I expect to be unbiased commentators. That, however, couldn't be further from the truth. Both of them traveled in Dion's private jet during the election. those two guys are just a tip of the iceberg. People like you are easily fooled and don't want to believe the REAL truth. Seamus O Regan and Jane Taber are two other liberal supporters working for CTV. As for the CBC, if you don't think they favour the Liberals, then you're not getting out enough. Heather Mallick works for the CBC. Have you ever read any of her columns? She's as far left as you can get. My challenge to you is to name commentators on CBC and CTV who favour the Conservative party. It's time for you to put up or shut up. As for the 80% Liberal media bias, that came from the USA. Here is a study from UCLA (University of California) that explains media bias for you. Please read it so that you can become more informed. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Media...-UCLA-6664.aspx Have a nice day. http://www.aim.org/media-monitor/media-bias-in-canada/

Why are you so bitter. He did very well considering 80% of the media was painting him as something he's not. I guess you are sucker for the bias mainstream Canadian media. You are probably a pro at playing follow the leader.

Here is my political story. I am 33 years old, so I guess I'm a Generation X member. I didn't pay much attention to politics during my early and mid teem years. I started university at 19 years of age. That is where I started to become interested in politics. I was quickly taken into the camp of a far left liberal progressive group. I liked their ideas. take from the rich give to the poor. I was naive, and didn't really understand what this meant, but it sounded good....help the less fortunate. Then things started to change. Throughout that year I found this group to be very ignorant and mean to those who opposed them. They weren't interested in healthy debate. They ridiculed anyone who disagreed with them. They were more interested in protesting everything they disagreed with. Their protests were often malicious in nature. Obscene, immature name calling etc. For instance, anyone who opposed drug legalization was a control freak. Anyone who opposed abortion was a religious wing-nut. Anyone who didn't give any extra money they earned to the poor who chose not to work was a greedy capatilist. Anybody who got married was brainwashed by ridiculous tradition. Religion in their opinion was the root of all evil. Anyone who said they believed In God was preaching falsehoods. Yet, all they did was preach their brand of atheism. The more I found out about these guys a and gals, the more I became disgusted. All of them lived at home, and felt that their parents owed it to them to pay for their way, because the way they saw it, their parents were baby boomers who were screwing up the country, and it was the parents who brought them into this world, and it should be them who provided for them as long as they needed it. These people strongly believed the government owed them. They felt that they should be able to become full-time protestors funded by the tax payer. The good intentions that I felt they had when I joined this group, turned out to be nothing more than anarchaic intentions. They called themselves the liberal progressives. They felt that there way of thinking will sweep through North America. This was back in 1994. I think that their way of thinking has made inroads into our society. That scares the hell out of me. The point of the story, is that after meeting these people, I became a Conservative. It really opened my eyes. Now I know there are conservative nuts out there, and I don't agree with them, but they seem to be very unknown compared to this progressive movement that is in full force. These are the kind of people who run rabble.ca. That forum scares me. Barack Obama is very progressive. they are getting a stranglehold in North America. I used to find the Liberal party to be very centrist. But I slowly see them veering further to the left to apease the "progressive" crowd. ! don't agree with everything the CPC does, but as a family person, with a job, I don't see any decent alternative. Now that I am done, I leave the floor open to those of you who think I am some kind of right-wing zealot. I've been on both sides of the spectrum, and the right side scares me a lot less than the left side. MERGED BY MODERATOR: This post was the Opening Post of a thread entitled: How I became a Conservative. It has been merged into this previous thread.

CTV has many more liberal supporters than conservative supporters. Despite your petty sarcasm, even you have to realize that Oliver, Robert Fife, Jane Taber, Seamus O'Regan are die hard liberal supporters. I used to be a strong liberal supporter, and one of the reasons, among others, why I am no longer a liberal supporter is because of the biased media in this country that seems to fool too many Canadians.

Is Ignatieff a closet Conservative?

Because the Liberals are doing so poorly. Remember, Craig Oliver is as big a bleeding heart liberal as they come. I could care less that he is "livid".

Frank McKenna or Michael Ignatieff.

I don't get why a person like you insists on gun control. This issue has been hammered to death. CRIMINALS will not register their guns. You can ban handguns all you want, ciminals will still get them. Lefties have no clue about the real world. i just shake my head.

Could you imagine donating money to the Green Party, and near the end of the campaign the leader endorses the Liberal Party? No wonder Dion wanted May in the debate so badly. The smells very fishy and undemocratic to me.

I agree with you. Unfortunately most Canadians are brainwashed into thinking there is a global warming issue.

If I was a green suporter, I wouldn't be happy with this. Maybe it's just a fabrication though. http://www.ottawasun.com/canadavotes/news/...-sun.html#print http://calsun.canoe.ca/canadavotes/news/20...11/7054611.html

Canada has little effect on the global warming. Refer back to the Sept. 22 issue of Macleans, repected writer Andrew Coyne said, "Global warming is a massive issue, but Canada's impact on it is marginal: whether we impose a carbon tax or not will make little difference to the earth." Seems to me like a way to tax hard - working Canadians even more to provide for those who feel they are entitled a government funded living. Wake up canadians. The environmental issues are blinding you to the real issues of the day. The carbon tax will HURT you more than any other policy. Canadian farmers should be extremely worried. Imagine the carbon taxes on the fuel and fertilizer you use? The carbon tax is a meaningless cash grab that will hurt the middle class more than anyone.

This is so true. Why do you think Obama has so much support? It's the "cool" thing to do. It's a sad state of affairs when people know more about American Idol than what actually happens in our country. Being a former member of the Liberal Party of Canada, I now often wonder how anyone could vote Liberal or NDP. A couple years ago a news team interviewed prisoners in a MAx. security prison and ask them who they are voting for. Each and every one of them said Liberal or NDP. That spoke volumes to me.

It amazes me how many people are blaming the CPC for the current financial problems. Markets ALL over the world are be hit, yet many people want to blame PM Harper. How ridiculous is that? Tokyo stock market falters - Harper's fault. Hong Kong stock market falters - Harper's fault. With the left - biased media, it amazes me how many Canadians believe everything they hear. If Canadians think times are tough now, wait until Dion imposes his carbon tax. Then you'll see prices on EVRYTHING increase. Farmers will be hit the hardest by a carbon tax - fuel, fertilizer etc. Dion and the meida (CBC) has fooled people into believing that a carbon tax will be revenue neutral. My suggestion is do some in depth research and you'll realize that revenue neutral will be the last thing you experience with a carbon tax.

Regardless of sex, it shows how a young hard working student goes to university, accepts liberal idealogy from having it forced on her by liberal professors. She doesn't really know the difference. She's just following what she was told...blindly without seeking the truth for herself.You totally missed the point. It didn't say she became a coinservative, did it? It was explained to her in context that she could understand. Her university grades represent those Canadians who have worked hard to achieve a good living. Her friend represents those Candadians who expect hand outs form the government, via the hard -working. She didn't agree with her father's idea, making her a hypocrite. If she gave up 1 point of her GPA, she is a true liberal. However, she didn't agree with her father's idea, giving her a conservative idealogy. Now she knows what a conservative is, because she obviously hadn't seeked both points of view. She just followed liberalism blindly, believing what she was told, without having it explained to her in a way she could understand.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be a Federal Liberal , and among other Liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth. She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Conservative , a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and an occasional chat with various professors, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs. The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school. Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying. Her father listened and then asked, 'How is your 2.0 GPA friend Audrey doing?' She replied, 'Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies, and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes the next day because she's too hung over.' Her father smiled, 'Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA.' The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, 'That's a crazy idea. That would not be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!' The father replied gently, 'Welcome to the Conservative party.' (If anyone has a better explanation of the difference between a Liberal and a Conservative, I'm all ears.)

\\Wikipedia??? Are you kidding?? Wikidedia is dominated from the far-left. Anyone who counts on Wikipedia for political information should have their right to vote revoked. It is a joke. But I guess a few people are fooled by it.

Thanks for bringing some common sense to this ridiculous thread.

And Jack Layton uses private clinics. How can one be a left-wing idealist without being a hypocrite?