Inspired and inspiring

My weekly column in The Chronicle Herald today concludes my three-part reflection on the critical role of education.

Back to basics

The “skills debate” is heating up in Nova Scotia.

Adult learning should be as much a plank of our economy and our democra­cy as educating children. But the fact that we have to pay for remedial education in the workplace points to a problem in our education system. I take up this issue in my weekly column in The Chronicle Herald and, as chronic concerns about the skills gap in Nova Scotia be­come acute, I note what literacy advocates have known all along: that our low levels of literacy across the province are a barrier to employment and a real cap on our economic growth.

Unenlightened

Well oiled machines │ State Library and Archives of Florida

The $20 million being poured into a darkened mill in Cape Breton could keep the lights on in many rural schools. In a recent column in The Chronicle Herald, I argue that it’s unconscionable to see public money poured into a half-empty plant that’s not producing a dime’s worth of paper, especially when around the corner, schools are being closed for want of money. [Note: This post has been edited to include the text of the article rather than a link to the online article.]

Dismissed

Surplus space │ Jesse Ketchum School, Toronto, Ontario, 1912 │ Credit: Filey, M. / Library and Archives Canada

I’ve never been to Evanston, Richmond County, or Heatherton, in Antigonish County, but my heart goes out to the people there who will lose their schools by board fiat.