Sunday, February 03, 2019

We Don't Need No Education


Once again, under Ontario's Conservatives, education is under the gun. Heather Mallick writes:

In [their] first few months of government, [Doug Ford] and his cabinet have cancelled plans for Ontario’s first official French university and three new university campuses in Brampton, Markham and Milton, cut tuition fees thereby taking $440 million from university and college revenues, partially reverted to loans rather than grants for poorer students, forced universities to adopt a largely unnecessary free speech policy, considered cancelling sex education entirely, and are now preparing the ground for possibly ending full-day kindergarten in Ontario (at the moment he’s claiming to back only full-day “learning,” and that sounds unreliable.)
Ford also removed University of Toronto President Meric Gertler as a provincial appointee on the board of Waterfront Toronto, which might normally be listed in the I-hate-Toronto category of Ford spite firings but did I mention that Gertler is the president of the University of Toronto? Yes, twice, you say.
I can see no other reason except that Gertler is highly educated and internationally regarded, which snapped one of the tighter elastics in Ford’s mental assemblage. The elites!
Gertler isn’t elitist at all. You can’t be when part of your job is coping with as-yet untaught teenagers, and anyway a more courteous and patient person you couldn’t devise to link Toronto and one of its largest core institutions.
No, Ford does not like education or anyone involved in the process at any level. Ford went to high school and perhaps, like me, has bad memories of hours writing exams in the gym. But why would he take it out on full-day kindergarten, which is essentially education prep?
But whether Ford decides to cut education spending at the beginning or the end of youth, whether out of well-intentioned false economy or a genuine animus toward anyone better-educated than he, the result will be the same. Young people will be less equipped to face what may be the harshest century we have yet known.
They will be at the forefront of what the former journalist Alan Rusbridger calls “the flight from complexity.” What a demolishingly understated English way of saying that people are stupid, and worse, they enjoy being so. 

As I wrote the other day, we've been down this road before. It shouldn't be a surprise. When you put an ignorant man in office, education becomes Public Enemy No.1

Image: Tad Too New


12 comments:

Lorne said...

The ill-educated can see only what is in front of them, Owen, not what lies ahead. The result of such a blinkered perspective is short-term (fiscal) gain for long-term societal pain.

Rural said...

The road Frord and his handlers are taking is getting increasingly slippery and steep Owen, I very much fear what is waiting for us at the bottom!

Owen Gray said...

Humankind is born ignorant, Lorne. But after birth, ignorance becomes a choice. We are making the wrong choices.

Owen Gray said...

Ford has always been a bottom feeder, Rural. His goal is to have us all there at the bottom with him.

Anonymous said...

It took no extra-sensory powers to predict that Ford would target education and healthcare - specifically, teachers and nurses. It's no coincidence that both fields are dominated by women and for that reason were previously targeted by Mike Harris.

The Con religious wing is profoundly misogynistic with no time for book larnin', while the plutocrat wing simply wants to cut taxes on themselves, social consequences be damned. Combined, they form the perfect storm and will promote a fierce race to the bottom, just as they did under our former golf pro premier.

Cap

Owen Gray said...

It's worth remembering, Cap, that our former golf pro premier was a failed teacher.

Anonymous said...

Yes, Owen, Harris' edjumacation was always a knock against him with the know-nothings. They didn't make the same mistake this time.

Cap

Owen Gray said...

Now, the lack of education has become a badge that is worn proudly, Cap.

e.a.f. said...

It isn't that Ford has any particular hatred for education. He simply doesn't see the need for it. Look at how well he has done with his lack of education. However, Ford, being uneducated doesn't mean he is stupid. People like him have an animal cunning about them, which serves them well in politics.

The attack on education in Ontario is no surprise to those of us living in B.C. The funding for education was changed and it led to the loose of all sorts of services within the school system. Schools were closed, teacher and teacher's aids laid off, school property had to be sold to finance education, etc.

Ford hired Gordon Campbell as his advisor and el gordo was B.C.'s premier when the province started on its road to rack and ruin. As I commented on, when el gordo was hired all Ontario had to was look at B.C. You'll see what is going to happen. Gordon Campbell was the premier and led the B.C. Lieberals. Now it would be ill advised to think B.C. Lieberals are Liberals. they're Cons. If you review some of the progressive blogs here in B.C. you will note how many Conservatives were hired by the B.C. government following the loss in Alberta by the Conservatives and Harper's loss.

Gordon Campbell started an all out assault on Unions, education, health care, the environment, and of course we had the start of the corruption. Ontario ought to know B.C. is internationally famous for its money laundering via casinos, the real estate market, high end luxury goods. We also have the corruption at the Leg. There are also a number of questions to be asked regarding our forestry industry, etc.

For those who are interested in what will happen in Ontario check out B.C. blogs going back to 2001, when Campbell became premier. The B.C. legislative raids, Railgate, etc. RossK at the Pacific Gazetteer, Norm Farrell of In Sight.ca--specializing in where the money went, Lailla Yuile; B.C. Mary, deceased blogged on the "sale/give away" of B.C. Rail and the ensuing trial. Sean Holman did a good job. Rafe Mair, deceased, former Socred Cabinet minister, wrote an excellent blog also, which dealt with the destruction of the fishing on rivers and creeks, amongst other things. Just check them out and see what happened in B.C. because it may prepare you for what will happen in Ontario.

If you think your hydro rates are high now, just wait until el gordo has Ford implement what they did in B.C., run of the river projects/I.P.P. Forced B.C. Hydro to buy electricity from the IPPs, which were set up at 10 cents a Klw and then B.C. Hydro had to sell it to consumers for 3 cents a Klw. Yes, that's what the government of business did in B.C. No one knows how much B.C. Hydro is in debt for but it runs into the tens of billions.

Ford has a majority and unless some of this MLAs can be convinced to abandon him you will just have to get through the next 4 years as best you can and ensure he is never re elected. a few investigative reporters/bloggers might help also,

Owen Gray said...

You folks in B.C. have seen this movie, e.a.f., and you know how it ends. In Ontario, we've seen this movie too -- and I thought we remembered the ending. I was wrong.

e.a..f. said...

there was enough time between the end of Mike Harris and the rise of Ford, for people to have forgotten and a new crop of voters to come along also. This new crop of voters were their not in country at the time or were too young to be aware of what was going on around them. their parents provided so they though all was fine.

My take on the election of the Cons. this time was in part due to racism. different times, different groups. The element of social conservatism also came into play in the Ford election, many parents didn't like the sex education the Liberals supported and it may have been a factor in the election. Of course in my opinion Ford is too stupid to have thought up most of what he is doing on his own. That is where his "advisor/s" come in. they actually know how to get it done.

Owen Gray said...

I agree, e.a.f. Ford is an empty vessel. Holdovers from the Harper government are peddling the policy.