Big Questions and Deep Questions

Here is the studio version of a speech I made at an educational event, Learning Revolution. Big Questions from Abbotsford Christian School on Vimeo. In this inspiring "RevIt Up" talk, Trent DeJong describes one way in which a Learning Revolution may come about if educators would consider "deep questions" with their...

Why read 1984?

I feel vindicated. I have been asked countless times, "Do you still teach that?  I read it when I was in school."  This past week George Orwell's dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, topped Amazon's bestseller list.  There is so much that recommends it.  One of the reasons everyone should read Nineteen Eighty-Four is that...

Perhaps the Overwhelming Majority Is Right

In his article called "Only A Minority Is Right," J. H. McKenna Ph.D. argues against religious truth. His argument is based on the diversity of religious belief.  First there was polytheism, then their was monotheism along with "several sects and denominations of monotheism," then there came "other new religions" and "several thousand denominations and new...

I Invented Twitter in 1990

Most people think Twitter began in 2006, but a form of it existed in my grade 7 classroom long before that.  I didn't call it Twitter, I called it "Notion Notes." Early in my career, I was a grade seven teacher.  Besides having fun learning all that Science and English, we also did fun...

Vanessa Otero’s Media Chart

I found Vanessa Otero's Complex vs, Clickbait, Liberal vs. Conservative Media Chart to be quite helpful. http://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2016/12/12/vanessa-oteros-media-complexclickbait-liberalconservative-chart/

“I think” versus “I feel”

I've noticed my students using "I feel" when expressing an opinion--they always used to say "I think." I'm a big fan of discussion in my classes--the kind where students read and annotate an article or paper, one that is difficult, but accessible with effort.  Then they discuss the article, from the...

Abraham, Issac and The Walking Dead Season Premiere

Of course I watched the season 7 premier of The Walking Dead to find out whose head got smashed with Lucille, in last season's finale.  I expected Abraham because he's too much of a soldier; Rick and company need to be vulnerable in the face of Negan.  I was also prepared for Glen...

Bad Theology in the “New” Doxology?

New doesn't necessarily mean improved. This is certainly the case for "The New Doxology" by Gateway Worship. The first verse of the new one is the same as that of the old one, but they've added a chorus. This recent fad of taking some of the greatest hymns of the Christian faith...

Christians Can’t Simply Be Conservative

Just the other day, I was listening to a pastor casually commenting on social issues, and underlying all his comments was the foundational belief that being Christian goes hand in hand with being conservative. I have been uncomfortable with this attitude since I was in high school and have been arguing...

Is Atheism a Religion?

I recently read an article in which the author insisted that public funds not go to support religious schools. The rhetoric in this article was very much in the "us" versus "them" vein. In essence, "their" views, that is those of the religious, are tainted with the irrational and divisive forces...