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This Magazine Presents: The Craft and Business of Writing Workshop

Lisa Whittington-Hill

Writing is no easy gig. Anyone who’s ever put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) knows the list of roadblocks can seem endless—and even apocalyptic. Sometimes we have great ideas, but can’t write a single sentence. Other times, the writer’s block on ideas can seem Grand Canyon-sized. How do people find time to write, […] More »

Talks are dead, but the protest lives on

Kyle Dupont

Talks between the student unions and the Quebec government broke down again last Thursday. Indeed, as the strike stretches well past its 100th day, it seems no end is in sight. People from outside student union groups are now joining the cause in greater numbers than at any point during the strike—not so much in […] More »
May-June 2012

Why can’t Johnny blog?

Barb MacDonald

A growing number of teachers and parents say Ontario’s current school  curriculum will graduate scores of children who are 21st century illiterate. Inside the fight for more technology and social media in the classroom. Every school day from September to June at 3:30 p.m., Aerin Guy meets her nine-year old daughter at school. On this […] More »

Quebec student strike still looming

Kyle Dupont

The student strike in Quebec does not look to be ending anytime soon. While a tentative agreement was struck on May 6, following a 22-hour negotiation between the students and the Quebec government, it will likely be annulled after the 150,000 students around the province vote this week. If the agreement is passed, it would […] More »
September-October 2011

Dechinta brings to life the 50-year dream of a university for the North

Katie HyslopWebsite@Kehyslop

Back in the 1960s, a group of high-minded northern and southern Canadians had a collective revelation: if the North ever wanted to succeed, it desperately needed a university. Toronto-based lawyer and retired Air Force general Richard Rohmer spearheaded the idea, first lobbying locals and politicians, and later penning a draft for a bricks-and-mortar institution. While […] More »
July-August 2011

In the fight for better literacy, comic books are teachers’ secret weapon

Lindsay Mar

Long regarded as the enemy of literacy, comic books and graphic novels are increasingly useful as a way of improving reading skills among otherwise reluctant students, young and old On a cold mid-February afternoon under overcast skies, a school bell rings. The halls of Toronto’s Agnes Macphail Public School flood with children dressed in puffy […] More »
March-April 2011

This45: Ellen Russell on activist educators the Catalyst Centre

Ellen Russell

The moment I met the Catalyst Centre folks, I was intrigued. They seemed to get that social justice is not just a question of publicizing critical information: Building movements takes something more, and these folks seemed to have a handle on what that “something” is. Catalyst carries on a rich heritage in popular education—one that […] More »

Catholic schools clash with LGBT rights — but "institution" isn't a synonym for faith

peter goffin

That Catholic schools do not always look positively upon homosexuality may not come as a great surprise, given their collective track record. But in the past week, two news stories have brought new and unique anti-gay measures taken at Catholic schools to light. First, officials at Missisauga’s St. Joseph’s Catholic  Secondary School allegedly restricted students’ use of […] More »
May-June 2011

This45: Jim Stanford on activist educator Kevin Millsip & Next Up

Jim StanfordWebsite

It was the sort of sectarian self-destruction that’s sadly all too common in left-wing movements. After winning strong majorities on Vancouver City Council, the school board, and the park board in 2002, the Coalition of Progressive Electors alliance split in two just a couple of years later. This paved the way for the right to […] More »
January-February 2011

Interview: Berend McKenzie confronts the language of hate with “nggrfg”

Sarah BarmakWebsite

Nggrfg. For most people, the title of Vancouver actor and playwright Berend McKenzie’s play is nearly unsayable. But for McKenzie, naming his one-man play after the two slurs that plagued his childhood is the best way to understand and neutralize hatred. Audiences seem to agree: his play was a hit at the Edmonton and Vancouver […] More »

Postcard from London: Students fight school fees—and the police

jesse mintz

Almost five months to the day and I’m just now realizing that I didn’t learn my lesson from the G20. Sure, I found out first had the power and importance of community organization and activism; and I was forced to come to terms with the tragic ease with which our government could abuse our fundamental […] More »