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Libertarian: COVID Is Reshaping Education

Pandemic-era stresses accelerated big changes to education, observes Reasons J.D. Tuccille notably, families growing acceptance of charters, homeschooling, and a host of flexible approaches to teaching kids. In December, EdChoice found that 68 percent of respondents had grown more favorable to homeschooling during the pandemic. Theyre also supporting, in similar numbers, public-funding measures (e.g., vouchers) for alternatives to traditional schooling. Such options had been gaining acceptance long before COVID-19, but the pandemic fueled discontent, as school officials, whod found educating kids a challenge in good times, left them high and dry in the midst of a public health crisis. Families that once deemed alternatives unthinkable soon began considering them. And as families go, so goes the culture.

A staggering act of appeasement, is one label for Team Bidens decision to arrange for the payment of Irans dues at the United Nations, report The New York Suns editors. Youd think the UNs decision to strip Tehran of its voting rights for failing to pay its dues would be a boon for America. Its the fruit of American sanctions, after all, and would mean that Iran would be able to foment less trouble at Turtle Bay. Yet the Biden administration arranged for $18 million of blocked Iranian funds to be released so they could pay their dues and vote. Meanwhile, Tehran finds the cash to supply weapons to the Houthis, help Hezbollah and join in naval maneuvers with Russia and China.

Democrats seem to think that the rallying cry of racism is essential to galvanizing their most loyal demographic, Black Americans, Barrington D. Martin II gripes at Newsweek. This amounts to little more than gaslighting us into submission, into voting for a party that has long ceased to do anything for us. Dems voting-rights bill isnt about helping Black voters, but maintaining political power by reinforcing the belief that the other party is racist. The idea that new voting laws put into place by GOP-led state legislatures in the wake of the 2020 election were created to disenfranchise Black voters is a ridiculous claim, one that shows the subconscious disdain Democratic officials have for their Black voter base.

The University of Torontos Jordan Peterson has left his professorial post, notes J. Scott Turner at Spectator World, and no wonder: The academy has changed fundamentally, and with each passing year there are fewer and fewer who can restore it. For refusing to use novel pronouns preferred by the transgendered, Peterson was denounced as a bigot, his university threatened his career, his speaking events were disrupted and his fellow academics deserted him: Totalitarian states, which our universities are coming to resemble, are kept in power by the skillful use of lies and pressure to conform. Yet change is not irrevocable. In late-1980s Eastern Europe totalitarian regimes collapsed catastrophically once people began to see that they were not alone in their doubts. We need fewer people willing to acquiesce in the lies, about race, about gender, about the soothing tropes of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The latest polling, warns National Journals Josh Kraushaar, shows Joe Biden isnt just losing support among typical swing voters . . . hes now starting to take friendly fire from his own base. And its a self-inflicted problem, since he inflated expectations among his supporters that hed pass a transformative big-government agenda like FDR and LBJ. In NBC polling, his 40 percent job approval among the youngest voters (age 18-34) is down 16 points since April. Worse: Hes only winning over 64 percent of African-American voters. The White House insists Republicans have no agenda, but being the opposition party without an agenda is a better place to be than the governing party facing a mutiny within the ranks.

Compiled by The Post Editorial Board

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COVID is reshaping education and other commentary - New York Post

Over winter break, I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series after it was referenced by Jordan Peterson, a famous Canadian psychologist, in a YouTube video. I got through the first three books before getting to school and used the extra time the past two weeks to watch all eight movies with my friends. As a kid, I fell in love with the books and movies because of the incredible world J. K. Rowling brought to life. The endless surprises in Hogwarts Castle, the quidditch matches, the every flavor jelly beans, the butterbeer from Hogsmeade and countless other aspects of the wizarding world had me hooked instantly. Even at this age, I find the images in the books and movies fascinating. However, after listening to Petersons video and going through the books and movies again, I realized how much more there was to the series than a well-crafted fantasy world.

In Petersons video, he stresses the importance of making yourself dangerous. He claims that a truly great man or woman must have the ability to do damage to others in some form, but harnesses his or her talent towards the good. He argues that people mistake not doing bad things as the mark of a good person. Peterson pushes back saying that many people are incapable of hurting others in the first place or they only do what is considered just due to fear of retribution for their actions. Basically, if people were put in a situation of power, many would treat people worse. In order to become this idealized man or woman, you must mold yourself into a very capable person. How you do so and the capabilities you would possess is up to the individual. After you have been molded into this highly capable person, you then must use your abilities to contribute towards the good. Essentially, being of high competency and using it in a positive way are the marks of a high character man or woman.

In the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling echoes the same message as Peterson. From birth, Harry has immeasurable potential, but he is not prepared to face Voldemort at full strength as a 12-year-old just entering Hogwarts. First, Harry must learn spells and basic wizarding activities in order to build up his abilities. Then, he faces challenges along the way that bolster his courage and knowledge on Voldemort. In each book, Harry ends up battling a weakened Voldemort and his followers until he finally is prepared to take on Voldemort at full strength in the final book. While Harry fulfills Petersons vision of a great man by building up his talent and using it for good, his similarities to Voldemort show the overlap in a great person and evil one. They shares rare abilities like speaking to snakes, and Harry can even see inside Voldemorts mind. It is even revealed that a part of Voldemorts soul lives within Harry. As equally powerful men, Harry and Voldemort have nearly everything in common besides their intentions and character. While Voldemort intends on living forever and having everything to himself at all costs, Harry desires peace and the well-being of his friends and family. Voldemort uses his power for his own sake; Harry uses his power for the good of others.

In addition to the contrast between Harry and Voldemort, Rowling shows how many individuals that are civilized in a typical situation act terribly once they have power. Many followers of Voldemort, called Death Eaters, were normal members of society while he was out of power. However, upon his return, they exploited their perceived opportunity to gain power. Again, as Peterson argues, doing nothing wrong when you lack power does not mean an individual is a good person. The true test of a man or woman is how they act when they have an opportunity to exploit a situation for their own benefit at the expense of another.

The Harry Potter series has created an incredible fantasy world that absorbs the attention of most readers or watchers. Because of its many kiddish magical aspects, it is easy to mark Harry Potter as a kids story. However, its examination of good and evil individuals lends to a greater lesson in the story. It raises three primary questions for the reader to consider in his or her life. Which abilities will you work towards to make yourself a capable individual? How will you build up those abilities? Then, finally, how will you use your capabilities for the good of society? With that said, given the story evokes such intricate truths and questions, I think its safe to say that Harry Potter is more than just a childrens book.

Mikey Colgan is a sophomore from Boston, Massachusetts, studying finance and ACMS. He is an avid college basketball fan and resides in Morrissey Hall. He can be reached at [emailprotected] or @Mikeycolgs15 on twitter.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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Harry Potter is more than a children's book - Observer Online

By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | Jan 25, 2022

Massive convoys of trucks are converging on the nations capital. About 50,000 truckers are involved. In one place the convoy stretches more than 40 milesand thats before the separate convoys, coming from different corners of the nation, meet for their final approach. Tens of thousands of people are lining the highways to show their support; women are bringing hot meals out to the truckers when they stop to rest.

Doesnt that sound like a news story to you? Its happening right now in Canada. But you probably havent read it in your local newspaper; you certainly havent seen it covered on the major-network reports.

If the truckers were protesting gender discrimination, or even the rising cost of diesel fuel, this protestwhich produces some very dramatic visual imageswould lead the nightly TV newscasts. But the Freedom Convoy is protesting Covid-lockdown restrictions, and the major media have very obviously resolved to spike stories about any such protests. And so Silence.

Oh, I was able, with a bit of extra digging, to find a reasonably accurate Reuters story about the convoy. And CBC allowed that hundreds of truckers were protesting. But if you want any details at all, you need to look to non-traditional news providers, such as our friends at LifeSite News.

The mainstream media are not providing the news here; quite on the contrary they are deliberately suppressing the spread of public information. This is not a new phenomenon, of course; I have frequently commented on the curious blindness that afflicts reporters in Washington, DC every January, so that they do not notice the March for Life. But that willful blindness is now spreading, so that journalists ignore any developments of which their editors do not approve. Moreover, the self-appointed censors of social-media platforms do their best to shield readers from any facts that leak through the ever-tighter net.

And the major media are not alone in their campaign to restrict the flow of information. The same problem is very much in evidence in the field of educationespecially higher education. (See Jordan Petersons explanation of why he finds it morally untenable to remain on the faculty of a major university.

We can complainwe often have complainedabout liberal bias, in the media and in academe. But those complaints, too, are filtered out of mainstream conversations; they reach only those who are already inclined to agree, those who are open to alternate views. The fundamental problem, as Peterson explains, is that alternate views are actively suppressed, with increasing vigor and without apology.

Critics of the mainstream media outlets sometimes refer to them as the legacy media. The term is apt, I think. Like the fortunate offspring of wealthy families, these outlets have inherited powerful positions, built on the work of prior generations. Those prior generations amassed their influence by providing the public with information. The current leaders of the legacy media have abandoned that effort. Rather than giving people accurate information, and trusting responsible adults to form their own opinions, the mainstream media are now determined to shape opinions directly, telling people what they must think, suppressing contrary evidence and dissenting opinion. Today the most interesting news coverage is provided by upstart services, struggling to find an audience.

Complaints about media bias have very little impact. They, too, are filtered out of mainstream conversations, so that they reach only those people who already agree.

First, refuse to support the institutions that suppress the free flow of information. Insofar as possible, do not give them subscriptions, or tuition, or even attention.

Next, explore the alternatives. Not all of the new online sources of information are reliable; some discernment is necessary. Compare different accounts, and notice which outlets provide coverage that holds up to scrutiny. But do not be frightened away from new outlets simply because they are scorned by the legacy media.

Third and most important, inform your friends. And not only your Facebook friends, who may or may not actually be your real-life acquaintances. Share the news directly. Face-to-face conversations are always best, but email works well, too. Keep in mind that the internet was designed precisely to allow remote communications among people with shared interests. If the social-media giants thwart your efforts to share information, find other routes.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his heroic allies showed how underground communicationssamizdatcould build a movement powerful enough to topple a political monolith. As the Soviet empire collapsed, the bid to control the spread of information will collapse, too. Facts, as John Adams said, are stubborn things. The truth will out.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Censorship and samizdat on the internet - Catholic Culture

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This convoy appears to me to reflect a great deal of legitimate anger and frustration at our pandemic responses

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When Barack Obama was elected it was truly historic. Plus after eight years people were fed up with George Bush failing as a uniter, not a divider. But after eight years of Hope and change, Americans elected Donald Trump, and weve never had a mea culpa that just possibly Obamas condescending attitude had a polarizing effect. Then theres Justin Trudeau.

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Ostensibly hes all about sunny ways, sexy smiles and bringing us together. But watch him in action and somethings not right. Lyndon Johnson, no stranger to hardball politics, was fond of saying Come now, and let us reason together and sometimes he even meant it. Whereas Trudeau recently declared the vaccine-hesitant racist and misogynist without even checking whether they were angry old white men. He just reflexively invoked a mean-spirited stereotype.

It turns out vaccine skepticism is more common among non-whites. Of course they could still be racist, but theres a subject for another day. Or maybe not, because Monday I got one of those vapid PMO statements about commemorating something nobody heard of, World Day for African and Afrodescendant Culture.

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Only a few avant-garde activists know Afrodescendant is the new Black. Not even my woke spell-checker has gotten there yet. But Trudeau is so shallow and shiny he reliably reflects the progressive Zeitgeist, including obsessing over racial differences, which promotes division not inclusion. Especially in a holier-than-thou tone about the basket of deplorables he has the misfortune to govern, the invariable invidious subtext of Mr. Blackfaces smirking homilies about tolerance.

Trudeau is in fact a bully. Remember him elbowing his way through some MPs when he didnt get his way? I think he got away with it partly because it seemed so out of character people had trouble processing it. But Im not sure Trudeau really gets away with his ethical lapses and ruthless responses to criticism, including somehow tossing Jody Wilson-Raybould under the bus.

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I dont just mean his party is stuck at a level of popular support and Parliamentary seats that would have made Keith the Rainmaker Davey green about the gills. I mean lowering the tone of politics can bring Pyrrhic victories that preserve your own standing temporarily at the expense of souring the public mood in ways that make the nation permanently less governable.

It has happened in the United States, and its a tragic, horrible sight. I presumably dont have to remind readers that I was an anti-Trumper before he was even a candidate and have never wavered in my insistence that he was morally and mentally unfit for the office. But I have also maintained that for the other party to spend half its time promoting lunatic causes like defund the police and the other half sneering at MAGA deplorables has made things worse not better.

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Now consider Trudeaus knee-jerk reaction to this truckers freedom convoy. Its the only kind of reaction he has. And it was vindictive and shallowly partisan. I regret that the Conservative Party and conservative politicians are fearmongering to Canadians about the supply chain, but the reality is that vaccination is how were going to get through this. So yes, he reached out. With a wedge in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other. Never mind I see where youre coming from, but please consider this alternative.

This convoy appears to me to reflect a great deal of legitimate anger and frustration at our pandemic responses, including the casual trampling of what we thought were our rights and freedoms. But as Ive said about supporting Trump, the fact that people are asking important questions does not mean they have found sensible answers. So we should be having a conversation.

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To that end, let me seek to bring people together if only by insulting them all equally. Because its not just Trudeau and not just politicians. Even Jordan Peterson, or whoever manages his Twitter feed, recently denounced medical fascists while Ezra Levant said Trudeau wants a Reichstag Fire excuse to criminalize his enemies.

No. Do not give in to the dark side. No Hitler, no cow poop. Lose the tinfoil hats and expletives on Twitter, and mind your manners and morals as well as your IQ in public debate.

I dont mean surrender your principles. LBJs mantra was from Isaiah 1:18 and reads in full Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. So he wasnt exactly weak-kneed or non-judgemental. But he was suaviter in modo, sometimes. He would listen. He would meet you half-way, if only to subject you to a mix of flattery, arm-twisting and, if necessary, rational discussion.

OK, his presidency exploded too. But at least he tried.

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John Robson: Justin Trudeau the supreme divider of Canadians - National Post

Content warning: This article discusses transphobia and misogyny.

Controversial U of T psychology professor Jordan Peterson has announced that he is no longer a tenured professor at U of T. By 2017, he had stopped teaching courses at U of T, but retained a tenured position.

In an article in the National Post, Peterson explained the reasons for his retirement. He claimed that equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) initiatives at the university created career barriers for supremely trained heterosexual white male graduate students and made faculty positions less of a meritocracy.

Since 2016, Peterson has become a major media figure famous for his conservative political views. He has made a number of high-profile appearances on television and podcasts. He has also published a number of books, a podcast, and some online courses. He has often said that contemporary university departments and society at large are overly influenced by identity politics. This stance has attracted a large number of both supporters and critics.

In a statement to The Varsity, U of T confirmed that Professor Jordan Peterson retired in the fall and now holds the rank of Professor, Emeritus.

Timeline of events

Peterson has long been a controversial figure. In 2016, he posted a series of YouTube videos where he spoke against political correctness and Bill C-16, an amendment to both the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) and the Criminal Code, which introduced gender expression and gender identity as protected under the CHRA. The videos were initially reported on by The Varsity in 2016 and drew attention from the media and the world at large, with many students and academics at U of T speaking against Peterson.

Peterson alleged that the bill curbed free speech because it forced people to use certain pronouns for others against their will for example, using the gender-neutral pronoun they for transgender and nonbinary people who prefer it over gendered pronouns like he and she. He continued to publicly denounce the bill for months in television appearances and YouTube videos, which gained significant media attention.

A number of faculty and student groups spoke against Peterson, with hundreds signing an open letter calling on U of T to fire him. Members of the university administration sent a letter to Peterson asking that he respect students pronouns and urged him to stop speaking on the topic on the grounds that using someones incorrect pronouns is a form of discrimination. At the time, Peterson was critical of the letter, describing it as an attempt to silence him.

Protests were held at the university both in support of and against Peterson, including an event called UofT Rally for Free Speech at which Peterson spoke. Reports of multiple threats against trans and nonbinary students on campus followed the protests.

Cassandra Williams vice-president, university affairs of the University Toronto Students Union at the time, and a vocal critic of Peterson said the anti-Peterson protests aimed to call out the university for supporting and enabling people who are causing harm to trans people. Debates were also held on campus discussing the subject of free speech and trans rights.

Since 2016, Petersons profile has extended far beyond the university. His media appearances, debates, and bestselling book, 12 Rules for Life, have created his reputation as a right-leaning public figure and have drawn supporters worldwide. Some of his supporters have harassed and doxxed his critics. He has made vigorous attacks on identity politics, which he often calls postmodern neo-Marxism. Critics have described his various beliefs as transphobic, misogynistic, conspiracy theories, and a dangerous influence on others.

Retirement

In his National Post article, Peterson explained the reason for his retirement. He wrote that he had hoped to be an academic forever but, among other reasons, he was unable to reconcile his beliefs with the appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity at U of T. These facts rendered my job morally untenable, wrote Peterson.

Peterson further claimed that heterosexual, white graduate students who are men face a negligible chance of getting research positions due to the existence of EDI initiatives, and that there arent a sufficient number of qualified candidates that belong to minoritized groups for universities to be able to fill diversity targets.

He also railed against other equity initiatives in higher education, such as mandatory equity training for teaching faculty, which he claimed is ineffective.

In response to Petersons article, a spokesperson for the university pointed to the universitys employment equity reports, which found that between 2019 and 2020, the proportion of appointed faculty who identified as men remained constant.

The spokesperson also highlighted the universitys Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Excellence, which asserts that An equitable and inclusive working and learning environment creates the conditions for our diverse staff and student body to maximize their creativity and their contributions, thereby supporting excellence in all dimensions of the institution.

Criticisms of Petersons claims

In an email to The Varsity, U of T Professor A.W. Peet, who has frequently criticized Peterson and has debated him in a widely seen television appearance in 2016, responded to his claims. They wrote that Peterson was a poisonous presence on campus, pointing to research that has identified Petersons rhetoric as a radicalization pathway for social media users, which has harmed U of Ts reputation.

I am tremendously relieved that he is no longer a professor at UofT. He harmed a lot of members of our community in recent years, including me, wrote Peet.

In an email to The Varsity, U of T Professor Emeritus Ronald de Sousa, who criticized Petersons original comments about Bill C-16 in 2017, also criticized Petersons article, writing that he wrongly portrayed people who are women, racialized, or LGBTQ+ as utterly unqualified.

Over half a century ago, when I was myself appointed to the University of Toronto, heterosexual, white male graduate students such as myself faced virtually no competition, wrote de Sousa. Pointing out that historically, academia has largely been dominated by white, heterosexual men, he mentioned that his graduate universitys policies dictated that no women were to be enrolled. If there simply is not enough qualified BIPOC people in the pipeline, shouldnt we support efforts to change that? wrote de Sousa.

I think [Peterson] should have had the decency to resign sooner, Peet added.

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Controversial professor Jordan Peterson retires from tenured position at U of T - Varsity