In the months leading up to their first year, undergraduates will hear several not-so-glorious bits about the ‘glorious’ college years that await them. They’ll learn about the clichéd—yet inevitable—‘Freshman 15,’ they’ll be warned of the self-sabotage that is an 8:30 a.m. lecture, and likely, they’ll be introduced to a persona[Read More…]
Tag: education
American Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos is a threat to students with disabilities
I would not be at McGill University if it were not for the assistance of the United States of America’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law requiring schools to provide for the individual needs of students with disabilities. Guidelines set by the IDEA enabled me to succeed[Read More…]
TEDxMontreal Women conference calls women to action
On Saturday, Oct 29. hundreds of people gathered in Salle Mercure for the annual TEDxMontreal Women conference—one of many TEDx Women conferences across the world. Over the course of the day, 16 speakers gave powerful talks related to the theme, “It’s about time.” The conference theme for the independently-run TEDx event[Read More…]
In appreciation of the McGill Library
When I look at the McGill Library, I am grateful for its extensive variety of academic sources, which have been vital to my studies. Recently, the University of Ottawa decided to cancel thousands of individual journal and database subscriptions in order to make up for a $1.5 million budget shortfall[Read More…]
Measuring McGill: The facts and flaws behind international university rankings
Renowned authorities such as the Times Higher Education (THE) and the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) have attributed many different rankings to McGill in the past year. With such an onslaught of conflicting figures—sixty-fourth, forty-second, thirty-eighth, thirty-fifth, twenty-fourth—McGill’s position as a leading academic institution is becoming more and more[Read More…]
English versus French: A false dichotomy
Having grown up a son of French and Tunisian immigrants in the West Island, a mostly English-speaking part of Montreal, I have had a curious experience with language. Although Bill 101, The Charter of the French Language, was at first necessary to preserve the French language in Quebec, current attempts[Read More…]
Video Games in Education: Turning GPA into EXP
In an era where social media sites are dominated by the likes of Farmville, bars and pubs increasingly entice patrons with the prospect of some drunken Dance Dance Revolution, and even the elderly have been swept by the rush of Candy Crush, video games have successfully expanded beyond their niche[Read More…]
Off the Board: 21st Century Fox/National Geographic partnership signals decline in accessible education
On Sept. 9, 21st Century Fox struck a 725 million-dollar deal with National Geographic, thus ending the 127-year-old magazine’s era of non-profit existence. Under this deal, Fox will own 73 per cent of the new joint media venture—National Geographic Partners—making Fox the majority stakeholders. Only 27 per cent will remain under[Read More…]
From the BrainSTEM: The failing U.S. education system
When it comes to training future generations, scientific research has proven that the U.S. education system fails. In 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) coordinated the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a standard that was developed for measuring the performance of 15-year-old students in math, science,[Read More…]
Fortier confirms 2015-2016 budget cuts at Board of Governors
Increased budget cuts Principal Suzanne Fortier confirmed a budget cut from the Quebec government for the 2015-2016 academic year at the Board of Governors (BoG) meeting on Feb. 2. Fortier announced that she attended a meeting with representatives from other Quebec universities and the Deputy Minister of Education Marie-Claude Champoux[Read More…]
