British Columbia's education system, if not that of Canada as a whole, has let us down.
Somewhere along the line the goal of educating citizens for living has yielded to training for employment. We certainly need technically competent individuals to staff our public and private institutions, but we also need citizens who can think beyond narrow specialties to make rational decisions for themselves, their families and society.
A competently trained individual, well versed in a specialty, might believe in the tooth fairy without affecting job performance. A totalitarian system may operate effectively with merely-trained, irrational professionals.
A democratic system needs educated citizens who can look beyond their specialties to see the world and life as a whole. It needs voters able to transcend their narrow fields to evaluate their elected leaders.
A test of which of Canada's schools have trained and which have educated will be upon our fair community next month when we will be visited by a self-described "psychic medium."
For a mere hundred bucks, plus GST, this person will provide the gullible with a "welcome to the realm of Psychic Phenomenon (sic) & Mediumship."
For this tidy sum, attendees will be treated to "messages from loved ones who have passed on..." Lucky people may even hear from "beloved departed pets."
How many of our people will attend this seance? Do they vote?
James Loughery
Prince George
