New Years always seems to be a time for reminiscing about the year that has just passed and prognosticating about the year to come.
Over the past few years, I have tried writing columns predicting the future. It never seems to work. I dont think my batting average would stand up even in major league baseball.
So I thought this year, I would write out my hopes and wishes for the year instead.
The first is around education. I mean this both in the small sense of our education system and in the larger sense of everyone learning.
At the small level, I hope that we have labour peace. I hope that the government doesnt tear up clauses in the new contract. I hope they work with the teachers to provide the best learning environment for our children. And I hope our children flourish.
Over the past decade, our educational ranking in the world has slowly slipped. Our average student used to be at the top of the educational pile. Indeed, in the late 1990s, OECD measurements place British Columbia No. 3 in the world. We trailed only Japan and Finland.
We are not in the top ten anymore. Many jurisdictions have passed us by.
There are a lot of reasons for this. Money in the system is just one component. After all, if teachers have to teach larger classes with many students on individual education plans, it is difficult to be effective. More money could reduce class sizes.
But money isnt the only reason. About 15 years ago, our educational system seemed to take a turn towards testing as the desired outcome. We decided that having kids pass tests was the objective.
Learning took a back seat to memorizing the right answer.
Mark Twain once said: I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. Perhaps that is a point that we should ponder. What do we want our kids to gain? Schooling or an education?
Other forces are also at play. The rise of smart phones and instant communication seems to make knowing something redundant. Why learning anything when you can just Google it? And when did Google become a verb?
There are countries in the world where the educational system still seems to be working. Where teachers are still a respected profession and children are encouraged to learn. Maybe this year we should take a page from their book. Education is important.
This is true in the larger sense. Last week in the Citizen a guest editorial, editorial and a letter to the dditor all appeared on the same day, and all spoke to learning but in different ways.
This past year saw violence against women and children rise to the front of media consciousness. Between the videos of Ray Rice, the banning of Adrian Peterson, and the accusations against Jian Ghomeshi, issues around violence against the person were discussed everywhere from the Daily Show to the national news.
And yet, despite all of this, the year ended with 12 dentistry students at Dalhousie University hosting a web-site that denigrated and demeaned their female classmates. You would think with all that is going in the world these young men would have realized their behavior is unacceptable.
It should not be tolerated.
It would seem that we are not learning the lessons that life teaches us. I have heard people say feminism is dead or outdated. Not when we still have men who have not learned to treat people with respect.
Indeed, there were many stories in 2014 where we seem to have forgotten respect, and not just for women. Whether it is young black men being slain in the U.S., a fanatic storming Parliament Hill and killing a soldier or armed militants executing whole villages in the Middle East, we dont seem to be grasping the phrase live and let live.
My hope for this year is that we move a little closer to world where intolerance disappears and we live in a world where violence against any person is unacceptable.
It is going to require a whole lot of education. It is going to require re-programming our hardwired fear of the "other in our brains.
But it could start with treating each other with a little courtesy and respect.
As to what else do I wish 2015 to bring? Well, would it be too much to ask for the Vancouver Canucks to finally win the Stanley Cup? Or for the Toronto Blue Jays to make the playoffs? Or the Seattle Seahawks to repeat as Super Bowl Champs?
Okay. I know that I might get only one of those three, but at the beginning of the year one can always hope.
Most of all, I wish the New Year brings everyone peace, joy and happiness.
