Merry 

Christmas

and a New Year on cloud nine, and over the moon.

Education 13 - Student Or Client

Today, there are changes taking place in colleges of secondary education that should be of great concern to all of us.  For example:

• The student that doesn’t understand why plagiarism is forbidden.
• The male student that demands absence from a class shared with female students, for false religious reasons.
• The student that says it is unfair for one student to be singled out for extra homework.
• The parent that demands certain ‘extras’ because of the high cost of tuition.
• The student that believes in the entitlement of a pass mark for simply sitting an exam.
• The parent of a troublesome student that believes the fault lies in poor teaching.
• The student that attacks a teacher for not giving high marks.
• The student that believes that attendance alone is sufficient for a pass mark.

And the list could continue.  Do we now have educational establishments where the student has become a client ... a customer who is always right?  Where learning anything, has been replaced by the need of an illuminated, and worthless, diploma?

Are students of 2015 ready for a sincere graduation?

Education 12 - Trigger Warning

There is no need for concern, reading this post will be quite safe. 

But, today, in many colleges of secondary education, a new phrase is becoming noteworthy, that is, ‘trigger warning’.  Actually, this phrase has a history of more than five years.  It describes a mandated warning, given by a teacher or lecturer, before talking about a subject that may cause a traumatic reaction in certain students.

For some time, some students have voiced concern that certain subjects, for example, physical violence, rape, a clinical procedure, or cancer, can create extreme reaction in just one specific student without even the student being aware of any apparent prior experience.

In fact, trigger subjects are not necessarily of a violent nature.  The subject may seem to be quite benign, for example, a happy child at play, may trigger a terrible memory of a related tragedy.

Now, there is a reaction by some teachers (and even some students) that young adults in secondary education must learn the life skills that develop strength of character, and should not require a trigger warning.

Are students of 2015 more prone to trauma?

9,000 Views

It’s always exciting when the Pageviews Total has three zeros at the end of it, especially, I should point out, that my own page views are not computed.

This time, reflects a busy month.

Browsers:  Chrome 23%.  Firefox 18%.  Safari 7%.

Operating Systems:  Mac 53%.  Windows 22%.  Linux 16%.

Viewers:  1st Canada.  2nd U.S.  3rd Russia.  With interestingly lone viewers in Poland and China.

Titles:  Religion 8 - Religion or Cult.

         Immigration 4 - Assimilation.

         Aerospace 11 - Great News.

Of Note;  Percentage Formula has, finally, lost its popularity.

Religion 9 - Religion or Cult?

Like, so many people, I have been involved in private conversations regarding the question of fundamental Islam.  While conversation can be interesting, it is limiting in individual scope, such that I felt the need to expand the specific subject of cultism to an Internet discussion amongst my circle of friends, et al.

Thus, this Blog discussion desires your participation.

Obviously, there was, initially, a conversation regarding the development of ‘Daesh’ (A derogative term for the illegitimate organization called ISIL), that changed its focus into the question defining a cult.

One friend introduced a suggestion that the numbers of asylum seekers from the Middle East into Canada should be reduced to 10,000 per year and, then, balanced by increasing the numbers of Asians (Specifically from India and China) on the basis that Asian people had a historic antipathy towards Muslims.  India’s democratic government allows Islam to flourish ... for the moment.  China’s Marxist (Communist) government, otherwise described as “democratic with Chinese characteristics”, seems able ... at the moment, to avoid fundamental Islamic problems.  In fact, in my opinion, there is no fundamental Islamic problem in China.  The whole Muslim culture is a problem according to the government.  It seems that many countries believe that China is correct on this question.

The subject became one of cultism by suggesting that China itself was a cult society.  I had to disagree with this misrepresentation.  China, as a Communist country, bans all forms of religion (Other than that mismanaged by the CCP) and this creates a belief, to the outsider, that religion thrives underground in small groups resembling cults.  In my experience, most Chinese people are very spiritual, almost naive (As may be observed at any Buddhist temple) but not religious in a Christian sense.

Thus, there was a statement that Islam is a cult, to which I disagree.  ‘Daesh’ on the other hand, could be described as a cult, because of its religious veneration, sinister practices, misplaced admiration for a particular person, and being fashionable among a particular section of society.

Now, therefore, the question extends to Christianity, is it also a cult?  I believe that, even though there are small cults within Christianity, it is a religion ... Islam too.  On the other hand, Buddhism would, more accurately, be defined a cult (It does not believe in superhuman controlling powers).

Should cults be banned?  Are we all religious in one way or another, or simply spiritual?  Is it a matter of defining terms?

Please join the conversation.