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Education – Articles, Analysis, Comment

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Boredom has historically been an emotion both viewed as an enemy and embraced for its possibilities. (Shutterstock)

The fascinating history of boredom

Michelle Fu, University of Toronto

Scholars link the emergence of the term boredom to European industrial modernity, and the standardization of time, repetitive labour and development of leisure time associated with it.
Memories and the experiences gained through play are foundational to one’s lifelong learning. (Shutterstock)

A day at the beach: Deep learning for a child

Lotje Hives, Nipissing University and Tara-Lynn Scheffel, Nipissing University

Through a play day filled with choices at the beach with supportive adults, unexpected challenges and social experiences all help children to build far more than sand castles.
Reports suggest there are more than 100 tobacco-sponsored schools in China, a country with more than 300 million smokers. (Shutterstock)

China’s tobacco industry is building schools and no one is watching

Jennifer Fang, Simon Fraser University

The Chinese National Tobacco Corporation is expanding its international markets through subsidiaries. Is the world ready for tobacco companies sponsoring or supporting schools?
Members of the National Council of Canadian Muslims Mustafa Farooq, left, and Bochra Manaï, right, speak during a news conference in Montréal, June 17, 2019, where plans were outlined to lawfully challenge Québec’s Bill 21. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Québec’s Bill 21 may embolden religious bullying in schools

W. Y. Alice Chan, McGill University

Québec schools must consider Bill 21’s potential impact on students. Bullying researchers have found links between publicly permitted behaviour and personal expression.
It’s important to help children understand that death is part of life. Here, the father, Mufasa, voiced by James Earl Jones, and his son, Simba, voiced by JD McCrary, in a scene from ‘The Lion King.’ (Disney via AP)

What ‘The Lion King’ teaches us about children’s grief

Elena Merenda, University of Guelph-Humber

‘The Lion King’ illustrates how a child moves through five stages of grief with the support of loving friends, family and community.
Reading and books are more important than ever for contemporary society. Here an image of The Rose Main Reading Room at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (also known as New York Public Library Main Branch) – an elegant study hall in the heart of Manhattan. Patrick Robert Doyle /Unsplash

Libraries can have 3-D printers but they are still about books

Paulette Rothbauer, Western University

Today’s libraries build communities and provide space for learning new technologies but it is critical that they continue to be about books and reading too.
Friendliness to newcomers is not translating into friendship in schools, finds one study. Here, a youth receives her Certificate of Citizenship from Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Citizenship Judge Marie Senecal-Tremblay on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 17, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Newcomers and Canadian high school students are friendly, but not friends

Xu Zhao, University of Calgary

How to support students from diverse backgrounds to appreciate the inherent value of engaging one another in close friendships remains a question for educators.
Whether indoors or outdoors, building a makeshift creative space to share the joy of books lays a foundation for early literacy. (Shutterstock)

7 favourite books for connecting with your preschooler

Lotje Hives, Nipissing University and Tara-Lynn Scheffel, Nipissing University

A book nest - or nook - is a cost-friendly way to model and enjoy literacy with your preschooler that invites their creative involvement and offers space for positive connections to grow.
There are many daily ways math can be relevant to children – from using money to matching or counting cards. (Shutterstock)

Math challenges? A school psychologist could help

Kelsey Gould, University of Calgary

Children’s perspectives on math develop at a very young age and have longstanding effects, so it matters that families and teachers promote positive engagement with math skills.
Climate activists block the entrance to the Swiss bank UBS with a pile of coal in Basel, Switzerland earlier this summer. Climate protests are helping raise awareness about the ugliness of fossil fuels, and so too should the language we use. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

Using language to make the world of fossil fuels strange and ugly

Matthew Hoffmann, University of Toronto

If how we speak about the world we want to see is crucial in building support for climate change momentum, then what is visible and invisible, strange and normal, positive and negative, must change.
Why don’t students say math is imaginative? Here, the White Rabbit character originally from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, written under mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s pen name, Lewis Carroll. (Shutterstock)

Mathematics is about wonder, creativity and fun, so let’s teach it that way

Peter Taylor, Queen's University, Ontario

Mathematician Peter Taylor taught high school math to prepare to develop a new ‘RabbitMath’ curriculum that emphasizes collaborative creativity and learning to work with complex systems.
Will eliminating competition at younger ages mean retaining athletes and building strong elite teams? Here, United States’ Megan Rapinoe blows a victory kiss after the U.S. won the final match of the 2019 Women’s World Cup. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

Making youth soccer less competitive: Better skills or a sign of coddled kids?

Ryan Snelgrove, University of Waterloo and Daniel Wigfield, University of Waterloo

Changing how a sport runs means appealing to many people who are invested — like coaches, parents and participants — and managing their concerns.
Queer men are using comics as a medium of self-expression to challenge, destabilize or embrace ideas about body image. Here, an excerpt from ‘Garden’ by Derrick Chow. ('Garden' by Derrick Chow)

Pow! Comics are a way to improve queer men’s body image

Phillip Joy, Dalhousie University; Matthew Numer, Dalhousie University; Megan Aston, Dalhousie University, and Stephanie Gauvin, Queen's University, Ontario

Queer men’s comics are contributing to changing cultural narratives about what queer men’s bodies should be, and health researchers are taking note.
Sunflowers and luffa vines — related to cucumber, gourd and squash — are tended by a Community Roots participant and mentor in a Brooklyn school community garden with their instructor (right). (Pieranna Pieroni)

At a New York City garden, students grow their community roots and critical consciousness

Jennifer D. Adams, University of Calgary and Pieranna Pieroni, City University of New York

Urban gardening is a departure point for learning about land and relationships, as well as food, consumer culture and social activism.
Explicitly teaching graduate students project management - a skill set they typically learn through trial and error - could mean better research and employability. (Shutterstock)

How universities can really help PhD grads get jobs

Derrick Rancourt, University of Calgary and Beth Archer-Kuhn, University of Calgary

Graduate students have much to offer the non-academic workforce based on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Universities need to help them articulate these skills for employers.