JUSTCAWS

The dawn of a new school year comes with a new cell phone ban that has already generated plenty of discussion. Be interesting how this will play out, but parents will play a key role in determining how well enforced the ban will be. Right now, much of the concern has been about getting student and parent buy-in. My experience is that most kids and parents get it by now, that cell phones and classroom learning don’t go well together. Share There will still be some holdout parents who want all day access to their kids, but I believe school administrators will hear more from engaged parents if the phones are not banned in class. Will also be interested in seeing if teachers themselves can practice what they preach. Listen to latest Public #onted for more on implementing the ban.

  The fourth estate in Canada is far too consumed with the State of the American Union than our own  Canadian Dominion.  On a recent trip back from the States, I was looking forward to catching up on some local news as we crossed the border. To my chagrin, the first three stories I heard were about the goings on in the country I just left. While in the U.S. I got my fill on the Democratic National Convention coverage, but it seems the Canadian press believes Canadians can’t get enough of the upcoming American election either.   If you have followed many of my posts, you might find it strange that I would complain of too much U.S. political coverage, when many of my posts contain my take on the goings on in American democracy.  By this point, I would like to think most readers know for better or worse, what they're going to get here.  When I tune into Canadian news I would like to find first and foremost, Canadian content.  What bugged me on this partic...

At the beginning of the Blue Jays season, I said this season’s slogan “to the core” should be called “wait and see”. Well we looked, and nobody has liked what they saw. Too many good starts were wasted by both the continued anemic offense and the average at best, when healthy bullpen.  Fans' frustration has finally registered at the gate, so perhaps someone or some people will be held accountable. Don't hold your breath on that one.   The core players it seems aren’t going anywhere and management isn’t going to fire itself. The only ones with the power to make changes is Rogers and while I believe they are concerned, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has done enough to earn for them, to earn a mulligan for himself. While most discontent is directed at Shapiro’s hand picked GM, for better or worse he is tied to Shapiro.  The term Shatkins didn’t happen by accident.  Even the most angry Blue Jays acknowledge it's the baseball operations, not the business side that nee...

  When a government makes mistakes as they often do, I try not to point fingers. Most issues people have with them are a question of priorities and often bad decisions are only discovered with the passage of time. And others in the big scheme of things don’t amount to much anyways. It is why I haven’t gone after Ontario Premier Ford’s blunders maybe as often as I should. Trudeau’s team in Ottawa are the ones who get me going, because I find their choices so damaging to the Canada I know and love. I always try and understand another perspective and understand motive, but I must admit I haven’t decided if Canada’s Trudeau government are completely inept or evil geniuses. I have argued the latter in most posts, but they do keep me guessing. The issue that makes ponder that question right now is Canada’s rising population. We have all read the  headlines  of rapid growth that has taken off since the pandemic. What makes this all the more incredible is that this record populat...

One way to tone down the rhetoric is for the political talking heads to get back to changing minds rather than seeking attention. After the assassination attempt on former President Trump, there has been a rightful call to turn down the political heat and division in the United States. Elected officials and opinion makers across the political spectrum have condemned political violence and called for unity.  This of course is the right response, but many don’t think it will last. The problem is that in our desire to be heard online we lost our ability to have a civil discussion.  You would think if the point of giving your political opinion was to persuade others to your way of thinking - we would be much better at it.  We’ve lost the art of persuasion and have mastered the put down.  How did we get so far down the rabbit hole?  Many will point to social media and while it is the main culprit, I can’t give them all the blame. We have to be better as citizens and ...

Back  in 2020 made some suggestions of what Rogers could do if they were going to build a new stadium or make some major renovations. We all know now that they chose the latter. They did most of the heavy lifting already, but there’s always more that can still be done. The kids, well not kids anymore, and I have toured quite a few ballparks prior to the pandemic. We’re up to 17 now. Love doing the tours and taking notes of what works and what doesn't.   Had noted some of my observations for ideas on how to improve the Rogers Centre for baseball. Here were my Top 10 suggestions and a comparison for what they did and what still may be to come.   1.  Angle the Seats  - they did do this - but the steep incline has now created a significant blind spot down the line. So expect these seats to be in less demand than the better value ones in the upper deck.  2. Permanent Team Standings Display  - idea here is to have the courage to show everyone where...

  I must say it was nice to see the Ontario School Boards sue the big social media companies for  deliberately hurting students.  While many don’t believe the school boards will prevail in this case, many are hoping it will draw more awareness to the dangers to children of unfettered access to social media. I would share that sentiment, but I take a dim view of virtue signals and hollow gestures when the safety of kids are at stake.  The school boards must take the needed step of removing the gateway device to social media - the smartphone.  If you are going to take the stand that social media is hurting kids, then how can you in good conscience allow access to it in schools?  In fact, the school boards themselves, maybe opening themselves up to the same litigation, once harm to kids is legally established.  Many have argued, as I have, that smartphones will be soon seen in the same light as smoking in the 1950’s.  Back then, smoking took place in...