Commentary
When something goes badly wrong in education, it is tempting to blame teachers. Concerned parents and critics may imagine classrooms full of ideological activists imposing fashionable but destructive theories on unsuspecting children.
But this is too simple. Most teachers and professors are not ideological warriors. They are busy professionals trying to do their jobs while dealing with unruly and/or de-streamed students, parents, administrators, grading, extracurricular duties, and disruptive technology.
The more penetrating question is how bad ideas become established in Canadian education to begin with. My previous column used the example of trigger warnings as a case study of how one such bad idea arose, the many things wrong with it and the absence of science behind it. Now it’s time to delve into how and why such preposterous ideas can gain acceptance and become nested….