The world is progressing. Most of Canada moved to teaching children “New Maths” a decade ago. No boring old “algorithms” (add, subtract, divide) - we have machines to do that. Let's teach them the THEORY of number!
Now parents in Saskatchewan are protesting, because a survey shows their children's maths grades have dropped from 12th to 22nd place among 75 countries. The Education Ministry's helpful response? “Our curriculum will stay the same, but work will be done to help parents understand New Maths” (Globe, 11jan14).
Maybe driving schools should move to “New Driving”, where they teach young people the theory of cars, instead of boring old left turns and parallel parking? Or perhaps not ... 100 Americans are killed in road accidents every DAY ... 25 of them because they're talking or texting on their cell-phones (Economist, 30nov13).
Safety is important. This month's Canadian medical journal's first pages advise that (1) we need easier, better abortion pills for all these teens who are getting pregnant, (2) we need publicly available syringes of naloxone (antidote for accidental OD of opiates) because so many of our young addicts are dying unnecessarily, and (3) Toronto has set up a new service for TEEN transexuals, to start their sex-change treatment early.
For some reason I didn't read the rest of the journal.
Our Supreme Court has struck down the law against pimps, because they make prostitutes' lives safer. Will the first pimp be awarded the Order of Canada, alongside Dr. Morgentaler?
See the common thread here ... where are we going wrong?
Three mature women, all professionally trained and experienced, assured me emphatically that:
- legal brothels won't increase prostitution
- free contraceptives in high schools won't increase promiscuity
- free needles and free antidotes won't increase drug abuse.
They were absolutely certain. I think most people are equally certain that
- women will make just as good airline pilots as men
- women make just as good church pastors as men
- gay male couples will can raise babies just as well as heteros.
All those things may indeed be true. But where does this certainty come from? There's no actual evidence either way – so how can we know?
HERE is the problem! We are certain because we are not seeing the world as it is! We're seeing it as we want it to be. With no God, with nothing to guide us except our own hopes and fears, we live in an imaginary world.
Remember when life was easier?
“What day is it?” asked Pooh. “Today”, squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day!” said Pooh.
Tony