The headlines in Australian newspapers this week have not been kind to the Catholic Church. Gail Furness, the lawyer for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, delivered a blistering speech outlining its findings to date about Catholic dioceses, religious orders and institutions. Afterwards, the Sydney Morning Herald editorialised: “Now we know too, that
READ MOREA few years ago, the British-run Ordnance Survey released a list of 20 basic skills which were nearing extinction among today’s young people. Among the disappearing skills? Reading a map, making bread, and tying a knot. Unfortunately, these 20 items aren’t the only “basic skills” that are disappearing from the consciousness of the next generation.
READ MORERecently there was a dust-up at The Conversation, a site where academics write journalistic articles related to their research, readers comment and the academics respond. It was over the issue of whether men or women work harder and longer in the quest to be good parents—what might be called the ‘parent wars’ (an extension of
READ MOREOn Feb. 4, the Daily Mail published an article headlined, “Exposed: How world leaders were duped into investing billions over manipulated global warming data.” The article centered on Dr. John Bates, a former NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) scientist who claimed to have “irrefutable evidence” the government used “unverified” data in a 2015 paper that
READ MOREMaybe it’s time to stop drugging our children. A new study from the Medical Journal of Australia has found that the youngest kids in any given class are twice as likely to be receiving medication for behavioral disorders as the older kids in the class. And the proportion of boys receiving such medication was three
READ MOREHow “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it,” said Neil deGrasse Tyson, the American astrophysicist and science communicator. Which is true as far as it goes; it doesn’t apply to press releases from scientists and science agencies. Jason Young, the US Food and Drug Administration’s acting
READ MOREThe other day, a judge used a unique punishment for a handful of teens who desecrated a historic school building with derogatory statements: read books. The novelty of the sentence testifies to the fact that kids simply don’t read very much anymore. But why this dearth of reading? After all, parents try to get kids
READ MOREThis morning a friend sent me a BBC video clip describing the common scenarios conservative students face on liberal campuses. At first blush, the quest to turn these students into victims – through scenes of furtive eyes and choked voices – seems to be the primary mission of the BBC. But cutting through the
READ MORERaising children is no walk in the park, but it’s even more difficult when the state dictates what you can and cannot do with your own family. Kiarre Harris is a devoted single mother, trying her hardest to provide her children with the best possible upbringing. After growing concerned that her children were not receiving
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