Thursday, January 25, 2018

An Update On The Fraser Institute's Essay Contest



Last week, I posted about the deplorable essay-writing contest sponsored by the notorious Fraser Institute in which students were invited to write about why increasing the minimum wage is bad public policy. The flyer promoting the neoliberal contest was circulated by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.

Now, thanks to the tireless efforts of PressProgress, that board has pulled the contest from its schools:
Following complaints from parents, school trustees announced Wednesday that the Fraser Institute’s essay writing contest will no longer be promoted in Ottawa-area high school classrooms.

Bay Ward trustee Theresa Kavanagh announced Wednesday that OCDSB trustees “spoke loud and clear to staff,” calling the Fraser Institute’s contest “unacceptable.”
The outcry, once it was made public by PressProgress, must have been deafening, A statement from trustee Theresa Kavanagh says a great deal:
“OCDSB trustees were made aware of this contest being circulated in our schools through the media. We spoke out loud and clear to staff that this was unacceptable. Our Director of Education agreed as proper authorization to distribute the contest information was not given. It did not meet our Board’s standards because of the bias contained in the question. The resource materials should have made this contest ineligible. We are pleased to report that the distribution has been stopped and withdrawn.”
A small victory, perhaps, but any win over the neoliberalism undermining our society is something to be truly savored.

2 comments:

  1. Wisdom has prevailed. There is hope.

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    Replies
    1. As long as there is hope, Owen, the battle must continue.

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