Dr. Harley completed a Master’s degree in Philosophy specializing in analytical philosophy and philosophy of mind as well as a Master’s degree in History specializing in early 20th century intellectual history. He completed a Ph.D. degree in Education at the University of Toronto specializing in educational theory in general and the educational theory and practice of the noted British philosopher Bertrand Russell in specific. His thesis research employed the assistance of Bertrand Russell’s daughter to track down ex-teachers and ex-students from his experimental school Beacon Hill. He was awarded a Canada Council Doctoral Award as well as a Canada Council Post Doctoral Award. He has over 30 years of direct experience as an educational consultant, principal, school administrator and researcher.
The purpose of his blog is to present various opinions, articles and book reviews related to the current state of education and the changing challenges presented to students, teachers and parents.
The views presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Robert Land Academy and are the sole responsibility of the author.
Can Boys Do Better? Robert Bray, Christopher Gardner, Nigel Parsons, Peter Downes, Geoff Hannan, KIng’s Wood, Bristol, 1997, 53 pages. A much repeated fact in many of the books reviewed in this blog is the fact that males are disproportionately represented in the numbers of those with learning disabilities, behavioural...
As the current headmaster of Robert Land Academy, I would like to welcome all of you to this first in our history, a virtual graduation ceremony. The last few months have seen many challenges for all of us. We have relied upon extraordinary efforts by staff to convert our academic...
When I first started my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education, the great rage at the time was the ‘Moral Education Project’. A psychologist at Harvard had come up with a theory of moral development whereby as a result of answering a series of questions, an individual...
Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates And What You Can Do About It Gabor Mate, M.D. New York: Dutton, Penguin Putnam Inc., 1999. 348 pages. Although this book was first published in 1999 it remains currently available in a paperback edition and its history of being reprinted bears testimony to...
This book was recently brought to my attention by a parent who expressed some concerns as to its messaging. I decided to place it on my ‘must read’ list. The exercise proved to be informative and has given rise to the following.
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A Call to Action: Academic Skill Deficiencies in Four Ontario Universities. April 2019 Contributors J. Paul Grayson (York University) James Cote (Western University) Liang Chen (University of Toronto) Robert Kennedy (York University) Sharon Roberts (University of Waterloo) This study came to my attention as a result of an article appearing...