On the Nature of Happiness Part II. In a previous newsletter, I raised the issue of ‘happiness’. The famous British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell wrote a book in 1932 entitled The Conquest of Happiness for which he was later awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature. His wife, not to be outdone wrote her own […]
Some time ago while going through a box of books, I came across the volume under present consideration and began to browse through the pages. I was struck by numerous passages that make reference to what in today’s language would be referred to as mental health issues. Given that it is unlikely that you will […]
The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men. Christina Hoff Sommers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000. 251 pages. Dr. David Harley I came upon this book by accident but found it to be not only very interesting but also thought-provoking on a number of fronts. Though now just over twenty […]
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 in the National Post discussing […]
This book begins with several very strong statements regarding the growing crisis facing boys in the 21st century: “…the number of boys under eighteen arrested for drug abuse offenses has increased by more than 50% in the past ten years; boys under eighteen are still five times more likely to be arrested for drug abuse […]
If as Shakespeare put it that brevity is the soul of wit, I stand before you witless. Since giving up teaching for administration I rarely have an opportunity to inflict suffering upon an unsuspecting audience and so clearly this is one of those openings that must be taken advantage of. A few years ago the […]
This book was brought to my attention by a parent who told me that they had found the book helpful and had attended a presentation by the author (a practicing psychologist) in Toronto. After reading the book, I would agree and would recommend it to any parent either currently struggling with an adolescent son or […]
Despite the fact that Boys Adrift was published over a decade ago, it remains pertinent today as raising issues that continue to remain unaddressed and of growing importance. The author possesses the distinct advantage of not only having a medical degree but also a Ph.D. in psychology which in this case serves to demonstrate a […]
The Ten Commandments of Education One You shall not consider your level of boredom to be an index of relevance Two You shall not consider your feeling that something is true to be the same as knowing that it is true Three You shall not consider that a reluctance to do something is the same […]
Among the many books published about learning disabilities and the associated debates, few authors could approach the issues better qualified than Dr. Frances who in addition to serving as Chair of the DSM-IV Task Force and serving as part of the leadership group for the DSM-III and DSM-IIIR, is professor emeritus and former chair of […]