The rise of the internet and its technology means the teacher is no longer the expert in the classroom. Dawn Wallin of the University of Manitoba said it has become a “messy situation.” One of three speakers featured on a panel at the 19th National Congress on Rural Education in Canada, she said increasing numbers […] Read more
Stories by Diane Rogers
Farm work spurs health research
Farmers are becoming more like truckers, and facing similar health issues, says a Saskatchewan health researcher. Catherine Trask is studying musculoskeletal and other agricultural injuries in a $1 million five-year project, which includes $500,000 in federal money. The assistant professor with the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan […] Read more
Teaching in a digital age
Will books become extinct? | Study shows many students rely on the internet for information
SASKATOON — It was on a bus trip with his daughter’s Grade 6, 7 and 8 schoolmates that Jay Wilson got the urge to conduct his latest survey. The University of Saskatchewan education professor noticed only one was reading a book out of the 50 kids on the two-hour bus ride. The rest spent their […] Read moreGroup calls for youth to raise voices online
The FarmOn Foundation is urging young farmers to show the public their farming reality through social media on Earth Day, April 22. The Bashaw, Alta.-based group, which has 700 members around the world, wants farmers to post a photo or comment to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #FARMVOICES. “I’m sick and tired of […] Read more
Religion and philosophy are motivating factors
The face of home schooled children has changed since the days when parents chose the option due to isolated farms and distant schools. “Today, parents are choosing to educate their children at home primarily for religious or philosophical reasons,” according to a Saskatchewan Learning department document. “You’ve been home schooling your children since they were […] Read more
Children’s health report grim
Obesity, nutrition worsening | Rates of smoking are falling among Saskatchewan teens
SASKATOON — A recent study found that Saskatchewan youth are doing some things right for their health but a lot wrong. Nazeem Muhajarine, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s college of medicine, said that on the positive side, young people’s smoking levels have dropped. He told a Saskatchewan Youth Symposium Jan. 26 that only […] Read more
Farming provided skills for work on the mound
Jonathan Harpestad calls it self-reliance. His mother, Heidi, calls it maturing. But they both agree that the sports academy he has attended in Okotoks, Alta., since age 16 has taught him more than baseball skills. In his two years at the school, the Eston, Sask., youth has improved his pitching while taking academic courses and learning to […] Read more
Cyber classes keep rural schools alive
SASKATOON — The high school in Val Marie, Sask., was unable to graduate students three years ago because it lost its English teacher. Similar situations in the sparsely populated southwestern corner of the province led the regional school division to develop a distance education network to ensure schools wouldn’t close, students could stay close to […] Read more
Sport academy numbers rise
SASKATOON — Sports has become the new cash cow for some rural schools. In the past seven years, Alberta has gone to 80 sports academies from two. Half of these specialized schools are located in rural areas, said Daniel Balderson, an education professor at the University of Lethbridge. The Notre Dame school in Wilcox, Sask., […] Read more
DIY tackles underwear
MUENSTER, Sask. – The women come in all shapes, sizes and ages to learn how to sew a bra from instructor Beverly Johnson. The Hamilton, Ont., seamstress has been teaching at the annual Stitches conference in Muenster, Sask., for nine years. Johnson started making bras about 15 years ago when she and others complained about […] Read more
