The more I think about this the funnier it is...

With thanks to @estaitis.bsky.social from whom (on another platform) I ripped this off.

The poor attendance at lectures, etc., eventually catches up to students on midterms and exams. But these are the students who we can’t communicate with about assignment expectations, about AI, and ironically, about the benefits of showing up to learn. 2/2

Globe editorial: A lesson in the importance of showing up Urgent action is required to reverse declining school attendance

The Ontario government (and Globe) are concerned with school attendance at the elementary/secondary level.
They’d be appalled by what happens at post-secondary. I wish we could have minimum attendance requirements in university. 1/2

www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...

The secret "Premiers-only" tunnel under the 401?

My daffodils, like me, are celebrating the end of the winter semester!

I Bought a House and Became Part of the Problem | The Walrus Homeownership is now a retirement plan, pension substitute, nest egg. And that’s exactly what’s broken

A few years ago, I bought a house with the aim of making it my home. I succeeded. But I also became part of a serious national problem, and shame.

thewalrus.ca/i-bought-a-h...

“Apparently” AI-generated. 😂

One of the funny things about "growing up" is seeing a bunch of the people who used to be big names on the debating circuit when I was in university become high-profile staffers or politicians. I remember Danielle Martin being tremendously good. See also Gerry Butts, Katie Telford, Rob Silver...

I would love it if publishers would go back to having footnotes in scholarly books, instead of endnotes. I /hate/ flipping back and forth. As a compromise, I would love to have space for Terry Pratchett-style "bon mot" footnotes!

Announcement: CHA Annual Meeting 2027 | Canadian Historical Association | Société historique du Canada The Canadian Historical Association is delighted to announce that its 2027 annual meeting will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on the lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anisininew, Ininiwak/Nehethowuk, Nakoda,...

We are thrilled to announce that the CHA’s next Annual Meeting will be held June 14-16, 2027, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We hope to see you there!

#CHASHC2027 #Winnipeg #cdnhist #history

From our Prime Minster, who I am increasingly convinced actually hates education.

If the Hungarians can do it, against an autocrat who actually won a majority of the vote and used his decade and a half in power to stack and manipulate all his country’s institutions in his favour with Putin‘s explicit backing, then Americans can do it. Israelis can do it.

Canada: Hold my beer, eh?

I spent the whole of Friday working through student papers flagged as probably AI generated. Job more interesting? Some might think so. Job more rewarding? Hardly. Job more stressful and soul destroying? Absolutely.

Good. Because this is the kind of shit that criminals do.

Loving all the hot takes on whether Canada has a majority government, or not. It feels incredibly Canadian to have people fighting about what 50% + 1 means :-P

PMs cannot count on all of their “own” people always showing up, or backing their government. It wasn’t the only reason Clark’s government fell on the 1979 budget. But it was a factor.

Lots of people are writing about whether or not Carney now has a majority government. But given the diverse array of people involved & likelihood of more departures (e.g. Erskine-Smith), the question of surviving confidence votes is still precarious. Just a little less so with each floor-crosser.

Historian here, but I don't know enough about Parliamentary rules to know how the current situation might affect things like naming chairs of parliamentary committees. Sounds like a question for @parlcharlie.bsky.social.

So are we all just supposed to “shake off” the fact that the president of the US could very easily have detonated a nuclear weapon yesterday and go on with our daily work and lives?
Because that’s a level of stress that is not sustainable nor easily absorbed.

The official position of the White House is that if the president wants to do a genocide, he has sole authority to make that decision on his own www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Historian and department chair by weekday, Easter bunny’s assistant by weekend.

This is exactly it. You are welcome to use AI, you are well within your rights, and I am also equally welcome NOT to use it and to actively fight against it. Also well within my rights. The right you do NOT have is the right to force me or anyone else to use a tool, even if “it is everywhere”

Tenure-track position in Canadian history at Lakehead!

It depends on what else I have on my plate (I've said yes to fewer reviews overall while I've been chair, unless I'm the obvious expert), but typically 1 or 2 per year, I think.

Your yearly reminder that this account is a prank-free zone today because things are already confusing enough as it is. This is a safe space for the anxiety-ridden. Happy March 32st, everybody.

I don't see this said enough: the widespread use of generative AI is not only making our jobs as educators harder logistically, but also emotionally. It is genuinely sad to be suspicious of students when you have spent so much time building a pedagogy based on trust and not being a cop. It sucks.

I mentioned Article 2 in my Canadian History survey this semester (I always do), but this year had some more pointed editorial comments to make.