Musings - Andrew Shackleton

Why Did I Become A Realtor?

Andrew Shackleton — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:05:00 +0000

Why did I become a Realtor? It’s a family trait I suppose, on both sides! My mom worked in real estate as an admin at Canada Trust when I was a teen. And my dad was a stock broker, a sales profession too. It’s funny thinking back on this (I’ve been in the industry over a decade now) because I couldn’t have imagined being a Realtor when I was a young man.

Fast forward many decades and I’m working in the auto-parts supply business feeling completely unfulfilled and looking for a change. And the subject of selling real estate had come up one night while watching one of the many home flipping shows so popular over a decade ago.

Over the next few days the idea of selling real estate really stuck in my head. Luckily I knew someone in the industry who could tell me just what I was getting myself into. He was a former coworker who’d quit a few years earlier to go into real estate in Mississauga. I ended up calling him and offered to buy him lunch in exchange for some solid info about the industry.

We met for lunch a few days later which gave me lots of time to read up on how horribly risky being a real estate agent is. Despite the risk (or perhaps because of it) I was hooked. I can still remember asking him ‘every day is different?’ which is something I truly cherish about the industry. I also remember saying ‘I can do this!’

I’m thankful every day that made that call to my former coworker. The profession rewards courage and creativity which is why I’m so willing to run a website or show my mug on video. And I love the autonomy and limitless earning potential. I only have to give up a big chunk of time on weekends and week nights in return.

But the truly rewarding part is helping people. Buying or selling property is a really big decision and that’s something I take very seriously. The trust and responsibility I am given by my clients is by far the most satisfying part of my job. It’s why I work so hard on every deal I do. See what my clients have to say.

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Organic Gardening In The Kitchen?

Andrew Shackleton — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 16:39:58 +0000

Organic gardening in the kitchen? Wow, that’s not something I’d heard of before. I’ve gardened a bit in the past but I wouldn’t say I have much of a green thumb. Still though, I love fresh food and the idea of growing my own greens is particularly appealing. As it turns out I met someone through a friend who has a business helping people do exactly that www.truleafgarden.com

I met Almas Khalam over coffee to get a little bit more info about what she does, and I have to say I came away impressed. I’d have been a little overwhelmed with information overload if I was trying to start a big project but I’m actually starting small instead.

Truleaf Garden Consulting offers solutions for everyone, from seasoned gardeners to newbies like myself. Almas has a degree in botany and in education so she’s both knowledgeable and approachable. I had a look at her website and it’s very comprehensive. There’s no doubt she’s an expert in helping people set up a garden in an urban environment, no matter what space is available.

To get newbies like myself going Almas has put together a small microgreens starter kit. Her design, presentation and packaging skills are top notch. It’s an amazing promotional piece that’s fully functional as well.

Almas is about to do microgreen subscription box launch, with eco-friendly boxes that are easier for couriers and the mail to deliver. The DIY microgreen kit will remain the same, and subscribers will receive monthly seed refills and grow mats right to their door.

Inside the microgreens starter kit I received, I found several grow mats to germinate and then grow my veggies, a tray for watering, the seeds and some very easy to follow instructions. There are 8 things I’ll be growing: 2 kinds of peas, broccoli, kale, rapini, red and crimson clover and lastly, mixed radish. I can’t wait to get started!

If you’re looking for expertise in planning your gardening adventure don’t hesitate to reach out to Almas. She’s a delight to talk with and clearly knows her stuff. Truleaf’s email is hello@truleafgarden.com

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The Hydrocut

Andrew Shackleton — Sun, 25 Sep 2022 14:13:41 +0000

I hate being chicken. Bravery is a requirement in my sport. And fear stops me from doing things. Most of the time when I squeeze the coward levers too hard or simply roll too slow I just fall over. For many obstacles such as rock gardens or rooty climbs, momentum is your friend.

There are many places at the Hydrocut where fear intrudes. I don’t like this. There are several boulders I have never rolled. It’s being scared for sure but is also just me riding solo. It’s hard to try new stuff without relying on someone more skilled to lead the way.

And there are drops out there too, and they keep adding more.

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with drops for a quarter century. Wheelie drops off the patio at Ethels. Jumping down small stair cases. Launching myself off the smaller ones at the Hydrocut.

I’m not really going off anything high. A few feet at most. But I suffer from a lack of mastery. And there’s almost always that fear. I have to force myself to be brave. Pitching myself off the lip and not being able to see the landing is especially scary and also a huge rush. I think this is why I like it.

My lack of grace and precision does cause some unintended directional changes from time to time. Having my ride try to shoot me into the trees is not a good feeling. I’d guess I’m not landing straight or my bars are slightly turned. There’s often a terrifying second or so where I feel the front trying to wash due to beaking in the front. But I haven’t crashed from doing drops, not ever.

I was at the Hydrocut back to back the last two days. Perfect fall weather. And Adam’s Run has been calling me. I stayed away on day one out of fear but also due to rustiness. This trail scares me a lot. It’s evolved into something I don’t know. A few years back I could ride it easily. There are new drops. I’ve seen them on youtube, on facebook. They look intimidating, and require bravery I wasn’t sure I could muster up.

I roll through the first rock garden and stop, checking out the first small drop. I hear a rider coming who I’d been chatting with at the trail head. He rolls through perfectly, and I follow suit, catching up with him a few seconds later.

I’m not fast, he’s just waiting for me, to help, to be my guide. I know the trail mostly, but I’m unsure of where the new stuff is and how fast I need to hit it. We come around a corner and there it is, looking just like a boat dock jutting out into the abyss.

From video, I know the chicken line is the left. It’s what I’d planned on hitting. But my guide chucks it off the higher drop. He’s on a fully and I’m on my first home made frame, a hardtail with a 20 year old 80 mm fork. I follow him off anyway.

The ramp is only about 18 inches high but I go off with some decent speed. I land hard, several feet down the trail on the sloped transition. I haven’t dropped in that high ever. I’m stunned that I didn’t break my frame being I’ve been riding it with a cracked and repaired chainstay for twelve years now. I am elated that I had the courage to do this and that my bike did me solid.

A few minutes later I get a flat. I yell out to my guide and he carries on without me. I throw in a new tube and get going again. Next up is ‘the patio’. I saw this online as well and thought I’d be able to roll it. No such luck. I got too slow on the first level and ended up in the bushes. I’m way out of my comfort zone and I walk the rest, tail between my legs.

There are more drops of course and I’m feeling good about hitting them, buoyed by my earlier success. I come up on two, back to back. The first is easy so I roll it, but the second looks scary just because of the rocks it’s constructed from. I stop and take a peek (on foot) and realize it’s easy too.

Back up the hill I go. I see a kid I’d noticed earlier because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. I mention that the drops are easy as he goes whipping past. I hop on and follow him. Is he my next guide?

I launch off the first one and then the next. I had a bit of speed because I wanted to clear some rocks just past the lip of the drop. And I land perfectly but harder than what I was expecting. The landing is all I am focused on. Having tunnel vision and not looking up the trail is another of my flaws. Here’s a YouTube link to the screen shot of someone else doing the same set of drops starting at 2:36.

Unlike the guy in the screenshot I don’t notice the pumpkin sized rock until it’s too late. And ten feet beyond it is the tree where the orange bike is parked. I was lined up perfectly with both. I’d hit a tree last winter at jogging speed and I was limping for a month. But this time I was trucking along pretty good. It’s not very often that I think about death. This was one of those moments. ‘I’m &%$@ed’ sums it up.

The front wheel hits the rock and the next thing I am slammed into something, hard. Luckily it’s not the tree, not entirely. I’d hit the ground head first followed by my right shoulder. I don’t remember this sequence but it’s easy to see where the abrasions are looking in the mirror. The bike bounces off the tree, taking out big chunks of bark.

I don’t think I was knocked out but I wasn’t moving either. I’m all jumbled up lying face down in the dirt. My entire right arm from shoulder to finger tips was numb and tingling like crazy. My face hurt and my neck too. I feel wetness running down my face. A drop of something hits the dirt. My old eyes are too close and I can’t make out what it is.

Helmetless guy, having heard the commotion, yells ‘are you okay?’ a few times, and not hearing my reply returns and asks me again. I tell him I’m not sure, and ask him if I’m bleeding. By this time I’ve gotten back up, half staggering. I am rattled to the core.

A true gent, the young guy rides out to the top of Adam’s Run with me. I thank him again and head back to my car on the doubletrack. I’ve had enough for the day.

My bike is fine and I am mostly but my helmet is done. It’s broken, not badly, but enough to know that I’d be in the hospital if I wasn’t wearing it. The blood was from my glasses getting smashed into my face when I hit. I have some scrapes and bruising on my forehead and some very minor abrasions on my right shoulder and leg.

I think I came pretty close to breaking my neck. My neck is sore and I’ve lost range of motion overnight while I slept. My spine between my shoulder blades is also tender. My daughter bugged me to call the doc which I did. That got me nowhere because it was Saturday so I called Telehealth Ontario. It’s been more than 12 hours and I am still waiting for an on call nurse to get back to me.

Dodged a bullet and another tree, yet again. Still processing this. Is it crazy I still want to drop off stuff?

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The Life and Death of a Dog

Andrew Shackleton — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 00:23:00 +0000

No clickity click on the steps when I hear her coming down the stairs for her first treat of the day. Our vigil is over. My wife is asleep in our bed for the first time in weeks. Not a sound sleep surely, how could that be? My first dream of last night, or at least the only one brought to the surface of my consciousness was the death of our dog. And this woke me up and I laid there empty and sad until I fell back asleep.

She was a remarkable dog, the best. ‘The dog’, stolen directly from Plato’s forms according to my daughter Miranda. Her provenance; a hurricane, a product of Katrina. Feral? Abandoned? We don’t know. She was rescued in Louisiana in the summer of ’06 and spent the next six months itinerant, moving from pound to pound until she finally crossed our borders and ended up at the Cambridge Humane Society.

I can’t remember her original name. But everything else is burned into memory. The smell of utter despair that pounds have. Our dog lying on cold concrete, sick and isolated because she doesn’t get along. She was 20 lbs underweight, skinny and brindle coloured.

My wife had found her mug shot online. When we brought the kids for the second visit they were instantly smitten. The dog had a habit of reaching up with her paws for hugs, sealing her fate.

I know why I am writing this down. I don’t want to forget how I feel. Memories of the joyful car ride home just brought on another wave of anguish as I am typing this. Tears are running down my face, half filling my eyes and blurring the keys. And again I am reminded of how much I miss her.

Somehow she knew she was safe. But still it took her two days to venture upstairs. And I can remember how surprised and happy she seemed when she came back down the stairs for the first time.

She became Tora soon enough, because of her colouring and pattern. And I quickly made her fat from too much people food. Hillary and Miranda busted my chops for this almost the entire time we had her. But we got her down to 55 lbs where she stayed for most of her life.

Dog stuff happened over the next year, and the next, and then she was here for a decade, in the blink of an eye. My kids grew into adults while she grew old.

She was always a lumpy dog and early on we had our first cancer scare. Half an ear was removed and then lumps. There are bad vets though, and ours at the time seemed to book a lot of lump removals before hitting the Caribbean.

The vets we have now are the ‘do no harm’ type who actively avoid surgeries. But more lumps came, two in a row, both benign. The first resolved on its own. The second, massive and bloody, removed. And somehow she stayed healthy.

A few more years ticked by and the certainty that I would be dealing with the death of our beloved pet became ever stronger in my heart. Statistics don’t lie and she was really old.

She was healthy and then she wasn’t. April 30th was not a good day. ‘Weeks or months’ is not something you want to hear.

The battle with cancer was always going to be a losing one. So we concentrated on quality of life. And it became a battle with meds instead. They were working it seemed. 4 weeks came and went and then we were into ‘months’.

But things were going downhill. The meds weren’t working quite so well anymore. But how do you gather the strength to have your pet put down, to kill her? Early Thursday we were thinking she’d get through the weekend and we wouldn’t have to make that horrible decision, at least not yet.

It is Friday, June 5th. I am awake, lying there, dreading getting out of bed yet again, and she is worse. The tramadol just isn’t enough. At this point her quality of life is all that matters. The family, with Simon and Hillary on video gathers together with Tora, out back in the shade under a tree. We know what we must do. No deathbed confessions, clearing the air, or things left unsaid; she’s a dog. And she knows she is loved.

The heavens opened up on us 10 minutes before the appointment, capping off a terrible day in a terrible month in a terrible year. We couldn’t all be with her due to Covid, and only Jude and Miranda are allowed inside.

But I needed to say goodbye, to see her one last time. I run to the hatch and help Miranda cradle Tora in her arms. and rain kisses on her again and again, telling her that I loved her and that I was sorry she was in pain. And then she was gone, taken away inside, never to be seen again by these eyes.

A long time later my wife and kid return. They tell me it was peaceful and good. There was a candle. The vets were very kind.

We are a mess. Her presence is everywhere. Miranda is gathering photos. I am writing. Jude has looked for the dog a few times by mistake. I have too.

She was bum-bum, butt-butt, clawser, baby bear claw, bloopy, big baby, muffin and of course, Tora. She was 14. I am gutted, so very sad, tears pouring down my face as I type this. She was a good girl.

Tora
Born February, 2006, Louisiana, U.S.A.
Died June 5th, 2020, Waterloo, ON
Always Loved

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Rodding For Reading 2018

Andrew Shackleton — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 01:49:32 +0000

The sweet smell of unburned hydrocarbons hit my nose and I knew I’d arrived. The 2018 Rodding For Reading classic car show provides financial support for The Literacy Group of Waterloo Region. These old cars brought me right back to my youth when gas was very cheap indeed. The Lead Kings Car Club provided the beautiful machinery. We lucked out with perfect weather and a great turnout.

The Literacy Group provides a number of great programs helping adults improve their skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics or using modern electronics. I volunteer with TLG helping people update their IT skills and really enjoy seeing the progress made by our students. Our volunteer work is free, but the cost of running our programs is not. Rodding For Reading is crucial for raising funds and awareness for the important work done by The Literacy Group.

Here’s a pile of shots from the 2018 Rodding for Reading show!!

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Fighting For Literacy In Waterloo Region

Andrew Shackleton — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 02:52:41 +0000

There’s little doubt people have struggled with literacy ever since written languages were invented. In many cases this was and is due to economic factors such as poverty. Literacy was also a tool that the nobility and clergy used against the peasantry. The use of Latin in church and politics is but one example. As well the written form of many languages can be difficult to master without a formal education.

Literacy rates throughout the world have soared in my lifetime along with better living standards and life expectancy. But the progress has been uneven, across nations and continents, and on an individual level. Literacy in Waterloo Region is an issue too, despite being one of the best educated communities in Ontario.

For a variety of reasons many people struggle with literacy in all or some of its forms. The basics are as important as ever; reading, writing and arithmetic are essential. But there’s also a deficit in technological literacy for many of our citizens. It can be a struggle to operate a computer or smart phone and people are missing out on so much of what the technology offers.

I volunteer with The Literacy Group of Waterloo Region. Our mission is to develop and deliver accessible and effective literacy programs for adults in the Waterloo Region. We believe that every person in Waterloo Region should have access to the resources they need to build skills that will empower them to engage fully in their community.

My present role involves helping people better use modern communications technology.

Imagine not being able to connect to the internet, or not being able to set up your cell phone correctly. How would you talk with friends who are using gmail or texting? That entire avenue of communication would be lost.

Worse still would be having some rudimentary skills to get yourself online only to have your banking info or ID stolen. Viruses are a massive problem too. Even at my skill level the last attack I experienced took me four hours to clean up.

While I applaud government initiatives to teach coding in primary school, the benefits are at least a decade or more away. Our clients need help now.

For a lot of people this is very basic stuff. I set up gmail on two people’s phones the other day. That’s no big deal is it? But I’d bet it matters to them a whole lot more! Conversely I also know a young man who already has good skills but wants more than the menial auto sector work he’s currently doing. He’s forward thinking and wants to get the digital literacy certification we offer.

The Literacy Group provides services in the 3 R’s, job coaching and resume writing too. One of our programs gets people ready to finish high school. Mastery of any one of these things puts our people in so much better a place. And they are free to do more and learn more if they see fit to do so.

Check out Rodding For Reading, one of our annual fundraising events!

Fun aside, this stuff matters. Fighting for literacy in Waterloo Region (and everywhere else) is important. That’s why I volunteer.

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Making A Hand Made Bicycle Frame

Andrew Shackleton — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 20:12:01 +0000

My second hand made bicycle frame is done, aside from brazing on the various fittings for brakes and gears. Saying it’s a long project is an understatement. I began ordering parts and tubing just after my 50th birthday almost 4 years ago. Starting a new career the same time I began planning the bike definitely hurt my building pace, but fear was actually the bigger factor in the delay.

Designing a frame is easy with CAD programs like Bike CAD. However, the dimensions and angles chosen are really important for ride and handling so I used numbers that mirror those of high performance bicycles available today. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel or experiment. I just want a nice bike.

The free design software that I used doesn’t provide all of the dimensions for building the frame, so a refresher course in trigonometry is mandatory if you are as rusty as I was when I built frame # 1. The trig is needed to figure out the angles the various tubes meet at and their lengths.

Choosing the right tubing really matters. Lightness is very important but comes at the expense of both money and work-ability. The more expensive stuff is as thin as 0.4 mm in places and super strong, but unforgiving of poor technique in building. Tubing diameters affect the flexibility of the frame with larger diameters being stiffer than smaller ones. Smaller frames are stiffer than bigger frames if built with the same tubing choices. I’m tall but skinny at 180 pounds and get away with tubing diameters that wouldn’t work for a 240 pound man of the same height.

I ordered tubing from Henry James, and then did nothing with the tubing for months as I was busy with school, family and work. Eventually I got to work and started on the first joint between the bottom bracket shell and the seat tube.

This is an easy joint. Having the parts square and centered is the only concern. The seat tube’s miter is made with a tube miter program which generates a pattern that you print, cut out and tape to the tube. Some spray paint on the tubing and paper leaves behind a mask showing where to cut away the steel. The BB shell gets a vent hole drilled where the seat tube meets.

The next joint is easy too. However, lots of math is needed beforehand to get the correct placement of the paper miter masks on the opposite ends of the down tube. The head tube to down tube joint has to be at the exact angle called for in the plans. A vent hole is drilled like before.

Joining the down tube to the BB shell and seat tube is difficult and I balked at the work for over a year. 4 tubes need very careful scrutiny. The head tube needs to be parallel to the seat tube and also on the same plane. The down tube has to meet the BB shell dead center and perpendicular, and also needs to be at the angle determined from the plans in relation to the seat tube.

The down tube can’t actually meet the BB shell unless some of it is cut away because the seat tube is in the way. Cutting away the down tube is done entirely by eye. The orientation of the seat tube-BB shell assembly must be checked before drilling a vent hold for the down tube so that the reverse threading ends up on the correct side of the frame.

Here’s where I talk about the fear factor. Fillet brazing, the method I use to build frames, generates a lot of heat. The process brings the steel up to 1500 f., just hot enough to melt the brass rod used to join the various tubes, but below the melting point of steel. Brass is sweated into the the slight gap between parts and then built up in a fillet which is then filed down smooth. Like welding, the process can cause warping in the finished joint.

Controlling the amount of warping is what separates the experts from the amateurs and this is only my second frame. This time I know things are going to warp but I’m scared of breaking stuff when I begin cold setting, having cracked a tube on my first frame. ‘Cold setting’ is the industry term for bending everything back into alignment after the frame is cool. The bicycle industry has machines for this job but I have nothing more than my strength and some creativity.

I eventually get the complicated assembly jigged up and brazed and it comes out with some warp between the down tube and BB shell. They aren’t perpendicular and it’s a massive effort to bend them back into alignment. I end up clamping the BB shell to my 180 lb surface plate and cold set by pulling up on the down tube with all my might, finally coaxing the metal back into place.

Like last time I use a sleeve for the seat tube to top tube joint. This one is pretty stylish compared to my first one and it gets brazed into place with no issues. The next tube goes in easily enough and my ‘front triangle’ is finished, and like before, sits in my basement for at least another year.

Constructing the rear triangle is almost as hard as the front triangle and you have to do it twice, once for each side of the rear wheel. Screwing this up is a big fear and I dabble with ideas for jigging up the parts for several months before finally coming up with a workable solution.

The chain stays aren’t round so I cut the miters by hand. They meet the BB shell at somewhat of a Vee, an angle determined by some consideration. How wide are the biggest tires I might want to use? What’s the axle spacing? How much room do I need for the big and small rings on the cranks?

Once this is sorted out, the stays need to be jigged up and set at the correct angle in relation to the seat tube. This angle is a degree less than my plans called for because my dropouts sit 1 cm below the center line of the chain stays.

I get some warping again, with both tubes out a few degrees. It was a monumental effort to get them property aligned using pipes, a bench vise and a lot of muscle in the process.

The seat stays were easy by comparison although I nearly ruined one of them by cutting it too short. I ended up locating them a bit lower than I wanted, but this is merely a matter of aesthetics.

Installing the dropouts was the scariest and most rewarding part of this build by far. The chain stays and seat stays were the right length, and were correctly aligned, but I still wasn’t happy. I put the frame back in the vise and pulled the left side chain stay out another mm.

I check the alignment again with the dropouts set in place and the real wheel installed. Finally I can see what’s needed. A dozen file strokes off the right side seat stay and about the same amount off the left side chain stay. I remove a nick from the dropout which is preventing it from fitting snugly.

The dropouts are brazed to the seat stays, and then an alignment check once things have cooled. It’s good but I’m nervous. I do the chain stay joints and try to wait for things to cool. I throw on my welding gloves, grab the hot frame and a rear wheel. It goes in perfect, absolutely spot on, and I couldn’t be happier.

The tough stuff is done. The alignment is perfect. Hours later I have the joints filed down and the frame is gleaming! I’m obviously stoked, but riding is still a few days or even weeks away. First thing I need to get the head tube and BB shell faced and the threads of the BB shell need taps run through them. I don’t have the tools needed for these jobs but its work that any well equipped bike shop can do.

I realize that I should have installed the chain stay bridge before getting the machining done. I spend a day panicking over what to do because my chain stay bridge is only an inch away from the back of the BB shell and I’m worried about warping the surfaces I just got machined.

A bridge is a part that causes an ton of debate on the internet. There’s usually two, one connecting the seat stays and one connecting the chain stays. Some frames use them and others don’t. I’m heavy enough to warrant using both, so I figure out how to protect the BB shell by using some kiln insulation I have from another project. It works, and I get the chain stay bridge in place on the morning of my 54th birthday!

Adding the braze-ons for shifting, stopping and water bottle mounts is child’s play in comparison to what I’ve done so far, but still quite time consuming. It’s only after these things are done can I begin the final assembly of the boxes of components I’ve collected for the build over the last 4 years. That’s only a couple of days’ work at most, so I’d better get busy!

Update February 25th 2018
Here’s some more shots of the complete bike after powder coating.

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The Fraser Institute and the EQAO in Kitchener Waterloo

Andrew Shackleton — Mon, 04 May 2015 03:15:47 +0000

Truth be told, I’ve been struggling all week with the schools rankings from the Fraser Institute and the EQAO in Kitchener Waterloo. The institute’s rankings are based on data from the provincial government’s Education Quality and Accountability Office that does standardized testing.

I’ve read numerous articles, a few academic papers, and talked at length with my mentor in Mississauga, and my wife as well, about what the data tells us about economic and social inequality and how these factors may affect the educational outcomes of the students attending the majority of low-performing schools.

Fundamentally I believe that existing structural biases against economically disadvantaged members of society are exacerbated by a broken educational funding model. Students’ futures should not be dictated by an academic funding model based in part on laissez faire capitalism. While I am not so naive to believe that people are equal, I most certainly believe that all children should have the same opportunity when using an educational system that is funded by taxpayers as a whole.

Our present system is so underfunded that fund raising for supplies and programs has been de rigueur for decades and extra-curricular activities and trips almost always have a cost to them. Because of this students of wealthier neighbourhoods have substantially better participation in everything their schools have to offer, with the schools themselves being able to fund and support programs and activities far more easily than schools in less advantaged areas.

In a less advantaged neighbourhood parents are often working hard at low paying jobs with little extra income and time to devote to their local school’s funding needs. Putting food on the table and paying bills are priorities. In addition if lower income people are fortunate enough to own a home much of the ongoing maintenance burden falls squarely on them alone, eating up quality time with their children. Time-saving contractors or repairmen are usually an expense that they are unable to afford. Those living in rental accommodation have no opportunity for asset appreciation afforded by home ownership and face the very difficult dilemma of stagnant wages and real inflation far above Statistics Canada’s nonsense.

The necessities of life and the need for long hours at the work place in order to make ends meet leaves less time for quality interaction with the children of poorer parents. The parents themselves often have less education that societal averages, including graduating from high school or attending college or university. I would assume that these same parents will be generally be less effective in their roles as advocates and educators of their children, being less able to help with homework and less capable in dealing with issues at school that many children go through.

Being poor has long term negative health outcomes for parents and children alike and a school culture that is shackled by monetary issues is a further detriment. In my opinion the poorer schools are in need of more funding, not less, in respect to the provincial average. Certainly the well off schools need no help at all as most of the kids attending them have substantial economic and social advantages already and do better academically all the way through their educational lives.

Taxation is the key to this issue and it is high time that the business community again paid a fair share. We citizens pay too much already and the percentage of taxes paid by corporations has dropped steadily year over year for decades. For the average person the economy is not fine, and this is something that the media parrots as well, but this is an untrue sentiment when one looks at numbers related to wealth generation and accumulation.

Economically the very wealthy are doing better than ever with enormous gains to net worth over the last decade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is playing regularly with 18,000 points and the Toronto Stock Exchange Composite Index is sitting above 15,000. Of course anyone with spare cash bought heavily in March of 2009 when the TSX was sitting at 7,500 and the DJIA at 6,800. It goes without saying that those with the spare cash includes wealthy corporations as well as privileged citizens. The average Canadian with who can actually afford to save for retirement usually has less than 6 figures in his or her RSP and a surprising number of Canadians put away nothing at all for their future. I don’t think it would be a stretch to assume that these latter individuals are often the parents at the low performing schools.

Through an increase in the corporate tax rate we can substantially reduce the economic inequality faced by so many of our young people by funding school programs and activities equally and by providing extra support for our most disadvantaged. Children should not be penalized because of their parentage, home life, lack of finances or neighbourhood. Children should be blameless in a country as wealthy as Canada and should be accorded equal opportunity to succeed.

That being said any parent I’ve ever met wants the best for their children and I am no different. My wife and I made choices as to where we live and where our kids went to school because we love them and want the best for them. Needless to say we did not send our kids to schools in the low performing areas but you may be surprised that we also considered elitism and arrogance as detriments to our kids and made sure that they did not attend a particular high school that has a reputation for exactly that.

Sadly there are way too many parents that teach their kids that they are better than everyone else. I’m sorry, arrogance is not a virtue. I have always taught my kids that they are fortunate that they are bright and luckily they have grown up to be kind and compassionate individuals with a healthy amount of humility despite doing very well in school. I hope you share my sentiments on this matter.

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