WORTHLESS WORDS #1 "I Had no choice…."

When I see that phrase I immediately distrust the person or organization.

Are they trying to absolve themselves of responsibility?

Are they truly unaware of the options that always exist?

It is my belief that for any action that I take, there are always alternatives.
My view is that actions involve a choice and that my choice depends on my analysis of the pros and cons relative to my values and my objectives. Rather than say I have no choice I should acknowledge that as among the range of options that I am aware of I am choosing this particular one. I may even go further and disclose my rationale.

Perhaps there are some actions that are so instinctive, automatic, and swift that there indeed is no choice. A child darts in front of my car and I slam on the brakes. Perhaps there was an option to swerve sharply. Perhaps my instinctive reaction can be regarded as a choice.

In most cases however it is clear that there was a choice and a clear reluctance to acknowledge some of the alternatives.

A factory is shut down because management claims it had no choice. It could have chosen to operate even if at a loss.

A union calls a strike claiming it had no choice. It could have chosen to continue working.

A government imposes additional taxes because it had no choice. It could have chosen to operate in a manner that increases its deficit.

The most recent to come to my attention was voiced by attorney Steve Osburn explaining why his client Mr. Roeder killed Dr. Tiller. "He killed Dr. Tiller because that was the only way to save the lives of the unborn. These were honestly held beliefs and he had no choice". [National Post 2010-01-29]

More correctly Roeder chose to act on that particular belief rather than not act on it or to change his belief.

UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES: BURKA BAN

The French parliament has received a parliamentary report recommending a ban on the burka. The veil [hijab] is already banned in schools. The ban on the burka [head, face, and body covering] will include at schools, government offices, hospitals, and public transport. While the ban will not include streets or shops the inclusion of public transport, when considered together with the widespread use of buses and of metros in cities, amounts to a virtual ban.



As with many government initiatives it is likely to have unanticipated consequences.
With the right motorcycle outfit and dark visor the clothing police can be stymied.
Will such outfits become fashionable in Paris?

BUZZ FOR CREATIVE PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

Buzz Hargrove is now retired from his role in life as President of the Canadian Auto Workers. Now his thinking is exposed in his book Laying it on the Line and in the National Post 3 part series of excerpts. In the last of that series January 21 he wonders "Whatever happened to using public ownership as a tool to achieve social goals?". He longs for the return of "creative, inspiring leadership to show that public ownership, in certain areas, can play a constructive and efficient role in rescuing the economy".

What happened, is that it emigrated to Venezuela where it now thrives under President Hugo Chavez who is demonstrating that very "creative, inspiring leadership to show that public ownership, in certain areas, can play a constructive and efficient role in rescuing the economy".

The creative use of the tool has just been applied by Chavez to supermarkets following previous inspirations relating to steel (2009), banks and cement (2008), oil and telecommunications and power (2007), and industrial farms (2005). Of such creativity there is no end.

That it plays a role in the economy is certainly true. I doubt that it is constructive and efficient. Rather than rescuing the economy it is more likely that it is creating an economy that will require rescuing. Time to put the World Bank on alert.

INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENT

THIS BLOG IS LONG AND SOMEWHAT UNUSUAL. THE BLOG COMMENTS ARE IN FULL CAPITALS. THE PORTION IN NORMAL FONT IS THE TEXT OF THE PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED BY THE TEACHERS UNION.

THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MANDATES AN ANNUAL TEST OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IN ALL SCHOOLS. THE FOUNDATION SKILLS ASSESSMENT (FSA), TESTS GRADE 4 AND 7 STUDENTS IN READING, WRITING AND MATH.

THE B.C. TEACHERS FEDERATION HAS OBTAINED PERMISSION TO DISTRIBUTE THE FOLLOWING PAMPHLET TO PARENTS THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. THE PAMPHLET ITSELF FOLLOWS AND IS IN normal font. MY CRITICAL COMMENTS ARE INSERTED IN CAPITAL LETTERS

THE VERY FACT THAT THE UNION HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR VIEWS THROUGH THEIR CLASSROOMS WARRANTS ANOTHER BLOG. THIS BLOG IS SIMPLY A CRITIQUE OF THE CONTENT OF THE PAMPHLET.

What Parents Need to Know
What Parents Need to Know British Columbia Teachers’ Federation • www.bctf.ca

The students of our province need more time learning and less time wasted on unnecessary, bureaucratic testing.
GOOD IDEA MORE TIME LEARNING. PERHAPS LONGER SCHOOL DAY [E.G. FRANCE] MORE TEACHING HOURS LESS "PROFESSIONAL TIME".

Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) What teachers believe: Teachers believe that the purpose of assessment is to support and promote learning. •
SEEMINGLY UNWILLING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE TERM ASSESSMENT IS USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH DETERMINING LEVEL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.

Teachers know that it is important to use a variety of methods to effectively assess student progress and meet student needs. Ongoing classroom assessment allows students to demonstrate what they are learning in a variety of ways and provides information to inform teaching and learning.
THIS IS IN NO WAY COMPROMISED. IT IS IMPROVED BY PROVIDING ONE MORE DATA SET. PARENTS NEED A VARIETY OF MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. REPORT CARDS ARE ONE WAY. FSA IS ANOTHER.
TAXPAYERS NEED SOME SIGNAL OF EDUCATION ACCOMPLISHMENT.

• An assessment that provides information to a teacher about what an individual student needs to develop understanding of a subject or topic is different from an assessment of how an education system is performing according to general goals for education.
TEACHERS ARE FREE TO DEVELOP/USE WHATEVER INFORMATION THEY FIND USEFUL IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL WORK. THE ISSUE IS WHETHER THEY CAN BREAK OUT OF THEIR PRESENT MIND SET AND PARTICIPATE CONSTRUCTIVELY IN ASSESSING ACCOMPLISHMENT.

• Large-scale random assessments of student performance could be appropriate in the evaluation of provincially prescribed educational programs. The results then could be used only to inform curriculum development, in-service activities, and learning resource development.
THIS IS TRUE AND I HOPE THE TEACHERS AS PROFESSIONALS WILL PARTICIPATE IN IMPROVING SUCH ASSESSMENTS. HOWEVER IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT PARENTS AND TAXPAYEERS RECEIVE EVALUATION OF ACCOMPLISHEMENT THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE TEACHERS WHO PLAY ONE SIGNIFCANT ROLE IN ACCOMPLISHMENT.

What the research says: Research says that it is effective classroom assessment that can help a student learn, not large-scale assessment. This is why researchers have started referring to classroom assessment as “assessment for learning” and large-scale assessment as “assessment of learning.”
RESEARCH DOES NOT TALK OR "SAY". RESEARCH REPORTS. NOTE AGAIN THE UNWILLINGNESS TO FACE UP TO THE ISSUE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IS THE FSA A MEASURE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT [ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING]?

Effective assessment for learning can improve student achievement substantially, and that improved classroom assessment helps low achievers the most. (Black and William, 1998, U.K. Assessment Reform Group.)
GOOD CARRY ON WITH THE PROFESSIONAL TASK OF IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT. AND ACCEPT THE IDEA OF MEASURES TO INDEPENDENTLY MEASURE ACCOMPLISHMENT. NOTE HOW THIS REFERENCE IS OF "ASSESSMENT FOR LEARING" WHILE THE FSA IS CONCERNED WITH "ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING"

Research has shown that costly, large-scale testing can have negative effects on student motivation and learning, and that those effects are greatest for low-achieving students, the ones who most need support.
AND FACING THIS "CAN HAVE", WORK PROFESSIONALLY TO DEVELOP IMPROVED METHODS OF MOTIVATING STUDENTS WHEN THEIR ASSESSED ACCOMPLISHMENT IS BELOW WHAT THE TEACHER VIEWS AS THEIR POTENTIAL. EQUALLY IMPORTANT, AND MUCH MORE DIFFICULT, IS TO FIND METHODS TO ASSIST STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO A REALISTIC VIEW OF ASPIRATIONS RELATIVE TO CAPACITY.

Common negative effects of testing include:
• narrowing of instruction and instructional methods.
TRULY PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS TEACH THE CURRICULUM AND DO NOT "TEACH TO TESTS".

• less successful students concluding they are unable to succeed, and therefore reducing effort
BETTER TO TAKE THE VIEW THAT STUDENTS PERFORMING BELOW THEIR POTENTIAL CONCLUDE THAT THEY MUST INCREASE THEIR EFFORT.

• students inappropriately focusing on short-term performance goals: “What’s on the test?” .
WHAT THE STUDENTS "FOCUS" ON IS THEIR CHOICE AND PERHAPS THE CHOICE OF THEIR PARENTS. IDEALLY THE "TEST" IS WELL DESIGNED RELATIVE TO THE CURRICULUM I.E. TO WHAT IS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED.

• students experiencing test anxiety.
WE ALL EXPERIENCE ANXIETY ARISING FROM ANY NUMBER OF SITUATIONS. ASSESSMENTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT WILL ARISE ALL THROUGH THE EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER PATHS. GET USED TO THIS FACT OF LIFE.

• students, parents, and others inappropriately generalizing test results to overall “value” or “intelligence.”
THIS IS WHERE THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, TEACHERS, AND PERHAPS EVEN THE BCTF SHOULD BE MORE PROACTIVE AND PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE INTERPRETATION.
(Wynne Harlen and Ruth Deakin Crick (2002). Review: What is the evidence of the impact of summative assessment and tests on students’ motivation for learning? Presentation, International Conference, Assessment Reform Group, March 5, 2002.)
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.

What teachers are concerned about: FSA tests undermine classroom assessment and have a negative impact on student motivation and learning.
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.

Teachers do not simply assess students’ learning so they have marks to put on report cards. The main purpose of classroom assessment is to support student learning, not simply to measure it. Constantly assessing the learning of students in their classroom allows teachers to monitor progress and adjust their teaching accordingly.
NOTE CAREFULLY THAT ONCE AGAIN THE IDEAS OF INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT AS MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IS SUBTLY AVOIDED.

The misuse of FSA testing results is leading to narrow and misleading assumptions about how well schools are doing. Under pressure to find improvement, some districts and schools may be eager to report increases that are not statistically significant. Often the increases are a result of practicing FSA- type tests several times a year or simply a result of exempting low-achieving students from the test. The most blatant misuse of FSA results has been the ranking of schools by the Fraser Institute and then reported by the media. Unfortunately, it misrepresents the efforts of teachers and trustees to serve their communities.
IF THE BCTF FEELS THE DATA IS BEING MISINTERPRETED THEN THEY ARE PERFECTLY FREE TO PROVIDE BETTER INTERPRETATIONS. IF "DISTRICTS" AND "SCHOOLS" ACT CONTRARY TO THEIR MANDATE IT INDICATES A LACK OF PROFESSIONALISM. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE FRASER INSTITUTE HAD A NUMBER OF DEMOGRAPHIC MEASURES AS WELL AS THE TEST SCORES. PERHAPS THE BCTF COULD ACT COOPERATIVELY WITH THE FRASER INSTITUTE TO DEVELOP MULTIVARIATE ANALYSES THAT BETTER CAPTURE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VARIABLES. AS FOR THE PRESS, IF THEY ARE INSUFFICIENTLY CRITICAL OF WHAT AND HOW THEY CHOOSE TO REPORT THEN IT IS A REFLECTION ON THEIR PROFESSIONALISM.

What teachers are doing:
• Teachers remain opposed to the FSA not only because it interferes with instruction but it is costly and ineffective in improving achievement.
IT IS NOT CLEAR HOW IT "INTERFERES WITH INSTRUCTION". IF IT IS THE TIME REQUIRED TO WRITE THE TEST, THEN THE SCHOOL YEAR COULD BE EXTENDED BY THE TIME REQUIRED. IF IT IS COSTLY THAT IS THE PROBLEM OF GOVERNMENT SPENDING PRIORITIES AND FAIR ENOUGH TO QUESTION THAT. THE ISSUE IS EFFECTIVENESS. DO FSA EXAMS MEASURE ACCOMPLISHMENT?

• Teachers are asking parents to consider requesting principals to withdraw their children, according to ministry guidelines concerning exemptions, from the participation in the Grade 4 and Grade 7 FSA assessments.
IF THIS DOCUMENT IS THE BEST RATIONALE ON OFFER MY HUNCH IS THAT MOST PARENT WILL SEE IT AS A SELF SERVING DOCUMENT DESIGNED TO PREVENT INDEPENDENT MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.

• Teachers are urging the BC Ministry of Education to adopt a two-year moratorium on all standardized tests, including the Foundation Skills Assessment.
IF THIS DOCUMENT IS THE BEST RATIONALE ON OFFER MY HUNCH IS THAT THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION WILL SEE IT AS A SELF-SERVING DOCUMENT DESIGNED TO PREVENT INDEPENDENT MEASURES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IN THIS RESPECT IT IS SIMILAR TO THE ACTION OF TEACHERS UNIONS IN THE USA IN THEIR OPPOSITION TO CHARTER SCHOOLS, PAY FOR PERFORMANCE, AND A VOUCHER SYSTEM.

• Teachers are calling on the government to establish a Testing and Assessment Task Force to explore the issues, review the research on student assessment, and make recommendations before the end of the moratorium.
THE TASK FORCE IS PROBABLY WORTHWHILE BUT BETTER TO HAVE IT ONGOING WITH CONTINUATION OF THE FSA SO THAT FSA DATA WILL CONTINUE TO BE A SOURCE FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE FSA

• Teachers will continue to use a range of assessment tools in their classrooms to support student learning.
GOOD! I HOPE THEY HAVE BEEN DOING THIS ALL ALONG AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.

• Teachers are actively speaking out and working with parents and others in the education community to effect positive change by moving to another structure for assessment—a random sample.
STATISTICAL SURVEY METHODS ARE CLEAR ON THIS POINT THE ONLY REASON TO USE SAMPLING IS TO REDUCE COST. A 100% SURVEY PRODUCES MORE RELIABLE DATA. MORE IMPORTANT, PARENTS WANT AN INDEPENDENT MEASURE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND SO SHOULD TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, SCHOOL BOARDS, AND TAXPAYERS.

What you can do:

• Write a letter to the minister of education opposing the FSA. • Encourage parents to consider asking principals to withdraw their children from the FSA assessments, according to ministry guidelines concerning exemptions.
THIS IS IT. I WRITE, BUT IN SUPPORT OF THE FSA.

• Talk to teachers about the range of assessment tools they use to support learning. • Urge your board or PAC to support a two-year moratorium on all standardized tests, including the Foundation Skills Assessment.
ON THIS SCORE I AM LAZY. THIS ANALYSIS HAS TAKEN ENOUGH OF MY TIME.

For further information: www.bctf.ca

GOD AND INTERVENTIONS

I recently read a new novel by a friend who has strong evangelical convictions.
I thought of that novel as I wrote my previous blog "the Battle of the Books".
Once again I have the feeling of a situation that is inexplicable to me.
Below I have posted my book notes, which I shared with the author. She elected to blog the crucial portion of it and, more important, to provide her answer to what I consider to be inexplicable.
http://members.authorsguild.net/shannonvan/blog.htm
As I re-read her blog I see once again that the answer she provides is based on a book. In this case the Bible.

"Van Roekel, Shannon. Desert Fire 2009.

A contemporary novel of the genocide taking place in Darfur. It is vivid in its depiction of the death, pain and suffering of the villagers of the region and preachingly seems to say that the prayers of the evangelicals who talk with God "is obviously our best recourse" [author's note"].

It is short on politics [oil is mentioned only once] and on regional separatism [Southern Sudan not mentioned] neither of which are within the scope of the novel. A clever story line deftly unfolds as a young woman journalist gains entry to the region and finds friendship, daily Christian charity in action, love of a good man, and finally faith for herself.

For me, more than the suspense of the story line, was the suspense of how the author would reconcile the evil of the genocide and the pain of the faithful with the religious underpinnings of an all powerful, just, and loving God. Recourse to prayer occurs frequently in the story and seems to imply that God is unaware of events and unwilling or unable to intervene to prevent the horror of genocide.

The novel is certainly ambitious seemingly aimed at two irreconcilable beliefs. One is that indescribable, deliberate, preventable horror of pain and death can exist. The other is that that an all-powerful and all knowing God that "so loved the world…" exists yet chooses not to intervene.

Shannon can certainly create and sustain an intriguing story line."

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

S. P. Huntington, in his oft quoted book The Clash of Civilizations, discussed at some length the potential clash of civilizations between Muslims and the rest of the world.

Recent acts of terrorism and the response of increased security at airports renews the discussion. In particular terrorist acts are typically ascribed to what, for want of a better term, I will call "Militant Muslim Jehadist". By this I refer to those prepared to undertake certain death in order to kill others who do not share their belief. This is not to imply that all terrorist acts committed by Arabs or Muslims fall into this definition, as some may be motivated by politics rather than religion.

I focus attention on those who are indeed motivated primarily by religious conviction.
My argument is that in undertaking an assignment that is certain to end in their death they must believe that they will find a reward in paradise or heaven that is more to be desired than continuing with their life.

Many Muslims have disassociated themselves with that view, do not support militant Jehads or terrorist acts, and sometimes assert that it is contrary to the Qur'an and the religion. What I do not find is any assertion that there is no heaven and there is no paradise beyond death. Why is that?

I suggest that it is because the Qur'an is full of references to paradise or heaven.

Similarly I do not find criticisms of militant jehad from the Western world in terms that clearly say "there is no reward, there is no heaven and there is no paradise".
Why is that? I do find criticism in terms of "you will not be rewarded with virgins" or "you will not qualify for paradise".

Note in particular that both sides seem to accept the existence of a heaven or paradise. They differ as to what life in paradise will hold and what qualifications are necessary for admission.

Now for my main point.
On one side we have those who say, "I know there is a paradise and what life there will be like because it is written in my holy book the Qur'an".

On the other side we have those who say, "I know there is a heaven and what life there will be like because it is written in my holy book The Bible".

It seems that life and death actions have been taken in the past, are being taken now, and are likely to continue to be taken in the future based primarily on which book you choose to believe and on how you interpret what you read in that book.

That, to me, is inexplicable.

A VALID ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

At last our province has enacted legislation banning the use of hand held devices while driving. A good first step but too timid.

The evidence is clear, the use of cell phones increases accident rates. Further the increase in accident rates is equally high for hands free cell phone use.

Yes there are other things that increase accident rates, but this is one identifiable cause that can be dealt with.

Cell phone use by others on the road endangers by life and it endangers your life.

It is the proper role of government to act to protect innocent citizens from the willful acts of others.

We have a law requiring seat belts. While that is a good idea, I really don't need a law to protect me from me.

Enforcement of the seat belt law has been reasonably easy and compliance is high.
Enforcement of cell phone use is even easier as evidence exists in the cell phone log.

This is not an inappropriate restriction on personal freedom. It is a restriction aimed at protecting individuals from the actions of others.

Profiling is good

Political correctness is relegating the term "profiling" to the unacceptable bin.
For me, profiling is an essential aspect of life. When I approach the check out counters at the supermarket I profile in terms of length of the lines and fullness of the carts before I make my choice. I profile restaurants in terms of my past experience with the food and with the service and sometimes I add to my profile the opinion of my friends. The really helpful aspect of thinking in terms of profiling is that it leads me to evaluate whether my profiling terms continue to be helpful, to discard unhelpful characteristics and perhaps add new ones.

Recent terrorist activities and heightened security at airports should indeed call for an examination of the terms of profiling. If characteristics such as luggage or no luggage, age, sex, ticket purchased with cash or with credit card, originating airport, color of hair, or dare I say religion or race are found to correlate with attempts at terrorist acts then such profiling should logically be linked to the level of security inspection.

It is a waste of time and money doing a 100% inspection of everyone. The focus of attention should be on those who have characteristics associated with risk. Of course debate should continue with respect to the characteristics that are used. In the case of airport screening it is entirely possible that a different set of characteristics will be employed in different countries or even at different airports.

Now think of the roadside stops during holiday weekends in which the police are concerned primarily with inebriation. Is it fair to be more suspicious of muscle cars, adjacency to pubs, odor of alcohol, bleary eyes, nervousness, odor of marijuana, youths, and noisy passengers? I think yes.

What is needed now is a more vigorous debate on the profiles that are used. When someone berates the use of race (or religion or age or……) X in profiling then the appropriate question is " What is the evidence that race X has a proportionally higher probability of exhibiting behavior Y?"

THE CASE OF THE MISPLACED i

When I learned that mixed marital art was coming to my city I was delighted. I put it high on my list of events to attend.

Over the centuries this art has flourished. It has varied over time and with diverse cultural practices. Books have been written and books have been banned. Performers have been feted and faulted. It is one of the worlds enduring arts which is strange when you consider that public performances are and have been relatively rare.

Perhaps it is this very rarity which gives the flavor of mystery as if we never quite know whether there is more to it than we have yet experienced. That too may account for the fact that it is not considered part of the normal educational curriculum such as music, and traditional art. The very word art conjures up paints and brushes pencils and easels. Even digital camera art requires the explanatory phrasing.

I am looking forward to the performance. Undoubtedly I would have enjoyed such performances more in my more youthful days. Still I have a vivid imagination and an ever present urge to learn new things. In my minds eye I can imagine the skill, artistry, exuberance and the sheer pleasure of the couples. To see the lithe and youthful participants demonstrating the finer points of their art will be both educational and stimulating. Perhaps some of them give private lessons as do the musicians in the symphony.

What a let down it was to find that my anticipation and my vivid imagination had been tricked by my atrocious spelling. It is mixed martial art coming to my city. The strokes are to be blows, the holds are to be painful and the audience is to be impressed with the pain inflicted and the physical carnage of the maxi muscled participants.

Strange how there are such vastly different views of what is obscene.
Strange the types of performance that our city council views as acceptable.
Strange how audiences are stimulated in different ways by violence and by passion.

Knowledge or belief?

Our local philosophers café will soon have an evening discussing "What do you really know and how do you know it?

I am more comfortable thinking in terms of what I believe rather than what I know.
This has some advantages to me.

No one can say I am wrong when I tell them my belief. They have no way of "knowing" what my beliefs are. I would like to thus nudge them into a query "what is the basis of your belief?" or into an invitation to dialoge, "my belief is different and is based on…".

It compels me to think of my beliefs as subject to modification as I encounter other beliefs, new sources of information, or alternative modes of analysis.

It calls on me to examine the basis of my beliefs. In most cases I come face to face with the fact that most of my beliefs are based on second hand information and that information can be updated or other sources consulted. It is also possible that my reasoning may be faulty.

Most important it leads me to realize that while direct experience and observation are important they provide a very time and space limit to the information I use in formulating my beliefs. Most of the information that leads to my belief is second hand. It is the beliefs of my parents, of my teachers, of my contemporaries, of the books and newspapers I read, of the television I watch, of the radio I listen to, and of the web that I scan.

With this realization it becomes apparent that my "education" consists largely of learning to evaluate second hand information, blend it in with my own direct experience, process it through my critical faculties, and form tentative beliefs. I use the term tentative to emphasize that my beliefs are not set and unalterable but are amenable to modification. This is consistent with the scientific method which leaves all conclusions tentative and subject to refutation and modification.

Personal responsibility is a central core of this view. I am responsible for the information that I gather directly or from secondary sources. I am responsible for the manner in which I filter, confirm, and process the information to form my beliefs. I am responsible for when, where and to whom I express my beliefs.

Personal freedom, role of government, and raw milk

Taxpayers money is being spend by the Fraser Health Region of British Columbia to prevent farmers from selling raw milk and thereby preventing consumers from doing what they might want to choose.

Personal freedom to make choices is of primary importance to me. Yes, I must be subject to penalties if the actions I take based on my choice cause identifiable damage to others.

A proper role of government is to provide unbiased and relevant information to assist individuals in making decisions as to personal action which may endanger the individual or society. It is not the proper role of government to prevent me from making what the government may regard as a mistake.

Our health region is alleging that the dangers from raw milk are sufficient to justify its prohibition. I have yet to see them publish the data supporting that opinion.

Here is my experience.
I was raised as a child in small town rural Saskatchewan in the 1930's. We had no electricity and limited refrigeration. A local farmer delivered unpasteurized milk to us daily. We had a kerosene refrigerator. Others in the town may have had some ice from the ice house or nothing more than a cool cupboard. I do not know of a single instance of health problems arising from the milk. Similarly in the 1970's living in Kenya we bought unpasteurized milk daily from a local farmer. Throughout the 1980's and 1990's on extended visits in France we drank unpasteurized milk and ate cheese from unpasteurized milk.

In my view here are some valid roles for government agencies both in general and for the particular case of raw milk.

-publish data on the risks of raw milk in general.
-publish data on the risks of raw milk in our geographic region. Similarly publish data on the risk of dining in fast food restaurants.
[Note that use of the internet reduces the cost of publication to virtually zero]
-publish data on the outcome of legal suits launched against distributors of raw milk on the basis of distributing products which resulted in damage. Note that this requires proof of directly related damage to identified individuals by identified distributors.
-inspect all food producing establishments as to sanitary standards, e.g. as for restaurants and for safety of raw materials, e.g. cattle for mad cow and dairy cattle for TB. Further to shut them down is standards are not met.
-require labeling of raw milk as is done for cigarettes.
-require an annual surcharge on Medical Service Plan premiums for those who are consuming raw milk. A similar surcharge should be levied on those who smoke. Here the purpose is to compensate society for any additional costs imposed by the results of risky personal decisions. Note that life insurance companies are able to charge higher premiums on those who smoke and yet do not do so for those who drink raw milk.
-require that I directly pay for any medical or hospital costs arising from my consumption of raw milk.
-
The present stance of the Fraser Health authority simply supports the existing milk cartel and the financial health of the legal industry.