North American law schools should do a better job of preparing future lawyers to deal with the moral challenges of their jobs. So says a new study released by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which visited 16 law schools in the United States and Canada, wrote the Globe and Mail Jan. 17. But not all is rotten in the state of ethical education, apparently, especially not in Canada, added the Globe.
Prof. Judith Welch Wegner, a University of North Carolina law professor who led the research team, says she was notably impressed with the two Canadian schools included in the research, York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Law. She says they generally did a better job of developing course work that integrated the experience of practicing lawyers, thus giving students more hands-on exposure to real-life legal quagmires. This was especially true of Osgoode’s advanced LLM program, designed to give graduates specialized training in specific practice areas such as tax. "In Canada, that was much more consistently present," she said in an interview with the Globe.
Lions wrestling alum brings sport back to his high school
Arnold Witt (BA ‘89), principal at Toronto’s Sir Sandford Fleming Academy and a former member of the York Lions wrestling team, helped re-introduce the sport at the academy after a 15-year hiatus, wrote the Toronto Star Jan. 17. Witt, in his first year as principal, was looking for a way to generate interest in sports at his multicultural school of some 400 students. He asked Majid Mohiby, who had no experience in wrestling, to help build a team. Mohiby quickly put together a 12-member squad that has become the talk of the school.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All when learning
Gayle Gregory, experienced educator, internationally known speaker and best-selling author, will present One Size Doesn’t Fit All on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7pm at Seaquam Secondary School in North Delta, BC, wrote The Delta Optimist Jan. 17. Gregory has been a course director in York’s Faculty of Education, and is the author of Designing Brain Compatible Learning, Thinking Inside the Block Schedule and her best-selling book, Differentiated Instruction Strategies.
Polley remarks on excitement among York film students
Sarah Polley agrees that something seems to be afoot in the Canadian film industry, wrote the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder Jan. 17. Polley recounted how she recently talked to a group of film students in York’s Faculty of Fine Arts, who were optimistic that they could make it big in Canada. "They were so excited about being Canadian filmmakers, and about staying here, and I’d never heard that," she says.
Collecting statistics the Third World way
Here, in Nakuru, Kenya , I don’t have the luxury of statistics, wrote York alumnus Jacob Kojfman, Jan. 17, in his continuing column for the National Post on his six-month work experience in Kenya. That’s not to say that they do not exist but my attempts to gather some through primary research have fallen short. Very short.
To get access to the farmers, I have had to rely on the co-operation and generosity of other NGOs and government offices to help me get a representative sample of farmers to tell me their likes, dislikes and dreams about fertilizers – chemical and organic. My dreams of getting concrete statistics – the kind I could analyze and on which I could base my recommendations for my final report – well, those disappeared within the first 10 minutes of my first focus-group meeting.
Kojfman, as the Post notes at the end of each column, has an LLB/MBA from York University’s Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Battle for ca$h
Students from York University and across the province competed for pride and prizes in the Battle for CA$H, wrote the North York Mirror Jan. 16. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario holds this annual competition to give university students considering a career as a chartered accountant the opportunity to compete, have fun and earn some cash prizes.
York was represented by three teams from the Schulich School of Business and a team representing the Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies. Participating students included Laura Paolucci, Zoia Petrossian and Daniel Adam; Ambereen Siddiqui, Muhammad Amarshi and Carmel Chui; Olga Mironenko and Ivan Leung; and Pratik Debroy, Nadia Pulla and Marisa Cugliari.
On air
- York student Jamaal Smith, a member of the York Lions men’s soccer team, and his coach Paul James spoke about Smith’s invitation to tryouts from Toronto FC, the city’s new professional soccer team, on CBC Radio’s “Metro Morning” Jan. 16.
- Bruce Powe, English and humanities professor in York’s Faculty of Arts, spoke about his latest book, Toward a Canada of Light, on CBC Radio’s “Sounds Like Canada” program Jan. 16.
- Fred Lazar, economics professor in York’s Schulich School of Business, spoke about new development near Pearson International Airport and its likely effect on landing fees to airlines, on CBC Radio’s “Here and Now” program Jan. 16.
- York alumnus Matt Galloway (BA ‘94), host of CBC Radio’s “Here and Now”, spoke about YorkU, the University’s magazine, on his show Jan. 16.