While trendy and chic and maybe even clever these t’s aren’t the solution. Many of these cause marketing efforts only serve to create an elitist self serving customer who gets to feel good about themselves and wear a badge of honour. Invariably the focus is drawn to the purchase (as in this article or the RED campaign) rather than the issue.

If you support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation send them $25 and don’t buy more stuff. If you believe in the need for HIV/Aids research then don’t spend $400 at the Gap or Apple Store – send $400 to a reputable charity and become involved with the work.

I have questioned the industrial age education system that we so eagerly support. Besides being antiquated and for the most part useless, it creates tight little boxes that only demonstrate that students can conform. Innovation, creativity, and invention can’t survive in an environment where we are fixated on cursive writing, long multiplication, or GPAs.

While trendy and chic and maybe even clever these t’s aren’t the solution. Many of these cause marketing efforts only serve to create an elitist self serving customer who gets to feel good about themselves and wear a badge of honour. Invariably the focus is drawn to the purchase (as in this article or the RED campaign) rather than the issue.

If you support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation send them $25 and don’t buy more stuff. If you believe in the need for HIV/Aids research then don’t spend $400 at the Gap or Apple Store – send $400 to a reputable charity and become involved with the work.

I have questioned the industrial age education system that we so eagerly support. Besides being antiquated and for the most part useless, it creates tight little boxes that only demonstrate that students can conform. Innovation, creativity, and invention can’t survive in an environment where we are fixated on cursive writing, long multiplication, or GPAs.