Comment for "The National"

Hey all,

I've been hooked on the news and specials from CBC's "The National" lately, and actually felt inclined to send them a message. Since I'm sure it was really for my own edificaiton, I thought I'd post it here for all the "world" to see ;-)

Nicholas
Thank you especially for two of your recent stories. Your first, on new and emerging research on happiness as a skill, as something that can be practiced and improved upon, is so simple, yet so mind-boggling in todays society. It is also something that is very important to hear - that we can all learn to be happy, if we would only give it a little time and effort. It is funny though, that we cannot help ourselves and our newfound culture to save time, to make things better, faster and stronger, and so we even try to reduce meditation down to the essentials - we want to get the most "bang for our buck."

As well, thank you for your invigorating story regarding innovations in education. With all the focus on health care, education has fallen by the wayside. This is unfortunate, as education is essential in ensuring that the next generation benefits as much as possible from what we have learned, and it both directly and indirectly links to the level of health of a country. I especially love that todays innovators in education are trying to modify teaching to fit the different learning styles of children, rather than the traditional method of teaching children the way we want them to learn. this idea, again, seems so simple, and yet it is still not widely accepted. I love the idea of teachers who are looking for feedback, who are constently evaluating what they do, how effective they are, and trying to improve upon it. After all, isn't the goal of education to help students learn, rather than to impart knowledge? In medicine, we have finally learned that mere facts and regurgitation is not enough - that we must learn how to be lifelong learners. It is great to see that these educators are doing just that - taking ordinary situations such as shopping, comparing prices, and cooking, and using them as educational tools. Students cannot help but take home this message - that every experience is an opportunity to grow, to develop knew skills, and to challenge oneself.

Again, thank you for your wonderful, insightful, and inspirational stories. I may once again have to get cable, as watching the National with only an old, old antenna is giving me too many headaches ;-)

Sincerely,

Nicholas Wong