If we want our own children to learn to be courageous defenders of rights, we must first engage them in thinking critically about those rights. While adults may feel uncomfortable talking to children about the place of religion in society, we can still teach our children that people whose beliefs and practices differ from their own are deserving of respect and understanding.

In Chad there is one primary school teacher for every 1,815 children, and in Mali, only half of all primary teachers are trained. Consider the quality (or lack thereof) of education within the classroom in areas of our world where students do not have access to trained teachers.

In 2011 the United Nations and all the countries in it adopted an agreement on human rights education and training. The agreement says that everyone has the right to an education that must include education about human rights -- even snarly kids. So why might this principal, and other educators like her, want to prohibit human rights education in her school?

Ontario's Healthy Kids Panel recently proposed a strategy to help kids get onto a path to health. Being in nature is good for all of us. The problem is that the path doesn't lead them into nature. People who get outside regularly are less stressed, have more resilient immune systems and are generally happier. And it's good for our kids.

Overseas students are flocking to Canada to attend this country's boarding schools, believing a Canadian high school education can be the ticket to an elite university.The question isn't why overseas students are clamouring to gain access to Canadian boarding schools. The real mystery is why Canadian students, by and large, are not.