Buddha

• Buddha is dead.

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• Buddha was only a man: “Notwithstanding his own objectivity toward himself, there was constant pressure during his lifetime to turn him into a god. He rebuffed all these categorically, insisting that he was human in every respect. He made no attempt to conceal his temptations and weaknesses, how difficult it had been to attain enlightenment, now narrow the margin by which he had won through, how infallible he still remained.”

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• Taught He was the only way between the temporal and the eternal.

source: http://www.ankerberg.org/Articles/_PDFArchives/apologetics/AP3W1104.pdf

Postsecondary students across Canada are in dire need of a lesson in Real Life 101.

After staging nationwide protests this week demanding a tuition freeze, students shared sob stories about having to live on Kraft Dinner and vodka coolers.

OK, alcohol consumption was conveniently overlooked during the rallies, but campus bars seem to be surviving, despite these "titanic" tuition fees. Some students even went so far as to call for the eradication of tuition fees altogether.

Perhaps our left-leaning college and university professors have been reticent in apprising young people of a few hard truths. Allow me to burst a few bubbles.

First, no one "owes" you a postsecondary education. You have enjoyed free schooling both at the elementary and high-school levels. If you seek higher education, prepare to pay.

Second, postsecondary education is already largely subsidized by taxpayers. Why should hard-working stiffs making $12 an hour at a factory job hand over even more of their paycheques just so that you can study art history?

As it stands now, you are only required to pay a small percentage of the overall cost. And compared to students in the U.S. you have it easy.

Third, there are scholarships, bursaries and student loans available to you to help ease the burden of tuition payments. There are also things called summer and part-time jobs that you may want to look into.

Fourth, if you don't see much value in a postsecondary education, why bother? Presumably, you wish to obtain a diploma or a degree in the hopes of earning a decent salary one day.

If you are studying something worthwhile, then paying back your student loans shouldn't be much of a problem. If you're studying something silly just to "experience" college or university life, grow up. The province is in desperate need of skilled trades people (who make pretty good money, by the way). A trained plumber or electrician is going to have far more job security than a poet [emphasis mine].

Last but not least, you will take your schooling more seriously if you have to pay for it. Believe it or not, the kids who get a free ride thanks to the Bank of Mom and Dad are often the ones who skip class, forget to hand in papers and participate in numerous pub crawls. These are usually the same kids who flunk out after one or two semesters. The students who actually pay for part of their education generally have more incentive to study and get good marks.

Our daughter is still in diapers. But, if she chooses to pursue a postsecondary education one day, we will do our best to help her out. Even if we won the lottery, however, she would still be responsible for some of her tuition and living expenses.

Besides math and science, English and literature, we think it's important that she learns a few life lessons: Nothing is free, life isn't fair, and you usually get what you pay for.

Contact Lydia Lovric through her website: www.lydialovric.com