The Birth House
By
Ami McKay
1. What folklore and traditions do you remember
from your family or community regarding child birth?
2. What kind of support was there for you in your life? Do you think there is
support for mothers with children now?
3. There is a conflict between the old ways and modern medicine in this story.
Who do think won the conflict? What role did Dr. Thomas play?
4. Do you think modern medicine gives the support women need in their child
bearing years?
5. Does Kincardine provide the support that is needed by women?
6. Do you think women should be free to express their sexuality or should
society dictate? Or does biology influence sexuality of our species?
7. Does Dora’s life reflect the life most women lived in her time period?
8. Dora’s Aunt Fran led a life that is conventional?
9. How were abusive fathers and husbands portrayed in this story?
10. What role did the Occasional Knitters Society play in Dora’s life?
The Great Influenza
The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
by John M. Barry
1. Had you heard about this pandemic before?
2. The history of medicine was very interesting. What surprised you the most?
3. From ready this history, how did the influenza of 1918 spread?
4. Do you think that this would happen today? Do governments listen more?
5. What story stands out the most for you?
6. What methods did people use to prevent the spread of this influenza?
7. What methods did the authorities use to prevent the spread of this influenza?
8. What were the symptoms of a person who contacted this illness?
9. What did the medical profession think about this illness?
10. Did the medical profession handle this disease efficiently and if this
happened now could the medical profession cope?
RACE AGAINST TIME
by Stephen Lewis
1. I have spent the last four years watching
people die. Nothing in my adult life prepared me for the carnage of HIV/AIDS. ..
But the pandemic of HIV/AIDS feels as though it will go on forever. p. 1
- Why is this pandemic continuing on in Africa when it is almost controlled in
most of the G8 countries?
- How is it devastating the countries of Africa socially and economically?
2 This state of pusillanimity wasn’t helped by the fact that schools fees
emanated from structural adjustment policies fashioned by the World Bank, and no
one wanted to lock horns with the Bank. p. 80
- What is the World Bank, and why does it influence the state of affairs in
Africa?
- How are UNICEF and the United Nations helping?
- Are school fees necessary and how do they affect the children’s education and
the social structure of their communities?
- In Scotland in the 16th, John Knox influenced and encouraged children and
adults to read so that they could read the Bible. This created an education
population and no other country contributed money or people. In Ireland under
the oppression and sublimation of the English for a number centuries, hedgerow
schools where illegally established to education their children. In Canada,
schools were established under the police act to keep children off the streets
(the child labour laws would not allow them to be gainfully employed). Why is
this not happening in Africa where so many children want to go to school?
3 It was a perfect commentary on the indelible pattern of male privilege; even
within the Canadian public service, there were so few women in the upper
echelons that when it cam to a preferred international appointment, the cupboard
was bare. p. 111
- Women are barely represented in Canadian politics – What is the cause of this?
- In Africa, women are the backbone of the country, but men control the power.
What comments does Stephen Lewis make about this situation?
CLEARING IN THE WEST
By Nellie McClung
1. Nellie McClung was one of the Famous Five who fought for and
won women’s right to be considered persons under the law. How does this affect
the lives of Canadian women?
2. Nellie and her family move from Grey County, Ontario to a homesteading north
of Winnipeg. Her story of this trip is an exacting tale of travel in her time
period. What interested you most about this trip?
3. How does the family of Nellie encourage her special talents?
4. L. M. Montgomery lived in the same time period as Nellie McClung. Compare
their stories.
5. Susanna Moodie’s Roughing It in the Bush also tells the tale of settling
Canada. What do you think influenced their writing and creating such different
stories?
6. Nellie’s education was finely detailed and her stories of teaching well
drawn. What was your favourite story?
7. What role did the church play in Nellie’s life and probably the lives of her
contemporaries?
8. Nellie’s descriptions of clothing reflect the era that she lived in. How did
people manage to produce their clothing before ready wear clothing was
available?
9. Courtship rituals were very different in this time period. Do you think women
had as many choices then?
10. What do you think influenced her political convictions? Are they apparent in
this book?