HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-09-07, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017.
Editorials
Opinions
Publisher: Keith Roulston • Associate Publisher: Deb Sholdice
Editor: Shawn Loughlin • Reporter: Denny Scott
Advertising Sales: Brenda Nyveld • Heather Fraser
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Classroom resources needed
As many Ontario elementary school teachers went back to the
classroom last week to prepare for the beginning of classes this week,
you can bet some took time to complain about the latest report of the
Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO).
According the EQAO, only 50 per cent of Grade 6 students met the
standard for mathematics, down from 58 per cent back in 2012.
Meanwhile the number of Grade 3 students and Grade 9 applied math
students who met the provincial standards dropped again, too.
The latest results show that there's something wrong with the
province's educational system. Of course, for a lot of parents, education
begins and ends with their child's teacher, which is why teachers get so
frustrated with the EQAO. Some question the relevance of the
standardized testing at all.
Meanwhile the integration of students with special needs within
regular classrooms may be a good idea but also must be supported. When
this change was initiated, educational assistants (EAs) were assigned to
help teachers give extra help to these students without reducing the
attention for other students. Funding cuts have led to a reduction in the
number of EAs, leaving teachers to try to cope with a greater workload.
On top of that, say those knowledgeable about the mathematics
curriculum, teachers have been caught between two philosophies of
teaching math: teaching the basics versus "discovery learning" which
suggests a more creative approach. That's left teachers on their own with
no textbooks, expected to find their own lessons for students.
Clearly, more resources at the classroom level are needed if our
schools are to reach the standards we have set for them. The problem is
finding a way to make sure any additional money in the system gets to
where it's needed. — KR
Time to pay the bills
When Justin Trudeau promised during the last election campaign to
run a $10 billion deficit in order to build infrastructure and stimulate the
economy, many Canadians agreed it was a good idea. They didn't
envision the $28.5 billion deficit forecast for this year or 2017's booming
economy that hardly needs government stimulation.
Based on statistics released last week that showed the Canadian
economy grew at a rate of 4.5 per cent in the second quarter, the
government could argue that its stimulation of the economy is working.
That growth is on top of a 3.7 per cent growth in the first quater of 2017.
Canada now has the strongest growth rate of any of its allies.
The Bank of Canada is expected to raise interest rates soon to slow
growth before it becomes too inflationary. At the same time the
government is stimulating the economy with deficit spending, and the
interest on that exploding debt will grow when interest rates increase.
The spending that's actually going into building roads, bridges and
subway lines that are needed to grow our country may be worth a little
indebtedness but at three times the government's original deficit plan, it
seems likely there's a lot of borrowing going on simply to finance things
we want versus things we need. It's a lot more fun — a lot more "sunny
way" — to run a government that's always giving people something
instead of telling them there's no money for their favourite projects. But
we know that sunny days are followed by rainy days and we need to set
money aside for those more difficult times.
John Maynard Keynes's theory was that governments should borrow
money to spend during bad times to stimulate the economy, then pay it
back during good times. Prime Minister Trudeau seems to understand the
first part of the theory but seems to have missed the second. — KR
Some tragedies matter more?
Last week there were tragic floods in several areas of the world, but
when it comes to the media, some tragedies matter more than others.
Flooding in India affected 41 million people and, as this was written
on Friday, taken 1,200 lives. The events received only a minute or so of
coverage on our Canadian newscasts.
Those reports were squeezed in around hours of coverage of the
destruction and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas where
sadly, at the time this is written, 45 people have died and the death toll is
expected to rise.
The people suffering in the Houston area deserve our sympathy, of
course, but the attention given to the two tragedies is disproportionate to
the loss of life and the number of people affected. If the argument is that
the Texas flood was more immediate because it was closer, then how
does CBC explain the fact it almost ignored the damage even closer to
home in Windsor's destructive and disruptive floods?
Until a life lost in India or Africa matters as much as a life lost in the
U.S. or Europe, we're not going to grasp the fact that all humans have
equal worth. — KR
If you have 20
students, but only
enough bus drivers
for 6 of them, how
many students are
left standing on the
side of the road?
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5
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Looking Back Through the Years
September 6, 1944
George McNall was appointed as
the Inspector for the Commissioner
of Loans, Toronto, for Huron and
Bruce Counties. For his position,
McNall was allowed to continue
living in Blyth.
McNall was a veteran of both
World War I and World War II. In
World War I he served with
distinction for the entire four years
and in World War II he served for
two and a half years, returning to
Huron County in January, 1944,
attaining the rank of Company
Sergeant-Major. McNall had also
served at home as well, acting as the
president of the Blyth Agricultural
Society and a member of the Blyth
Masonic Lodge.
September 7, 1967
A public meeting was held at the
Brussels Library in regards to the
potential removal of the Brussels
Canadian National Railway (CNR)
agent.
The meeting was said to be well
attended by many Brussels
residents, all of whom expressed
various reasons why the change
should not be made. A final decision
had yet to be made.
Kenneth Scott of Blyth was
brought in to be the new principal at
Brussels Public School. At the same
time, for the 1967/1968 school year,
enrolment had increased at the
school.
Scott, a graduate of Stratford
Teachers' College, had previously
worked at schools in Blyth,
Dungannon and Chesley before
taking on the top job at the Brussels
school.
September 2, 1981
The village of Blyth and the
Canadian Imperial Bank of
Commerce executed a trade of land,
the result of which would be a new
building for the village's bank.
In addition to having a new
building for its bank, the village
would also be $12,000 richer as a
result of the transaction. The new
structure was scheduled for
construction the following year.
With a six-week postal strike now
ended, The Blyth Standard reported
that some Huron County businesses
had been hurt by it more than others.
Blyth had been a busy village for
its firefighters in the past week, as
they were called out to three
different fires over the seven-day
period.
One of the fires destroyed a barn
just north of Blyth. Fire Chief Irvin
Bowes estimated that 100 tons of
hay and straw were lost in the blaze
that took Hendrik Smid's barn, the
cause of which had still yet to be
determined. However, thanks to the
quick, hard work of the firefighters,
Smid was still able to milk his cows,
as his new shed, milking equipment
and silos were all saved from the
massive fire.
September 10, 1997
Thanks in part to a beautiful
weekend, approximately 13,000
people were said to have attended
the annual reunion of the Huron
Pioneer Thresher and Hobby
Association.
The event drew over 800 campers,
57 craft exhibitors, 18 steam
engines, 20 outdoor concession
stands and 29 small engine
collectors.
On the culinary end of things,
members of the Blyth Fire
Department also found themselves
to be quite busy, as they served
breakfast to just under 1,500 people.
The firefighters were said to have
gone through 280 pounds of
sausages, 340 pounds of bacon and
80 litres of maple syrup.
A municipal election was set for
Nov. 10 and Bailey's name would be
on the ballot once again.
Blyth Reeve Mason Bailey
declared his intention to seek re-
election for the office of reeve at the
Sept. 2 meeting of Blyth Village
Council.
A number of issues required
clarification at a special meeting in
Brussels. Local residents used the
meeting to confront Morris
Township Council and fire chiefs
from both Wingham and Blyth in
regards to the first response
coverage area in Brussels, the
protocol surrounding the call system
and the dispatch method.
There were misunderstandings
and confusion surrounding which
department would cover which call
in which coverage areas, which led
to what was described as "fiery"
discussion throughout the meeting.
Huron County councillors said
they were still concerned about a
lack of concrete information
surrounding the costs associated
with downloading from the
province.
Ken Nix, the Huron County
treasurer, told councillors that he
estimated taxes would rise in Huron
by 27 per cent as a result of
downloading from the province.
While the figure was shocking, it
still wasn't the whole story, as Nix
told councillors that exact costs for
some of the programs scheduled to
be downloaded were still not known
at the time.
On the bright side, however, the
provincial government had set aside
$500 million in transitional funding
to help municipalities through the
downloading process. Just how that
money would be distributed, and to
whom, however, remained a
mystery.