HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1955-05-11, Page 54
WEDNESDAY,: MAY 11th, 1955.
T LT,IdENOW SENTIie]F.I' LU•CK$OW, ONTARIO
PAOJ
• Lucknow, Ontario, privilege,
• April 7, 1955
.Editor ajekriow 'Sentinel,
• - Dear.Sir:
The' following is a copy of
letter recently sent ;to the Luck
now District High School Board
which I would like:you: tw pub
lish so .. that my good friends .in
Luekn9W 'will` be saved ,th
' trouble 'of asking, "Why'are y
leaving 'the Lucknow District
High: School", and to put an en
to the gossip that I 'was dismiss
• ed by an Inspector.. ,
The ri errt ' strain that I ,liav
experienced recently 'ha$ prompt
ed .rne to, write this 1et1r to you
I rather fear that all the:mein
tiers of the Board, are not full
conversant with .'the true • situa
•tion that • has existed. °regarding
osition as a me m be f
my p member o your
teaching staff. I trust, Sirs; tha
'you will patiently hear-' the con-
tents. of this: communication.
First of all' I,: would .• like t
'!draw your attention . to' the fact
r•that•I was requested; 'by•a mem.
bet of your board who called at
• the house,, to 'make appiication
.for. the Industrial' Arts -position
;along; with a Tittle .typing fo,
:Grade '9 . and assist with' boys•
P.T. At that' time .I' was eniploy-
ed. Because . the "proposition ap=
peared to be good and after due
consideration 'I :submitted.' a .for-
mal • application, .resigned my
• ' foriner:.position• , and ''was accept
ed: to teach at the Lucltiovv : Dis=
trio. High, •School on .Letter `. of
Permission. I. accepted • only on
the `assumption that the salary
was tel be $3,000 arid .iny,. terin of
office, would , ' be ..indefinite as
long as • I improved my*, gii'alifi-t
cations
That'' w• as the information I
gave: the School" Board. as SS,,•
No.7 Kinloss,•, taking' it to.. be
'genuine.• I ; was froin
my . • obligation to 'continue my
service. at ' Kinloss on these .basis.
I was disappointed when'. I. Was
handed an • agreement: ready for
my ' 'signature • -with '. • the sane
named salary: that •I •was offered
to .continue at ,Kiriloss,• .namely,
$2,800:00. After• • being informed
that '.it "was ' .the'. minimum you
were offering I ' a'ccepted..'''As I
•thoug'ht this• position...woul'd ;give:
rime :a. chance for advancen•ient: I
immediately set: to work to• se-
cure the 'necessary certificate.
I attended' .Sulrimer.. Session at•
Toronto and secured. the. Indus:
trial `Arts and
`",A" : Certificate
and paid': My own expenses. I,
took a. refresher. course in weld=
ing -at' my • own expertise:. ` I :was'
fortunate to get: in on the: Bach-
elor of Science'' Cotirse,.,.inajoring'
in •Industrial Arts; being :offer.
ed 'by 'Wayne. University .to ,'the
one and • .only. '-class of B�Iridus
trial Arts teachers.•in Canada on
the •recoriirri ' dati`:
e� on ; of Nir. H.
Matthews, .Secondary School In
Spector:' This' -
course has 'cost me"
over $•40.0,00 to date. 'As- soon as
El_ cl.a; . ofs_ei'
'SS ght,teacher-s is: form-
ed a course 'to obtain the Inter-
ediate' ertificate ' will be given
It Toronto..I am waiting to take
his course proceeding .to
he Specialist. .•
All' thy Work k•a � ne.
.___._... • ..;.•_. �� �Y -,leas.
een,;,�°done in _the . interest of
Lucknow ;District High .School.
cr My book of Job Analysis' •
;tliatwas,
ene of•'nine::chosen fr-Om::-twent�
Y
eight, is to. be used ,.in. the lib-
ary. at . Wayne tlniversi:t• . be-
Y►.
-cit, y for' future' ;student] refer-
-. ence,-earries the -.
iib, ,name. of Luck
IIistrict High School. Hurl-
d'reds df charts, pamphlets, book'-
• lets visual aids; and .commerci:al`.
toac'hing aids Have been receiv-
ed, by me for use in my irschool,'
At the present time a course of
study, Tri detail, is beingprepar..
. • ed '�b p p
Y the Wayne students andr
myself for use in L _
. ucknow Nigh'
ahool,. Because your ?Industri
its teach is---a••merrilber-the. f-- -:
• International� the -
.Honour Society,��
epsilon. Pi '.Tau, :the students of.
• YOUr school are ' •permitted to
participate in the . Ford •.Motor.
Inpany .awards prograrnne.
*This should be an indication t
1have in that
Y work • at heart, . and
have been . taking ever. - ' o.' r-
tutiity to keep U. . to date,. ' f you,
Bait secure ;
or to s a teacher to do .more
show a greater interest for
thiQ k otth:a>ikit►is+on
if you gentlemen', opwere accus.
management
ed, in' ustl. of
I am' sure. that you would feel
that, at least, an investigation of
a the , accusation would . 'be in
order, As an individual T feel
' that _ I have been injustly dis-
- missed from my position and.de-
privedd from earnirig••my support.
e for my •family. I am deeply con-'
ou cerned over, the -whole'affair' not
t 'solely . because of the action of
d the •Board a __a ..whale, blit• !be.
-'. Eailse of thte. attitude:pf' an in-
dividual
`:m•erriber, .and' 'a verbal,
e 'report from an inspector,' (Aca-
demic is , Inspector) I fear that the
Board bas been Misled" by `the
- painting ' of a picture, which is
y
riot true.. This ' I am prepared to
- defend,
I' am sure you will agree that
• I' wa.q not ignorant of. the fact'
t that I was engaged on .Letter of
Perri i sion., 7 (fully understand.
the conditions of ' that permit'. I
o know that if: a. fully 'qualified
t :person is acceptable to the Board,.
then: my services terminate. .I
understand also that the Board
must . advertise for a qualified
teacher and- if .unsuccessful can
r engage one on a Letter. of Per-
mission. May I ' ask •i# this' was
the case .when.. I was first, .en-'
gaged,by ;you?. Was I . not hired
without any advertisement ap
' pealing .in• .the, .press? ,The. re-
:cords at the Department of Ed-
neation -know the answers ,.Is it'
not true that I was engaged last
year. weeks before. any..adver-
tisement
adver-tiseznent appeared? Is it. not true.
that :I 'intimated ,rny 'wvillirigness
to: de'stroymy agreement 'shciuld ° •
the Board ; have •cause ? of em-•
barrassinerit, or :if anything went
wrong? Let him: •who knows the
answer to this; question,: . speak
truthfully: and the reply',wi.11 ,be
in the • affirmative:: -
Is it not tyre` .that -Lauri_ -asked'=
to :accept' 'the.:position • at the
High Sehool and 'encouraged to
submit my application with a
fine, • indication , o#:.. indefin;it.'
work? The ,:Board; .as a •' whole,
did riot indicate this, It 'grantyou,
but twb members of the. Board
did: However,. I agree :with 1VIr,
Rutherford that: if a. promise- of.
indefinite:employrnent was .made,
.you would' have: :no power to ful-
.•frl' 'such a ; pi -Or -nisei' I .just. men-•
tion ithis toshow the Board that
I tolcL the_ truth•: t •
(:.;would like to relate; the cir-
cumstances' arising:: •from the
question of salary iiierease re-
quested' by . the teaching' staff. At
our first meeting I intimated ::that
I should say, very little'owing to.
•
•
•
,grf'i
r,j
141;0; 1411
'/ yr/+',fi�y�il+.r, !��ii �,,�,i},l1;)!‘/1'.11:1:.' ,a
;,
,
L,. it
i ,, lr Ill �. l'+ ."`'
(v.'1 rd•/'�`,�'y4 016 �./ .ter -..i /.
y". , ��„ e'5,/ ql
liy�l 'l(
4.1
•�.
ASSEY-H/►RRIS MACHINES
'RACK -TESTED. forbURABIWTY
FIELD-TESTED for EFFICIENCY
TESTING TESTING -TESTING=
Testing is never-endingat Masse
Y
Harris. • rack testing goes on day:.
and nig-
�t: winter•
niglit, . 'and � summer at --
the. Massey Harris -Ferguson' Test
Track. ' Tractors and implements
are checked with electronic equip-
ment
for stress : and strain analysis:
They are ,endurance tested for
ability to stand-upunder' long usage
and are given' severe shake -down:
tests over the - bumps to check.'
resistance to breakages
Steel, paint and other materials
are analyzed d t t d in. the
factory laboratory to insure. that
they meet requirements and s eci-
a
P
fica:ions-c a reful'
check'. is kept on
foundry castings—inspection
departments make constant'
H=a :R I
assembly. and run-off., tests on pro-
duction machines:
Field testing 'is a constant'' year
Y
round ' activity of the engineering
s
.diviio s' of M _
divisions n ,asset' Harr><s-
Ferguson.: Machines are.:' sent south
in the winter" time and follow the
harvest :.north until freeze-up to
give new models as;ymuch work in :,
the field,as possible. ossible. Machinaes are •
..
tested under many varied con-
ditions for, ability : to do their work
well ..: or ease 'of- han_ • .'_
economy of operation, and for
capacity to. do .a : good fob; Well
designed;: well built'and thoroughly
tested. Masse Harris and Ferguson
machines offer outstanding features
in . modern equipment:. Your local
dealer will : be . glad to '' ive: you
g
full .particulars..
- 1. ..• ... ..
•
Makers of`High: QualityFarm,'Implerpents Since: 1847
(:$200.00 more than ;I would , have I ain -re. ared to• defend fend .that
received to' . continue' and ` which) l? statement.
I :would b,ewilling to accept if • !s M
th B
ay h'ask one other question?
the fact that I' was, ori„ permit, a Board' 'had .intimated that the
(ask any member ..o. th'e, .$200,00increment' was . the best
.verification . 'of 'this) but be-. offer) Your • staff ''was'';, denied
for
cause I fully agreed .with , the'.;
even • an :'answer ..to'•'then". •salary,.
.i:shes of _th; otl .er txit rri'bei.�.s,;_. request
staff
In" your. • opinion. do' 'you , think
thata. true .-report • 'ori. my . work'
'in' the shop .'can' be give(,; .even
'by an. Industrial Arts Inspector
hr-ee znut-e-- visit?
ers' Federation w)iq , said in part,
"I ' do • feel that better relations
would . have resulted •if the sit-
uation had been 'discussed • with
you before .steps' Were taken' tti
advertise".. • '
' 'Thanking. you ,for ^hearirig my
i:de�pf-the story. T•=o-th4=members-
naturally, I• signed: the.:letter, You will,. agree that` the Board (our Industrial Arts' ,Inspector of the Board :,who •co-operated.
and -again,' to :make' it; legal"- all .has ,ower to. accept. or'reject an did. not have..occasion to :visit our with me while . I was• teaching.
g. .
the assistant teachers ; •!had to aliplicatioiz ` if ' that ,perlon is or Shop this year yeti. By the way; •here I want to ..express tiny-";ap-
negotiate :salary'as a' body. ,After' i<, not , acceptable to the Board. was not Mi„ Matthew's -re rt of preciatio i;
the result. of•�the Meeting of your Thequestion , m\�°
is: Why.':did the y •oi"l Wast year favourable?) Yours verytruly,..
'---kn
board was madeown 'to the.Boaic!s: policy chane. so Sud- None• of ' Grade .X - -.._. Hell
thestud�nts.: et'. Br Burden. •
staff through the medium of tri d'enly? If . I were acceptable .th'e or. Gradae:' IXa gtiitlei'ts_ stir, the
press a letter was drafted to be
;sent to; the Federation; (copy • of
which is hetewith'•enclosed) I
was requested to type the' letter
and forward it:. •I was;: reouested.
;further .'b' .' the staff ° to submit
the • reply to Mr. MCKian ,so that
.you would , know about :it, On
=•pr-Pr-ntation- of th is fetter I -w as
reminded`' again that' I' .was on
Permit and that an advertise
ment' could change the situation_
for -me. I--r-ealized-that;but I -felt
sure that no teacher *'virouild'.ap:
ply,;ilor the position if the, orig-
inal• advertiseinent was left
tact, No teacher. in my :opinion,
would an 'Indcrstrial .. Arts. • for
Oracles IX and X, Corninercial for
Grades IX; `X; XI and, XII,. boys'
l?:T, for,Grades-IX to XIII'; :assist
with academic work, .' (plus the
typing -etc. -that . I did ;for the'
east• -two --.years iii t11e..is-lte.res't_c1L
the 'school), for a mirainiunt Sal-
ary ,of $2,800.00.
Naturally, any teacher looking
for 'tie position- would: be glad
to. answer • your .• changed adver-
tisement calling, for ari' • Indu--
trial Arts teacher"•to teach Shop,
Boys' P.740- and assist with • aca4
deinic' work for ' a minimum
salary° of $3,400.00, which is equal
t the minimum of a.. few CoT1y
ag4at6?3• 3k ino..0 Gaie<'...of+ • w
•
first year without ,your advertis- hi -Spector in the Shop. No Work CU
LROSS • CQRNERS'
9
[ int, and';'ac•cepted the .' second books Were seen. Most of the pro
M w
year long :before .;volar advertise r and Mrs Tarry Rbss and
jects,.done'up to that. time (Nov
rnent appeared °m: the press), and,'embei.) ,were marked ,and, taken
I • am ..better •qualified now than bonne and in ..anysas,e iii .;the.first..
Y 'hitherto have, been,)_ why „then., two; inohths • textbook work and
•the, dismisal notice? Your `adver-' drafting took: most of our. ,time;
+
tisement was Changed g to include Last ',year when night classes
Gi acle`v X) . in Shopsat9rk - -- -ere- -beri gg •Wdiscusscd yo r"heard-
was it not, because my 'certificate the .words of Mr. Robert. Rae
included only Grades IX and X? Past.•dhairman: "I think we are
you; are not ignorant of .the_ fact.. very .. fortunate~tar_ha•
vea 'rrrarr on
that -I taught Grade -XI last year.
A recent survey. shows that you
will. ,have only two or' three boys'
in .G'rade XI tris: year, possibly,
It is absurd to,•think that I could•
not take Gare: of than number, •
children of Toronto and Mr, anti.
Mrs. Wm: Henry. of Galt spent
7f,. the Board's action did riot,
originate from .,:the salary request
but, (and. I . have it in writing)
rather from a verbal report gixyl'
en to the Board by the Academie
1nrsp_ectat,. _.;that an incor-
rect
ncor
rect report has been given or a
misunderstanding of that 'report.
To make this clear '.l intend -;to
present my • : rt -
:p case tothe De 1
ment of Educal Tori.. and also to
the Industrial Arts Department
for clarification. I am' teaching in
:this school "`the course Of study
prescribed by the Departtn'ent..
recommended by Me Industrial
Arts,divisi n and I am' applying
0 suitu.r ecific;
our teaching' -staff who can and
is twilling to do. the Night.Classes
for �adtilts in both Woodwork and.
Commercial". I'.. will reirierriber`
the' good. words:' of Mr. Rae be-
cause they were encouraging.
What a contrast to the tele-
phone conversation I had ;with
Mr, McKim recently when he ad
wised::"We have another man, for
your' position","The Inspector's
_ •..repo-rt---Ws 't-- very;", and
"You, better resign 'because it is
an easy way Out". Does •not .that
sound 'as if I had cornniitted some
crime? .I .do not want his idea 'of
an easy way, out, I want •a truth-
ful way out- an honourable' :way
out' (the way I .was discharge
from6' • The Royal Ca'riadian Air
Force), Ain I .not' entitled' to. it'?,
1 agreeagain with Mr. Ruth-
erford, reprefientative of the
'ktar-io eeon ar'•'S' ,SG'"he rr-
Sunday:. with: -Mr;:--and° -Mrs: Artµ --
Flodgrns- .
The HW.I:: met Thursday after-
noon at the home°of Mrs, Frank
-Thrompson��wit ilk a' good, attend
,ance of,' members axial°. several '
visitors .and ehildrezi, •;
r; ,las. Hodgins _has 'pin_
ed. -
the crew of "Barge Owendoc"
with ..headquarters at Sault . Ste, .
Marie,. Michigan. . • •
Visitors on • SuridaY *with Mrs.
Mary Wail and .las,: Wilson, and t.
Mr.and.. Mrs. Orville Wilson.
were Miss Annie 'Wall and Mrs,
Gera?, Walsh, Kinlough; Mr. and •
Mrs. Joe Wall, Teeswater and
Mr and Mrs. Doug Drennan 'arid.
sdn, "Kincar''dine. `
Suri y , visi ors wi Mr. and
Mrs; Tom Stewart and boys . were
Mr. and' Mrs. Arnold Wilkie and
children, • ' Mr, and Mrs. , Ralph
Goesel and family and Mr',' Keith.
Goesel,, Kincardine,
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Schumach»
er spent Sunday .with: Mr, and
Mrs.. Wirt. Wall, Kinlough.
' :Mr. and Mrs. Midford Wall &-_-
Donnie visited Sunday with ,Mr.
arrd • Mrs. Toni Hackett. & Doug
67�•'.'.�r�.ii4�..Y_ �'�J.�:li�Yr•: �l�.y:�4�.,"1i�S'���rCc.�..�..[�.f�'�.s`:�i�..
•
,I
V
.I