HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-07-04, Page 2tsvidivsimp
russels Post
BRUSSELS
WEDNESDAY, JULY4, 1973
9NTA003:
HaVe ,you ever noticed that when
ticians get therilselVes into a bind, they
loOk around for a patSy, or scapegoat?
They did 'this with education in thiS
country. When the big space race began,;
*: the politiCianS rode the . wave Of public
demand fOr more schools,Inore'SchoOl
"lig,: and practically whippd theSyStein of
eduriation into spending More and more
money on bigger and better -schools with
more and more expenSive gadgetS and
facilities.
Then the takpayers,reaSonablyenough,
.began to hOW1 about the sky-rocketing.
cost of education.. I don't biaMe
So What happened? :The:pOlitinanS Made;
a 180-degree about-face and stated sternly,
that they' were .gOirig to hold the line On
education costs,
They should haVe held the line a little
More firinly in the first place, instead
Of feeding 'a. fiSh Until it WAS big .. and
Strong and the letting, it tear all over
hell with:the Spoon in its mouth.
Natural' patay for this pelitinal. man-
oeuvre Was the teaching 'profession.'
Teachers were presented, with the aid of
some of the politinians° tame journalists,
AS greedy, grasping people Whose: chief
interest In life was wresting higher Sal-
atieS from the doWti,trOdden taxpayer.
ThiS was patently untrue. The average,
teacher world be reasonably happy it he
got an annual increase sufficient to keep.
even with inflation, and areASOhabletaiSe
to recognize his increasing' skill and ex,
perience. , EXactly what happenS in Most
busitieSSeS"And professions.,,
But teachers are born patsies. In
the first place, they aren't very militant.
They are more interested in teaching than
in going on. strike.
In the second place, for generations, in:
thiS. country, they have occupied an anibig,
uous peSitiOn in our gociety, They are
'accorded a certain respect, but at the same.
tithe. have been looked On with .2; certain
scorn, as rather shabby professionals
who need to, be kept in theft, place by the.
people who pay their talartes.
Business then. ,Could Where. and 'drink .
and practise shady dealings, but teachers
were, to be an example to the conithunity,
They mustn't gamble, Multi smoke
or stay: out tale, they, could own a car,
but it should be seoond,hatitt and a certain'.
*tillage,. they wild go to church and sing
in the choir, but they dotildiist, go to the
taletit and sing in the bar,
That's changing; of course,
teachers are actually being regarded as
people,with feelings and faults. But the
old, straitlaced hangover of 'Our pioneer
society is still there.
"Teachers are a timid lot," the
politicians say . to one another. (.(Let'S
" make themthe.goat.- , " , And so, they do.
But perhaps the politicianS are not
going to. be able 16 walk so easily over
:their lateSt patsies the 'Octets.
After .creating a Medical :health plan
that. is iniquitously espenSiVe
'
the
, 'politicians; as•USUal, respOnd, to the cries
Of 'OUtrage by looking around' for a goat,
they have chosen the medical profession.
Now, eyeryone WhO isn't blind and
deaf .that.,a. doctor:. today; UniesS
he's a bumbling idiot, enjoys' a fat intOtne.
What's wrong with that? Just becatise
you, and I didn't haVe enough braina and
guts to slug .away at medical School
no rea.tonIo envy those'Whe
A doctor spends about six YearS drud-
ging at pre-coeds and medicine, a gruelling.
course. It costs him roughly $0;000.
Then he has a year or two internship
in which he paid about as much as a
lifeguard
After eight years;, he has a feW books,
some skills, And probably heading for
the age of thitty. And he, must start at
the bOttain again, , to establish himself.
He will work abdUt 60 hours a week,.
Snatch the Odd' holiday, neglect his lainify
and often-.destroy , his own health, By the
age of fifty hes an 'exhausted. man, unless
hs'itiaS learned,to pace himself.
sure, he's well off,: bymost taticiatugo,
Big car, house,, expensive holidayS. Bu t
he, hasn't time to tujoy of thiS. Arid
he's also paying big taxes on that itindinea
IAN' take' a look at a friend of the
doctor, they were in school togot40i
The other fellow dropped out in dfhde'10.
ile°S nOW Making $1 ;00a. a yeat,
But in. the intervening ten or eleven
yearS, the ded."S friend his, made $00,006,
plus the $1M6Ci it cost for the.
medical education, triendia$12,000 ahead
And had his family half4aised and has his
iiioitgager in hand,
It talieS the, doc, a long time to catch
lip,: and When he doeSir he'S earned it
A few doctors might cheat, 'bUt most
of ahem are rhoiiesti, dedicated, and, mighty
hard working. ,
The attempt to regulate
doCtere inridineS shoddy piece of
work'.
-Serving Brussels and the surrounding community
published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Bros. Publishers, Liinited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Tom Haley - Advert' Sing
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Others
$5.00 a year, Single Copies 10 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562.
Telephone 88'7-6641.
A salary for housewives ?
A BBC program has found that the
housewife works at least. 85 hours
a week, at 11 different jobs,(nurse,
teacher, hostess, etc.) and that,if
paid for these at the going rate,
she would earn about $8,750.
-Housewives are contributing
free of charge, services worth this
large amount of -mdney to the Gross
National Product and to the community
as a whole. They feed, clothe, or-
ganize, wake up on time and love and
nurture their husbands and children
" who are ,the majority of workers
and students in this world
If industry or government had,to
do all the things that allow workers '
to come to work and students to study,
it vould be at a tremendous cost.
Housewives, as the saying goes ,.keep
the show on the road, and if they,
w e reg ever to go out on strike (some-
fEing which is perhaps Unlikely be-
cause they da labour for love ---
they must or the issue of paying
them for their housework would have
been raised some, time ago) many in-',
dividuals and co.mmunities would find
themselves unable to cope.
In pioneer days there was more
recognition of the housewife's con-
tribution to her own farm and the
Community as husband and wife,worked
equally hard at similar jobs. But
now, at least in,the towns, women
who stay at home doing their 85 hour
a week. Unpaid jobs cannot contribute
economically to the family unit and
may find it demeaning to constantly
ask the breadwinner for funds.
Oh, there would be problems. It -
has been suggested that quality con-
trol and job standards, complete
with home inspection tests, might
be introduced, as well as compulsory
child rearing arid home making courses.
And, of course, there is the
overriding problem of rounding up
the money to pay our home labour.
But industry would surely be willing
to contribute and action to curtail
waste of the type that federal and
provincial auditors general have
suggested exists in government de
partMents Would provide money to
pay housewives at least a minimal
salary and give them the respect
that our society grants to those
who earn money.
As an in measure, until both
household tasks and work outside the
home 'are shared more equally by both
seXes, a salary for housewives is an .
excellent idea., For all We know, it
would probably result in a lot of
men applying for the job,