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The Citizen, 1987-03-11, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1987. Opinion Common standards needed in tests For those now in their middle age or older, the talk of returning province-wide high school examinations has double-edged memories. There is always the danger that we look back at our young day sand think if it was good enough that we went through “departmental exams” then it should be good enough for the students of today. Yet some of us can also remember the stress theseexamsputintothelivesof generations of students, particularly when teachers used fear of these exams as a whip to spur students into ever-greater efforts. Because of the over-importance those departmental examinations there was general praise when they were first abolished in the late 1960’s. Now a student wouldn’t need to become so ten$e in fear of an examination that he would freeze up and not give his best work. Now the real relationship of schooling, the teacher/student relationship, would be given its proper weight. But the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme. Even within one school, let alone across the province, there are wide variations of marking as each teacher sets her own exams and marking patterns. To the one extreme is the teacher at a local school who marks so hard that even the top students in the class get marks in the low 70’s. To the other is the teacher who not only gives students high marks but gives bonus marks on top of that so that students have been known to have more than 100 per cent at the end of a term. The provincial government has made a small attempt to bring some uniformity, to give some standard to the value of marks, by introducing a standardized testing system for university-bound students. The program doesn’t go far enough. So far it is only for English and even then the local teacher will set the exam and mark it, although she is supposed to follow Ministry guidelines. The testing should be extended to all major subjects for university-bound students and there must be a way of making sure the marking really is standardized. On the other hand, education officials must make sure the testing program doesn’t become a weapon used against students as it was two decades ago.Mabel’s Grill New tax may be unpleasant surprise When Finance Minister Michael Wilson dropped in on Huron county for a luncheon with county business people last fall there was narry a word either from him, or from the business people, about the centrepiece of his upcoming tax reform: the business transfer tax. The magic phrase “tax reform” these days seems to be enough to make everybody go to sleep with dreams of a better day ahead. Nobody seems to stop to think that if the taxpayer is to be given a break in one area, he’s got to be hit somewhere else. The somewhere else apparently will be the business transfer tax. Every time a product changes hands, a tax will be applied. The tax is descriptively called a “value added tax” in other countries but the name has become so upsetting there that the government has been avoiding it here. What it means is that the cost of many items now untaxed will increase to cover the new tax. The idea of the tax is to charge less tax in more places. Things that went untaxed before like books and this newspaper will be taxed, according to the best information we can get from sources in Ottawa. It’s likely that services like accounting fees, lawyer ’ s fees and advertising will also be subjected to the tax. Not only will the tax increase costs for products that have been untouched by the manufacturing tax, but the companies that will collect these taxes for the first time will have more cost in collecting the tax, and in doing all the bookkeeping the government tax collectors will require so they can make sure they are getting their due. Perhaps people really are in favour of this new form of taxation that is being sold in the interest of ‘ * fairness ’ ’. Maybe all those hundreds of thousands of business people who aren’t now taxed by the manufacturing tax really think it’s time they paid just like the manufacturers of automobiles and television sets. Maybe people will be pleased to pay more everyday for many products so they can save on income tax. More likely what is going to happen is that Mr. Wilson will bring in his tax, people will finally see what it will mean in their lives and they’ll start screaming rape! By then, of course, it may be too late. There are people who will tell you that the important decisions in town are made down at the town hall. People in the know, however know that the real debates, the real wisdom reside down at Mabel's Grill where the greatest minds in the town {if not in the country] gather for morning coffee break, otherwise known as the Round Table Debating and Fili­ bustering Society. Since not just everyone can partake of these deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Hank Stokes admitted this morning that he was in deep trouble yesterday. He’d noticed his wife getting a little huffy during the day but he never really thought what was behind it. Finally she asked him “Do you remember what you were doing on March 1, 1962.” “Well” said Hank, ”1 thought she was just testing me like Ronald Reagan did with those reporters. I was going to fool her so 1 made up this story about saying it was the day 1 bought the best cow 1 ever owned. She went tearing off to her room crying and it wasn’t until 10 minutes later that one of the kids reminded me it was our wedding anniversary.” “Yeh,” said Ward Black. “You sure blew it. I’ll bet even Ronald Reagan is in worse trouble if he forgets Nancy’s wedding anniver­ sary than if he forgets what arms deals he approves.” TUESDAY: “How come nothing interesting ever happens around here?” Billie Bean asked Mabel this morning. Mabel asked him what he wanted to see happen, her stage mudwrestling matches in the front window. Billie pointed out an article in the paper about the nude lady who walked into the service centre on 401 and then started a police chase at 100 miles an hour with seven cruisers taking part. Now that is excitement, Billie said. Mabel says with summer com­ ing up, maybe Billie should hang around. There may not be any naked women but there were a few girls in the hot weather that wore few enough clothes that she wouldn’t serve them anything hot in case they dropped it on themselves and scalded them­ selves to death. Julia Flint said she thought the whole episode proved that there was a need for more women policemen. Do you think they would have taken on a dangerous police chase if it wasn’t men who were doing the chasing, she asked? WEDNESDAY: Tim O’Grady was asked this morning for his legal opinion on the whole issue of there [Published by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. ] Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. Published weekly in Brussels, Ontario P.O. Box 152 P.O. Box 429, Brussels, Ont. Blyth, Ont. NOG 1 HO N0M1H0 887-9114 523-4792 Subscription price: $15.00; $35.00foreign. Advertising and news deadline: Monday 2p.m. in Brussels; 4p.m. in Blyth Editor and Publisher: Keith Roulston Advertising Manager: Beverley A. Brown Production and Office Manager: Jill Roulston Second Class Mail Registration No. 6968 being a conspiracy among baseball owners to hold down player salaries. Tim said the baseball players might have a point. After all, if people were willing to say the sky’s the limit bidding for free agents like Goose Gossage a few years back, how come nobody will make a big money offer to Tim Raines today. Billie said it seems to him what the players are saying is that they think the courts should legislate stupidity. Just because the owners were stupid enough to bid against each other before, they should be forced to be stupid forever. Letters to the editor pages 6 and 9