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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1984-11-07, Page 8• • Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, November 7, 1984—Page 8 Express concern about practicality of French inimeision To the Editor: We, the Concerned. Citizens for a Better Basic Education, would like to express the concerns of the silent majority of Huron County school supporters. The overall long term cost of a total early French. Immersion program for a basic rural community, such as we have; would be incalculable: Using a city's' cost could simply not compare with our situation, A government initiation grant which is • for only one year at present, acts as a lost leader to gain support for a French program which comes, from the same • source ,as the ongoing maintenance costs -- "the tax payers pocket". Atthis particular time, it's no secret that the Board of Education ishaving difficulty finding the •money to support the programs we already , have. A change in the federal government from the Trudeau era to the present may, conceivably change attitudes on providing grants for such projects, We are already: seeing cost cutting measures and if the • county embarked on slid) a program, theY could be stuck with the full cost. If people are interested in French, they 5hould pay the full cost themselves, It should be pointed out there isn't equal 'educational opportunity for our public school students in the program as it exists today. The "have not schools" have had to accept the boaid's statement that We simply cannot afford it at this time. The present core French teachers are not qualified to teach. French Immersion so new teachers must be hired or the present teachers must be upgraded. We won't stand by and watch the urban schools ask •for yet another expensive program, while the rural children have to • get along the best they can. • TO THE EDITOR Home Economics .and • Industrial Arts taught throughout the county would be ,a more worthwhile use of the tax payers' dollar. There are children with special talent and interests in physical education who “would benefit from improved facilities and teachers. We're sure there are many other educational opportunities people would like to •see 'their children participate in before we spend an exorbitant amount of - money for a program only a few rich people's children will participate in.• • If a program were implemented with the limited interest in the program, it's more ' than probable -the program wouldn't exist • any more than five years. It would be a lot • of money .Wasted. • In a basically rural community, such as. we have, the splitting up of our classes will„ , • contribute' to the decay of community life. • Already, we have theiCittholic Separate • School, the Christian School and the Public • School. If we split off another group, which would ultimately be the case because eight separate rooms at the elementary level Would be required, we will destroy the • unity: a consolidated school system brings to the community. Already in this decision making process,. '• we have created two classes of people. The • people for French feel their children will be • better Off with a. French Immersion ' , education. They must feel that our children • without it will be educated in an inferior • • fashion. The present core French program • seems to be very adequate. A student who • completes this program should be well equipped to decide whether further educa- tion in French would be the right decision, Parents for French advocating •this program must feel that their •pre-school children have the mental capabilities to cope with the program. We don't feel that, parents alone have the right to decide what their children should take at this age. A child pushed into a program who fails would feel badly about 'himself for many • years. A child dropping out of a. program would surely have to*repeat their year in the English program to catch up. Perhaps the child would be sent to a school where none of 111,s friends would be going. The psychological stress put onto a kindergart- en child in an immersion program would in our opinion be insurmountable. , A rural child must get up in the inorning and get on the bus -- many ofthem before 8 a.m. They don't return until after 4 p.m. some not until 4.30 p.m: This is a long day for a 'child to be away from home without facing a teacher who doesn't make any sense to the child all day. Some children would cope - many others cannot and these children could develop psychological,problems they will carry with them for the remainder of their lives. IS it • fair for parents to expose a childto these • potential risks?, Furthermore, hew can parents assist children with their basic subjects such as match,reading, etc. when they are using a different language? Their core subjects will be, lacking. • • , In twentyyears a whole new elite class of citizens will . emerge, -bringing in more. division and discrimination in our society. There will be the bilingual then the francophone and anglophone. • Where is our English heritage going? Will an English speaking Canadian be doomed as a second class citizen? • The double stn clard in• this country is unfit" (gild we be expected to • wel ome French into our every -day lives wh n the province. of Quebec fines store own s for ,advertising in the English language? .In conclusion, may ,we point out the reasons for our disapproval of this subtle infiltration of French into our system. A. The community cannot afford a new expensive program in an already over burdened education system. 111ew programs being implemented bWi I #82 in September, • 1985, will alio'. be a b,ig expense for the board. . B. French Immersion shouldnot be a top priority in an English speaking country. C. Englishis the universal language of the world, •• D. , The percentage figures given at the previous meetings on the amount of French being taught in • the - overall Ontario population and Canadian population would ,show that Huron County is already far ahead in the amount' of :French being • taught. E. We are presently enrolling students in higher levels of education with less than adequate basic skills in reading and grammar for -the careers they have chosen to pursue. •• May we also reflect that there has been a lack of consideration by the Board of Edu- cation for the rural population in holding crucial meetings iat harvest timer a result of which will have an impact on all of us for generations. CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR A BETTER BASIC EDUCATION. Phone 529-7356 or 529-7420 for further information. bjects to cancellation of Sesaffie Street on -local teievigion To the Editor: I am writing to express concern over an,. issue which is not earth shattering; but TO THE EDry'OR • which is annoying. Recently all Ontario and Canada was • shocked by the murders of police; murders • which are a mirror image of many of the U.S. television shows available almost • every night of the week. The world /of the American television shows to which we all are exposed is a world in which violence is • inevitably a valid and moral reponse th life's problems. It , is a world in which automobiles drive themselves (Knight • Rider); illicit, immoral and bizarre love • affairs seem quite 'normal (soaP, operas, Dallas, Knot's Landing, etc. 'etc.); and the country of Canada is simply a place from which cold air drives into the United. States. There are, obviously, ' some excellent American television shows. One of the best is Sesame Street. It is a program which seems to be universally loved by children and not a few adults; it is a program consisting of education, enlightening and entertaining material with Canadian , con- tent. This is the reason I have such • difficulty, in understanding why our local • •[t! television station, CKNX, has dropped this children's show. From my study of the Television Times; CKNX now offers but a few children's shows a day, none of which seem to be of the stature of Sesame Street. • It is my understanding that the Station's explanation of this deprivation to our • .t Children is that this children's program • does not bring in revenue. Where I • sympathize with CKNX's difficulty in keeping Corporate body and soul together; , and where I acknowledge the Station's right to drop any program at their arbitrary whim; surely they also have at least some • responsibility to compensate ,to our, child- ren for the program which does not reflect • either our interests nor the interests of our • children. Our children have a Tight to day time programing without violence and vice. It is also my understanding that a great many' people wanted to view both All in The Family and The Phil Donahue Show; but that in order to show these two very popular shows, Sesame Street had to be, dropped to fulfill Canadian content re- quirements. Sesame Street has a ten per cent Canadian content; but .1 had always thought Archie Bunker lived in the Bronx, New:York and not Belgrave, Ontario. I am reasonably sure that this letter will _do nothing to bring, back Big Bird for: my own children or the chadren of my Parish;, but perhaps a few readers will consider the implications of dropping Sesame Street and write CKNX requesting its return for our children. Sincerely, Karen and Bob Roberts Reyerend and Mrs. Robert J. Roberts Reader believes social disintegration epitomized in abortion issue • • To, the tditor, In an'effort to maintain an awareness of current events I read' the newspapers, • magazines, listen to radio and view tele- • vision newscasts. The message is undeni- able and unbelievable. There is murder, revolution, famine, physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children and to anyone • with a social conscience, the feeling of helplessness is. overwhelming. • , To me, the epitome of all this horror in our society today is a. man named Henry Morgentaler. I can not call him doctor because to me doctor means lifesaver, life Schuett s of Mildmay 4 a tP BEAUTIFUL SUITES OF Furniture at competitive prices„ KAWAI AND SHERLOCK MANNING • PIANOS SALE HAMMOND AND BONTEMPI ORGANS • GENUINE LA -Z -BOY' "RECLINA ROCKER" ' and other chairs "7—ra . .4.24 Ammoimow w Godfrey E. Schuett Limited MILDMAY, ONT. , • Delivery in Southern Ontario • • 3674508 giver. Henry Morgentaler boasts of killing • 18,000 babies personally through a medical procedure called abortion. ,Morgentaler is riding high on the tidal wave of the women's rights movement of today: I'm ashamed to be called a: woman when, for the sake of a woman's right to do • as she pleases with her own body, a baby is destroyed. I'm ashamed to be called a woman when, men as a group are made to • feel inadequate in our modern society. The family unit is the core for our society and it is beginning to disintegrate. Can't we do something before it's too late? • Lorraine Brophy. 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