HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-10-08, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8,1997.
For Teens, By Teens
Students state viewsALL
Teachers strike will affect all
By Erin Roulston
All of Ontario's students are very
aware of the possibility of an
impending teachers' strike. Most
are praying that it will happen soon
and last long: it's about time for
another holiday, and I could really
use an extension on that essay.
And, of course, we all want to
know how this will affect us? What
exactly would a strike mean to
students? And why are the teachers
striking anyway?
There are all sorts of stories;
everybody has heard something
different. "They're going to strike
on Monday."
"I heard Tuesday."
"It won't be for a few weeks yet."
If you ask a teacher they will
likely just respond: "I've been
instructed not to talk about that
with the students."
What I want to know is: "What is
going on?"
Bill 160 is a proposition by the
provincial government; legislation
that takes the power to levy taxes
away from school boards and limits
the range of issues over which the
boards and teachers may bargain.
That means that less of our tax
money will be given to the board of
By Amy Crawford
You finally turn 16 and it's time
to go for your licence. How do you
go about getting that wonderful
piece of freedom?
The first step is deciding whether
you are going to sign yourself up
for a driver training course or not.
You don't always have to take
driver training; you can wait a year
and then go for your G2. The only
problem is if you don't take driver
training you are missing out on the
benefits, such as a shorter waiting
period for your licence and less
expensive insurance.
If you decide to take driver train
ing your high school will probably
have a sign-up sheet in the office.
This course is not just someone
telling you how to drive, you also
get to practice these techniques in a
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education and that bargaining over
expenses will not be tolerated/Now
teachers, under the new bill, will
not be able to strike and $1 billion
less than before will be spent in
education.
Other effects of Bill 160: larger
class size, shorter prep time for
high school teachers (that is sort of
like a spare, which they use to
prepare work), longer school years
and fewer PD days.
None of these changes will be
open to bargaining over. It is a
closed case; the teachers have no
say in the matter.
Those opposed to Bill 160 claim
that the Bill is not to improve the
quality of education, but merely a
solution to the provincial
government's foolish reduction of
income tax.
But if you think about it, could
this improve our education system?
A longer school day and year
means more learning. That idea is
great - in the city. Out here in
Huron County: well, farm kinds
need that summer holiday to help
out in the fields.
Also, if the teachers do strike for
a long enough period of time, we
will have a longer school year
session called "in car".
In our case at F.E. Madill our
math teacher looks after in-class
teaching, and for about one month
you are in class. Your teacher tells
you all you need to know to drive.
For example, you get acquainted
with your car and its gadgets, you
leam what to do in case an accident
is about to happen, and learn of
something very important called
insurance. You might not care too
much about insurance, but your
parents will!
Insurance is something that will
pay for damages when you are in
an accident. Rates can differ
between age, experience, and
whether you are male or female.
Beware guys, insurance is around
$500 if you are listed as an occa
sional driver on your parents' car.
If it is your own car, be ready to
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anyway - to make up for lost time.
Some say the strike will only last
a dav. others a week and some sav
it won't happen at all. Either way,
the students lose.
And some students are not very
happy about it.
Last Friday at CHSS in Clinton,
more than 100 students walked out
in protest. For some it was just a
ploy to get out of class, but for
others it was because of a
legitimate concern.
Our students' council is
organizing an official walk out for
this week. I am interested in seeing
what their argument is.
But really, all I've head is the
teachers' side of the argument.
What good will this bill do? And
how much of the $1 billion is
coming out of the teachers' salary?
How many jobs will be lost?
I've read that no matter what the
teachers do, the Ontario
government will not back down on
this.
Whatever happens, I hope they
can come to a reasonable
agreement, one that is good for
everybody: for the sake of the
children.
spend even more!_
After you have taken the in-class
portion of driver training you start
the in-car portion. This consists of
driving for one hour once a week at
your convenience so you end up
with a total of 10 hours of driving.
When not driving you will observe.
Once you are done driver training
and have successfully completed
the course you will receive a cer
tificate saying you passed. When
you get the certificate you are now
allowed to book an appointment
within eight months of completion.
This is to be presented to the Min
istry of Transportation office when
you go for your appointment.
Well, if you've gone through all
these steps you are now a proud G2
driver, or else on your way to
becoming one!
By Ashley Gropp
Student organized walkouts have
taken place this past week in
support of the teachers. Walkouts
ranged from a 10-minute walk
around the block to an all day
protest.
When asked, some students are
completely unaware of what is
going on.
"Bill what?" one 15-year-old boy
asked. The same student said he
walked out, but when he was asked
why, he simply stated, "I got to
skip class without getting into
trouble."
Unfortunately he was not the
only student who took advantage of
the walkout. Too many students cut
classes for reasons other than in
protest..
There were those, on the other
hand, who strongly supported the
teachers and knew as well as
anybody what was going on. One
16-year-old girl said, "It's not right
that the government has made all
these cutbacks to education and
now they are making a whole
bunch of changes to the system.
Making teachers retire early may
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cut salaries, but what could
possibly be good about forcing an
amazing teacher to retire early?"
Another student, an 18-year-old
male, added that "they want to
restrict the sizes classes can be, but
with the way their plans are turning
out class sizes are going to get
bigger."
A 15-year-old female didn't
understand, "how the government
thinks that people who haven't gone
to teaching college can teach as
well as somebody who has the
education and experience of some
of our teachers."
A 17-year-old girl agrees, "how
many local sports heroes are going
to come in to teach us gym, making
less money than the teachers do and
do as well as our teachers?"
There were also students who
chose not to participate in the
walkouts. One 18-year-old male,
who did not walk out said, "A lot of
people think Snobelen is just doing
this to get revenge on the education
system, but I think he's simply
making cutbacks where they make
the most sense. It's about time the
teachers got a dose of reality."
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