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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-05-05, Page 23NURSERY SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE — Kate Farwell models her outfit for Joyce Fulton and son Ryan as the Sunshine Kids Nursery school held an open house during educa- tion week. Near 200 at SHDHS for education week Close to 200 people at- tended Education Week activities at South Huron, Monday through Thursday. Over 40 people heard a nutrition lecture by Elaine Gottschall while 30 persons were in attendance for a discussion of Bill 82 con- cerning special education. "I suppose it is possible to take a cynical viewpoint and say 'what's the use' of trying these programmes when parents attend in what are 'fairly minimal numbers." On the other hand, for the approximately 200 people, who came to the school for one aspect ,or another, I'm sure the attempt was well worth the effort," said school principal Joe Wooden in a letter to Huron County Director of Education, D.J. Cochrane. Although num- bers for any one session were small, Wooden felt that the presentations were first rate and provoked interesting discussion. Of the 123 parents of students having difficulties invited to the school for Monday's general open house, only 40 came. Discussions conducted Tuesday by the Physical and Health Education depart- ment received favourable response. In the discussion on sex education, the teachers described the curriculum covered at each of the four grade levels but refused to allow the discussion to deal with the moral implications of whether or not the school should be involved in in- forming students about sex. "In grade nine, we ask them anonymously whether their parents have informed them about sex, and over sixty percent haven't been, so the need is there," said department head, Ron Bogart. Along with Exeter police constable, Kevin 1Short,'Bogart also led a session on substance abuse. From the lengthy two hour Household Tips t To remove crayon marks from walls - rub with a dry SOS pad or rub with bak- ing soda sprinkled on a damp cloth 235-0173 457 Main St., Exeter Clip and Save discussion on "Patterns of School Organization," Wednesday, Wooden hopes an ongoing contact with interested parents will be established. "I hope to get together next month with those people to discuss mutual interests," he said. Wednesday's session dealt in particular with the issues of period length and time- tabling. A proposed time- table for next year would see the lengthening of periods from seventy to seventy five minutes. Opponents of the proposed schedule feel the periods are already too long and should be shortened. The ad- ministration argues that shortenedperiods are not long enough for technical subjects and are difficult•to schedule. They also feel too much time is spent moving to classes. Fifteen adults and 20 senior technical students attended the session on apprenticeship and trade - training Wednesday, run by the guidSnce staff and three visiting ministry officials. Ministry official, Pat Newington suggested that the government is . just becoming aware that the health of our economy is dependent on a supply of workers skilled in the trades. South Huron technical director, Walter. Fyn- denchuk » suggested that Canadians needed to change their attitudes towards tradesmen. Recently returned from a two week study session of the German apprenticeship program, he noted that Germany has a tradition of valuing their skilled workers. Thursday evenings sessions on Career Development, Study Skills and The Implication of the Computer on Education were sparsely attended. A madhouse at rehearsals for Grease As _ the month of May begins so does the countdown to May 17, opening night for SHDHS's production Of the musical "Grease." "It's going to be a madhouse for the next two weeks. The nerves are starting to show through already at rehearsal," co- director Colin Lowndes said, Friday. Building construction students under the direction of teacher Dave Newton have finished the set and rehearsals have now shifted to the old gymnasium from the Theatre Arts room. Plans are also underway to move an old car into the gymnasium to serve as a prop for the play. "It's (the play) been ex- pensive. In addition to the set, we've had torent a sound system because of the nature of the music," The costumes are also rather expensive," said Lowndes. "He's hoping the production will be a financial success so that the expense& can be recouped. With two weeks left, Lowndes allows there is a lot of work to be done, but remains confident that when the lights come up on the seventeenth everything will be in readiness. "The key scenes and the musical numbers are really good. This year we've got some really good voices," she said. Lisa Miller and Tracey Rock, the two female leads, have exceptional vocal talent, according to Lowndes. Besides Paul Cooper, Daryl Webber and Sean Walden, who are veterans of past productions, this year's cast is mostly composed of younger students; for whom "Grease" will be a first production. Nevertheless, �nnmm�nnnlmnnllrllllll+ aialllllllllloalilloolooloonnnnnnnnnnnnunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnunnnummnt Lowndes feels "Grease" a musical about "dating and cars", will go over big. "It's nostalgic 'Comedy," he said, "People like that sort of thing." Work week at school This week, twenty-seven commercial and twenty-five senior technical students aren't going to school; in- stead, they are visiting area businesses, asking questions, working and learning about what having job involves. Instituted 15 years ago, by commercial director Don Webster and adopted. more recently by the technical department, "Work Week" gives students some on the job training in their field of interest. The voluntary program organized by teacher Phyllis Lawton, has been successful in creating references and job opportunities for com- mercial department par- ticipants, according to Webster. "Every year there are at' -- least two or three students who get references or an actual job as a result of the program," he said. "The program creates good school and community liaison," noted technical director, Walter Fydenchuk. Barn dance Wayne Smith, friends and family will provide the music for a Barn Dance sponsored by the South Huron student's council, at the Exeter Golf and Country Club, this Friday, May 7, from 8:30 - 12:00. Square- dancing and sandwiches are featured. Western dress is optional and admission is $5 per person. SH technical head at Walter Fydenchuk, career counselling, how Technical Director at South German youth 18 assessed Huron D.H.S. was selected and assisted In planning and by the Ontario Ministry of choosing their future Educatiqn to be one of eighty careers, usually by the age Ontario educators to attend a of 12 or earlier. In contrast, two week vocational many Canadian students education seminar in have no definite ideas Western Germany from regarding a future career March 21 to April 4. The even after graduating. seminar was organised and Also of much interest to sponsored by„ the German Ontario educa tors because of Chamber of `Industry and Bill 82 regarding special ,- Commerce, :The Institute of education, was how Ger- Foreign Affairs in Stuttgart many looks after its han- and the Ontario Ministry of dicapped. It is written into Education. the German Basic Law, that The group consisted of the handicapped will enjoy technical teachers, secon- the same opportunities and dary school principals, rights as any other citizen. technical directors, Consequently German superint-endents of business and industry must education, board memters, provide equal' opportunities education officers from the to the handicapped. If a firm Ontario Ministry of has a certain number of Education and the president employees then 5 percent of of the Ontario Chamber of the employees must be the' Commerce. handicapped, and there- are The group toured various no bars to apprenticeship for. public and private the handicapped. vocational training school The German education. and industries in Stuttgart, :system is divided into OffenbuSg, Lahr andFree= several stages of which the burg in southern Germany. preschool or kindergarten Members of the tour were will be the first stage. Stage able to hear and observe how two is the primary area of the role of the German education from age six to . ministries of education age ten. The greatest together with the supportive possible attention is given at roles; played by the German thii stage to the particular Chamber of Industry and interests, aptitudes - and Commerce, the'trade unions skills of the individual pupil. and . industry are co- On the successful completion operatively integrated 'to ofrimar education the promote a vocational pupils move on to secondary education system ; that en- education. sures Germany's position as The German education the most highly in- system is divided into dustrialised and the most several stages of which the prosperous country .in preschool or -kindergarten. Europe. will be the first stage. Stage two is the primary area of Since this week is education from age six to designated as "Education age ten. The- greatest Week" in Ontario, Mr. possible attention is given at Fydenchuk shares his ob- this stage to the particular servations and experiences interests, aptitudes and with the T -A readers. skills of the individual pupil. The vocation education On the successful completion seminar began with an in- of primary education the tensive three day immersion pupils move on to secondary into the German education education. system from kindergarten to Stage three is known as the university. Lectures on the „Three -pillar system" of .roles played by government, secondary education. industry, unions and em- beginning at age ten and ployer associations In ending at age eighteen, it promoting the , German consists of three different vocational education system types of schools. The type of were conducted by officials secondary school that a from the state ministry of student will attend depends education, the chambers of on the assessment of the in try and commerce and student's aptitude, interests the federal bureau of youth and ability, the lawful wishes employment, which provides of the parents and the career counselling, career achievement level obtained placement and registration on the entrance of apprentices. examination Other topics of much in- terest were lectures on the If the primary school famous "dual system"of assessment indicates that vocational training in which the student is academically over 50 percent of German inclined and is interested in youth is enrolled. Other professional skills for which interesting topics included university training is Timet -Advocate, Moy 5,' 1982 Pogo 21 education seminar in Gerrnony required, then he or she will attend the academic high school. if the student indicates interest and ability in the technical or commercial skills, he or she will attend the intermediate school (Realschule,) which prepares the student through "a Sound basic education integrated with related vocational subjects . and Walter Fydenchuk skills to pursue supervisory careers in business and industry upon successful graduation in the eighteenth year. If the student graduating from the primary school is unsure of choosing a future career, then he or she will attend the main school (Hauptschule). Here the first two years are largely devoted to career exploration and career orientation. One of the principal ob- jectives of this school is to provide a . socialization process though the teaching of life skills and vocational skills, to successfully move the young people from school to adult roles. This is achieved by an alternate style of learning known as the "dual system." According to German ex- perts the quality symbol, "Made in Germany," would be inconceivable without an efficient occupational training system such as the dual system, which provides a vital link between the educational system and the employment system. This attitude was further echoed during the seminar by an official from the Bureau of Youth Placement and Employment who stated, "our most important resource is our trained brains and skilled hands, we would have nothing to export if we don't produce skills." The dual system of vocational education begins upon the successful com- pletion of five years of main school at age fifteen. The student will be assisted by a counsellor from the federal bureau of youth placement and employment to locate an employer who agrees to sign a training contract with the student. Then for three more years the student will attend sc�l two days each week an 'eeceive on-the-job training with the employer for the other three days of the week. The student also receives a regular monthly training salary which is periodically increased up to the jour- neyman rate at the end of the three year contractural training period. Upon the. successful passing of the apprenticeship exams the student becomes a full- fledged journeyman and continues in the new career on a full time basis. Obviously apprenticeship through the dual system provides a very important bridge between school and work. It is also a. form of continuing education being -the first. sep on the career ladder. In 1975 a total of 2.6 million German youth, which is over 50 percent of the youth between ages 16 to 18 were enrolled in this alternate earn -as -you -learn scheme of vocational education. If the Germans have such a superior system of vocational education then why haven't we adopted it into our own educational system? The short answer to this searching question is the fact that many of our at- titudes, values and,priorities regarding education in general will have to be changed -before we can fully understand and appreciate the German model of vocational education. One reason why we cannot completely adopt the Ger- man system without changing some of oto' at- titudes, values and priorities is the fact that the German apprenticeship system which is the backbone of the German vocational education system is a dif- ferent species from the kind of apprenticeship found in English-speaking countries such as Canada. For one thing, the range of occupations considered to be apprenticeable in the Ger- man system is much greater than in English-speaking countries. Germany has about 470 recognized oc- cupations for which formal apprenticeship training is required by law, so super- market clerks and insurance salesmen must go through apprenticeship training. A second reason is that German apprenticeship training has a long tradition of high social status and social acceptance ever since the middle ages. A tradesman carries as much social status in the com- munity as a doctor, lawyer or business man. "Hand- werk hat goldenen boden", is a commonly expressed German adage which means, "a manual trade has a golden foundation." It is therefore not sur- prising to see this adage reflected in the objectives of the German educational system. A high status is accorded to anyone passing the apprenticeship examinations. This high social and vocational status that apprenticeship enjoys in Germany is reflected in the public policy which supports apprenticeship as a bridge between work and school and as an alternate form of vocational education to acquire occupational skills. A third factor is that there is a strong employer ac- ceptance and commitment to apprenticeship and to vocational education in Germany. Employers offer and promote apprenticeship because the tradition is strong and because em- ployers believe that ap- prenticeship is their best skills training system. Employer associations such as the Chambers of Industry and Commerce exhort their members to expand their apprenticeship training places. Consequently the proportion of firms offering apprenticeships is much higher in Germany than m Canada. For example, Germany has 518 ap- prentices per 10,000 workers, Great Britain has 211, Canada has 73 and the United States has 34. By this measure Canada and the United States are dragging their feet in the international standings with regard to apprenticeship training. Perhaps most important of all, is the prevailing attitude among all German people, including the federal and state governments and employers that although Germany lacks many natural resources, its greatest resource that assures Germany's leading position in the business and industrial work is its skilled workers. Due to such commonly held beliefs, the German federal government (Bund) was able to persuade em- ployers to pledge themselves to offer 100,000 new ap- prenticeship places in 1977, in addition to the already existing first year ap- prenticeships of 500,000, to relieve the youth unem- ployment problem. The government uses a type of carrot -and -stick approach to encourage employers to provide additional ap- prenticeship vacancies. If in any year it appears that the demand for ap- prenticeship opportunities will - be greater than the vacancies available, a payroll tax of .25 percent is levied on all firms whose annual net turnover is over $200,000.00. Employers with less than 20 employees are exempt from this training tax. The fund created from this tax is used to subsidize firms that provide additional - training places for youth. Would Canadian em- ployers respond equally as well, and commit them- selves to such a call from the government to provide similar opportunities for our Canadian youth? Town Of Exeter REMINDER first instalment of Taxes due May .15, 1982 )23TiOrial 00 e Dmi• IcgQ ou• ACCOUNTANT -PUBLIC NNouNcE _MENIc oo re nyiircf Ilea 1 l�rrr'tr r r� has mSet0 dto Mall 4 % A Main St. Ontario Exeter' Monday thio Friday flours: t`1 30 • B:30 -A:. r gusincss to In Rea ant °i Park'. A , , , •nCe the appointment and .announce Vkle (1 tc) . 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