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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1999-04-28, Page 28Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday. April 28, 1999 • Community LETTERS TO THE FDITOP • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Skateboarders tired of waiting Dear Editor: Last fall, some skateboarders and 1 went to the Rec Board to ask' them for a location where we could cre- ate a skatepark for skateboarders and rollerbladers of this community. They don't want to skate all over town - they are tired of being kicked out of one loca- tion or another; most of which aren't safe places any- way. We were hoping to have a designated site by this spring. To date, no such permanent location has been designated. ' Last year, skateboarders built a 'half -pipe' in our backyard. This spring they took that apart to build a 'long -ramp' and a 'platform' with two small ramps. with the idea that these structures would become part of the skatepark. The money and labour to build these structures have come from the skateboarders themselves. They set up the platform at the Rec Center at a temporary location before the Quilt Show with the understanding that it would have to be removed for the Quilt Show and the Home & Garden Show. The boys brought the platform back home on the Wednesday before the Quilt Show. On Friday, April 23, they -.moved the platform, the two small ramps and the long -ramp back up t� the Rec Center again to a temporary location. They fin- ished setting up at about 9 p.m. Friday night. They did a bit of skating_ and returned home by 9:30 p.m. • Now, this is the 'part that makes me sick' At about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning someone decided to drive up the long -ramp with their vehicle. That's right - they -drove up the long -ramp, a $500 struc- ture, and broke. it. After all their hard work in build- ing it and the money that they put into it, some unthinking individual drove up it and broke it. The boys spent all day Sunday taking the long -ramp apart and re -building it. This is not the first time their structures have been vandalized, in fact it has become almost common practice. All these boys want is a safe place for themselves and their structures, to practice their sport. is that too much to ask? i don't think so, do you? KATHERINE ENS, Skateboarder mom. Salute to Spring Dear Sir: This is my salute to spring. 1 went out to walk my dog one day this week and all around were signs of spring. Warm, sunny day, daf- fodils in bloom, birds singing and a large, fresh pile of dog poop on my lawn. Maybe the owner couldn't scoop it because he didn't have a.bag large enough to hold it. I think this dog has made this block his per- sonal bathroom for some months now. The dog won't be hard to identify because it has to be the size of a small horse and grossly overfed. When I find out who it belongs to i will scoop the poop and return it to the owners. You know who you are (i think I know too) so watch where you step when you go out your door in the morning. Another- sign of spring is the young males. Day and night their thoughts turn to one thing - how much rubber can I burn on Huron St.? i have heard many people say that the older people in this town are bad drivers. Well take another look at the young drivers, and I don't mean teenagers. Young people between the ages of 20 and 35 seem to have a death wish and young women are worse than men. Why don't you slow down, obey the rules and live to see your children grow up. Finally, a word about lawn spraying. Why not let the dandelions grow and make a salad? We'll all live longer. Sincerely, FRAN RITCHIE. Exeter Stepping up/ falling down Dear Editor: After reading the article by Philip J. McMillan in the Times Advocate April 21, 1999 concerning sec- ondary school reform I felt it was time to send a let- ter. Parents should understand the facts vs. reality concerning the changes in education. The fax machine gave its double ring and the "information for principals and school boards new high school system" cascaded all over my office floor, an unbelievable 35 pages of description, rules and regulations for September 1999. The designations of Advanced for Academic and the General level are now to be called Applied. They have changed the names but the meaning is the same. The academic kids go on to post secondary education and the applied go directly into the work- place, flipping hamburgers. I had asked that the Mowat Block leadership at the Dept. of Education in - Toronto title the Advanced program College/University Prep and the General Level be list- ed as Alternative. What is in a name you ask? Plenty. The poor, sin- gle parent, immigrant or native kid in grade seven is not going to opt for academic. He/she will be streamed into the Applied stream. The ministry talks about the ability to change one's mind and transfer into an alternative program in grade 11. It's easy to go from the more challenging subjects to the easier applied. But traditionally a very small number of stu- dents will try to switch to the Academic. It is like swimming upstream against the current. Let us look at the curriculum proposed to make our students more competent. Thirty credits with the following compulsory, four credits in English, one credit in French, three credits in math, two credits in science, one credit in Canadian history and geogra- phy, one credit in arts, one credit in physical educa- tion, one half credit in civics and one half credit in career studies. The kids lose one credit in English. This should do wonders for the literacy of our youth. The extra cred- it in math will not be a great. help. Many of the pro- grams offered by the community college/university ask for four maths. In the age of technology there still is no requirement for a student to take a busi- ness or technical credit. There are 12 optional cred- its that students may choose to fill their programs. Bright kids can earn a P1.AR, Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition, receiving a maximum of four credits if they can demonstrate competency in a subject area. There is a Literacy test in grade 10 that the kids must pass in order to graduate. If one fails you are supposed to get remedial help and get retested. 1 bet the academic kids are successful and the applied are helped along to graduate. There is to be Community Involvement activities - you know, volunteering - a minimum of 40 hours of unpaid assistance within the community. The kids are on their honour to keep an accurate record .of their activities on forms supplied by the school, no involvement or monitoring by the staff. Some kids who are not civic minded might be cre- ative and alter the numbers and placement just a touch. The ministry of education has a great idea to help guide our youngsters along the right path, "The Teacher -Adviser". There is a story that tells the quandary about advice givers. A minister stops a young man and asks for directions to the local post office. The boy offered to show the way and as they drove, the boy's colourful language with the odd damn and hell thrown in concerned the clergyman. "Listen son," he exclaimed. "You are on the wrong path. Listen to me and I will put you straight." The boy's response told it all. "Right path - hell you do not even know the way to the post office." The classroom teachers starting in grade nine are supposed to help in the decision making in regard to educational and career planning. Good luck. My last principal tried to pilot this bright idea with his staff. We tried to include year one teachers in orientating their new students to school - post cards and words of greetings to make everyone feel welcome. Wrong. I had the program evaluated by the "nirt- ers" who gave it a failing grade. The teachers did not want to be involved with counselling their classroom charges. "It was hard enough just to teach math." The students did not feel comfortable confiding in their subject teachers whose job it wo.; to teach and evaluate. Get real. The classroom teacher is not knowledgeable regarding requirements for commu- nity college/university. or specific careers. This is the role of the counsellor whose numbers are sadly dis- appearing in our schools. 1 had hoped that the Ministry of Education would have been more explicit and tell the parents and stu- dents the truth regarding returning to streaming. Tho Unphased Program. was a lot of work for the teachers but it did delay the choice of programs until the end of grade nine. Now the students will start to be streamed in grade 7. Applied and General are synonymou-s terms leading to dead ends. The Academic (Advanced) leads to post education and meaningful careers. Where can you get help in making a decision'.' Classroom teachers and counsellors can help provide information but the ultimate decision for your chil- dren's education has to be approved by you, the ;-tr- ents, until your children reach thr ' majority. t, COUNSELLOR ,,ndon, Ontario Keep the role as peace-keepers Dear Editor: "Do as i say - not, as I do" seems to spring to mind after listening to President Bill Clinton's hypocritical response to the devastation in Littleton, Colorado. Fifteen people killed, and 23 injured by two gun -tot- ting youths on a rampage to massacre. Clinton responds by spewing his condemnation as the words, "We have to teach our children to resolve their anger with words not weapons explode from his mouth. This from a man who smoked marijuana but didn't inhale, slithered out of the draft, and although he 'didn't have sex with that woman' left his DNA splat- tered on the now infamous blue dress. Clinton's words are a direct contrast to his own actions in the war of the Balkans. If you want to set an example you have to be an example. More people have been killed in the United States by hand guns then any other country in the entire world. Perhaps it is time they asked themselves what is more impor- tant, their right to bear arms, or a right to life? In the past three years more than 30 students have been killed in American schools and over 50 injured. As a parent 1 think I would be insisting they either place metal detectors in the doorways of all schools, or review the constitutional rights of the people. Children deserve to feel safe in their schools and it is apparent the time has come for the Arnerican gov- ernment to intercede and ensure this type of destruc- tion doesn't occur again. As for the war in the Balkans I'm concerned. I don't like that we are following the American tradition and abandoning our role as peace keepers. We are told only what they want us to hear. This war has contin- ued for four weeks, unrelenting, and so far, unsuc- cessful. Prime Minister Jean Chretien is adamant about Canada's involvement and $52 million has been designated to the relief efforts for the refugees. As far as I've noticed President Slobodan Milosevic is getting precisely what he wanted. The Albanians are leaving, forced out of their homes to avoid the threat of both the Serbs and now, military air strikes. I preferred us wearing the shoe of reason rather than a fake imitation of an American product. We are all horrified by the atrocities of ethnic. cleansing that have been reported, but crimes against humanity are not exclusive to this specific area on the globe. For us to dictate we must first be sure 'ur own home- lands are in order. 1 think NATO has pushed the wrong buttons in their attempt to force Milosevic to sign on.the dotted line. We are following a President grasping for recognition by trying to erase the humil- ity of past mistakes. Hopefully we aren't pulled under in the process. I hope Canada will draw the line at ground troops and resume their traditional role as 'peace-keepers'. After all. that is one of the distin- guishing factors that separates us from the U.S. of A. DEBRA Sc:HERLF. small TALK Do you nave questions or concerns about how your child talks? Huron -Perth Preschool Speech/Language Initiative Would your child benefit from a speech assessment? CALL 273-2222 or 1-800-269-3683 and ask for smaIITALK