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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1999-05-05, Page 6Editorial&Opinion Wednesday, May 5, 1999 Am ()( PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Don Smith General Manager Production Manager Deb Lord Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Testing, testing, one, two, three... At of people are wondering how that lo proposed competency test for teachers ould work. Will it take the form of a written test (paid for by the taxpayer)? Will it include observation in the classroom by an independent evaluator? Using either, or a combination of both, to test whether or not a teacher belongs in the classroom is rather like judging how a perfume will smell by check- ing the shape of the bottle and the price tag. A written test might smoke out the teacher who has not changed his lesson plans for a couple of decades. Then again, it , might not. Those types often excel at written tests because they have a.gift for memorizing material. As any good teacher knows, an ability to learn material does not necessarily indicate an ability 'to teach it. ° Observation might be useful in identifying the teacher who has a really irritating voice or distracting manner- isms. Unless the teacher has completely broken with reality, he or she could be expected to pull together long enough to impress the observer. Neither test would do a thing about eliminating the teacher who has been staring down girls' blouses for years, the one who Is seriously unbalanced but who manages to put on a pretty good act most of the time, or the teacher who, for some reason, takes a dislike to certain children and picks on them. Most teachers in the system these days are highly competent, and are in the field because they truly enjoy it. With at least one university degree, and often more, they do have career options if they genuinely dislike working with children. There are exceptions, and every parent and child knows who they are. So do the other teachers: No one wants the bad apple spoil- ing the barrel. While there has to be some way of getting rid of the benignly incompetent, not to mention the clinically insane, testing teachers every few years will not do it. Stories are.still being told about a high school science teacher (in a community at least a couple of hours from here). He would have failed any competency test. In fact, he probably would have failed any sanity test. He threw experiments out the window, drank what students thought was iodine but was actually coffee, and let garter snakes loose in the classroom. His stu- dents would dive behind the desks when he eyed a chemistry experiment and uttered the ominous phrase, "Hmmm, theoretically, it shouldn't be doing this." There were explosions, poison gas and the odd fire. Students got a bonus mark if they went an entire year without causing the science wing to be evacuated. But he was a great teacher. He inspired a whole gen- eration of science and chemistry students. No one from any of his classes forgot him, or what he taught. Especially memorable were his lessons on what not to mix together. Competency tests and teaching will not mix. Good teachers will regard the tests .as an annoyance. The problem is, so will the poor teachers, the danger- ous ones who have no business being in positions of authority over our children. They will not regard the tests as a threat. What is needed is a body of some sort which has the power not only to investigate complaints about teach- ers, but also to make recommendations, and in extreme cases, the power to revoke their licences to teach. This would seem to resemble the college of physicians and surgeons, and the college of nurses - and the college of teachers which was established not all that long ago. Either that professional regulating body needs some teeth, or the Tory leaders who came up with the com- petency test idea need to test it out on themselves. What students, and good teachers, need is a plan that will work, not something that sounds impressive (and expensive) but will accomplish nothing. Reprinted from Saugeen City News The big question: To mow or to weed My life as a home owner, or more specifically a yard owner, has been one of two minds. It's the debate that goes back to the time when Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden. Is it better to have a grassed yard you need to mow every week or a garden you have to weed? I've flip-flopped on the issue since I bought my house four years ago. I took possession in mid-June and by the time I got things unpacked, it was too late to start a garden so the soil rested for the summer. The next year, I set out with enthusiasm and planted the entire garden area with enough veg- etables to feed a few families. Alas, by the time I had time to tend the garden in the evenings, the mosquitoes were out and it was growing dark. Not wanting to dress in a bug suit with spotlights shining on my back yard, I salvaged what I could in my naturalized garden. The next spring, I seeded down the garden and took to the lawn mower for the next two years. But eventually, my thirst for flowers, shrubs and veg- etables outgrew the space in my flowerbeds. I found myself sitting under the trees gazing wistfully' at the lawn, dreaming of lilacs, lilies, daisies, dogwood, toma- toes and beans. So I cheated — or finally got smart -- and hired a green, caring company to till up the lawn and shape the beds. What would have taken me a weekend of back- breaking digging was done before I came home for lunch. I've thinned out the perennials from my other beds and am now scouting friends' gardens, begging for con- tributions with the promise I'll name the plant after them. I'm not alone. Spring is when all we farmer wannabees get dirt under our .nails. We approach our little plots with such resolve you'd think we were planti- ng 600 acres. We scour garden centres looking for the best buys and either the latest hybrids or the heritage varieties our grandmothers grew. We compare notes with everyone we meet and spy on other people's gardens to see how their onions rate. Garden centres pop up like mushrooms on every corner. And you know what I like best? Knock on wood, shopkeepers can leave their flowers, bags of soil and hanging baskets out at night without vandalism occurring. To me, that's the sign of a good community where people respect each other. But I digress. The physical, spiritual and emotional benefits of gardening are becoming more well known. Schools, nursing homes and hospitals are establishing garden plots to grow fresh produce but more importantly provide solace from institutional life. There's something about helping a plant grow that does a soul good. Gardening is the fastest growing hobby in North America. It's not a coincidence that as our lives become more stress -filled, a hobby is so popular that enables people to work with their hands, think through the day's problems, get fresh air, stretch their muscles, be cre- ative, hear the birds sing and have some control over the food they eat. Here's to another go at gardening. If you've got extra perennials and shrubs, send them my way. KATE MONK KATE'S TAKES About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours . Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. 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