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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-05-31, Page 2PAG 2.—CODZRICH 81GNAL-8TA1:, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1973 About religious education The subject of religious education in the public schools of the district has reared its ugly head only this week. A Goderich minister, Rev. Ryter St. Don has expressed his own personal concern about the possibility that even the barest religious essentials may be removed from schools if proposed legislation is passed at Queen's Park next month. It is not difficult to understand Rev. St. Don's concern: Here is a committed Christian who has made it his life's work to preach Christ. It. must be shown that Rev. St. Don is being most reasonable in his approach to the proposed change in the Act governing religious instruction in the schools. He wants little more than to confront young children with Christianity in a world where the trend is away from things spiritual. He does not want to preach a denominational belief. However, it is not difficult to under- stand the viewpoint of teachers and school principals who work with the students and their parents every day. Since faith is a basic need in man and a highly emotional arid personal matter, it should not be beyond anyone's com- prehension to imagine the problems which can arise in a situation where even the slightest offence to one's per- sonal faith is present. The Huron County Board of Education has deliberated long and hard at times over this question. They've not found any answers except to turn the whole problem into, someone else's lap for clarification and guidance. It appears that the local principals, at least, are ready to accept the legislation as proposed by the- Ontario govern- ment's Ministry of Education. It seems that these men, conscientious educators all, are prepared to set guidelines locally with suggestions from their staffs and the parents of the children they teach. There are indications that they ascribe to the theory -that the best religious education is the type ,which is taught in- cidentally and perhaps by example in the classroom. in its purest form, it is not recognizable as religion. There are many who believe that the school is not the place to learn religion. That task, they say, must be left for- the home and the church. It is not the responsibility of the school, they con- clude, to see to it that the children of this nation have learned to recite the Lord's Prayer and a few passages of scripture along with their regular memory work .... or that Christian con- cepts are examined along with the Monarch butterfly. The dispute will likely not be resolved until man. is united in one common faith. 'In the meantime, educators and' the clergy will continue to grapple with the issues and do the best they .can for children whose parents reserve the right to instill in their young whatever beliefs - or unbeliefs - they may accept them- selves. Discussions only answer Once again a group of Goderich workers are off the job through strike action. This time the strike is the result of a wage and working hour dispute bet- ween members of Local 682 of the inter- national Chemical Workers and Dominion Tar and Chemicals Ltd. This paper has no intention of choosing a side to support in this dispute. It would make little sense to do so and would accomplish nothing. Whether Local 682 deserve• more money for their services at the Salt Mine, or whether- Domtar Ltd. is justified in refusing the demands, remains a problem for the parties themselves to resolve. • Justification - of union pickets at the Domtar Evaporator Plant locally will no doubt be a matter for the courts to even- tually rule on.. In the view of this publication, since work stoppages negatively affect the community as a whole, the important thing now will be a speedy resolution of differences between the workers and the company to the satisfaction of both par- ties. The only way such a resolution will occur is through further negotiations and we urge both sides of the dispute to return to the bargaining table. So long as there is dialogue there is hope" of settlement. As long as the situation remains in its present state, with no negotiations taking place, there can be no settlement. We commend both sides for their ef- forts at further negotiations last week following the failure of conciliation some time ago. Surely the advantages of a speedy settlement to both parties make further negotiations an agreeable move,. Local 682 is to be commended for their orderly • picket line activities to ' date. Incidents dining such labor disputes, should they occur, do nothing to build an atmosphere in which satisfactory agreements can be ham- - mered out. We urge negotiators representing both sides to conduct discussions, when-. and if they resume, in good faith and fairly represent their arguments with an '"eye to resolving this work stoppage as soon as possible.—R.S. Ask ... and maybe receive Sometimes it takes just one more small -happening in a whole parade Of lit- tle occurrences to make one react. The news that the price of gasoline may go as high as 70 cents per gallon is just such a happening—the straw that finally broke the camel's back. If the people of Goderich and district were not interested previously in getting to work on the project of returning railway passenger service to Huron County, they now should be plotting with all haste to ensure that the federal and the provincial governments are fully aware that this corner of the country has been forgotten transportation -wise. When passenger trains were discon- tinued a few years ago, there may have been justification although that could he disputed. Railways were losing money on the passenger service even though there are many who still believe a percentage of the profits from moving freight by rail should be used to offset this loss. Very few residents of the area were making -use of the passenger train ser - r% •C A LAN IAM COM vice it was reported,. eventhough the.. reason for the absence of passengers could have been attributed directly to the fact that the trains ran at such incon- venient times that few people were ac- commodated by the schedules. The, railway officials put this loss of revenue down to the improved busline services which, of course, are helpful 'Abut hardly the answer, especially since their schedules are not attune to railways' in other centres, shou ld one be considering a bus -rail journey. Now with highways becoming crowded and increasingly dangerous not to mention the concern about pollution and a depletion of natural resources, people must add the fear that gasoline prices may soar to astronomical heights in a nation where fast, efficient transpor- tation is an absolute must. The people of Canada are on the move. So are the people of Huron at least they could be if rail passenger ser- vice was restored. Why not do what you can to promote that dream? Write to your Members today. er�� fat totl►�;e C) ti'M'SAAefIS COMpt Wit eoacrich SIGNAL -STAR .t •-0-- The County Town Newspaper of Huron --0-- Founded in1141and publ,thedevery Thursday' a137Well St •Goderich, Ontario Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the CWNA andOWNA Advertising rates. on request Subscrrptiens payable ,n advance. =0 00 ,n Canada, 84'50 ,n pIl countries other than Canada, single copies 20 cents Second clots mail Registration Number 0718 Advertising ,s accepted on the Condition that ,n the event of typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous ,tem, fngefher with ',atonableal!meant • for signature. w, 1, not be charged for but the balance of the aJvertIsemon, will be paid for at the applicable rate In the event of a lypegraph,cal er•or advertising goods or serv.t %at*wrongprice,geodtorservicesmaynotbe sold Advert,t,nq is merely an offer to tell and may be withdrawn a1 any time Business and Editorial office TELEPHONE 524.5331 area code S19 Second class mail registration number -0716 sato Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER---pr sident and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER--♦dkor R. W. SHAW--edaorlal start EDWARD J. B1iRSKI advertising manager DAVE R. WILLIAMS—advertising representative .p THEY SAID I"D t-1AI HLAs OUT \44k......:sormw HERE! Ph, 410q; Of f -• �` , ►, dP s +� ��� t r I(' 4;ifr 144, tarl t • ;/1I 4 /0illedlQINitV iY/' ; re iv y •02/40100,4 t (//t/1// 611111111111111111 DEAR READERS It is a little difficult to fathom what the Industrial Comntjssion is endeavoring to prove by. making such a fuss over the new plant put up by Dearborn' Steel Tubing in the Industrial Park. As last week's Signal -Star showed, the Industrial Com mission agreed to write to Dearborn advising the com- pany of the Commission's unhappiness with the roadside front on the building. In the Commission's view, the lack of decorative brick siding facing Highway 21 will "prejudice the env,ironment of the Industrial Park in the future". This writer questioned at the council meeting May 17 about the "prejudice" clause in the motion. The answer came back that the Industrial Commission is interested in having the first, buildings in the Industrial Park as attractive as possible, to set the tone for the whole Park. That's a noble ambition to be sure. No one would want to see the Industrial Park become a mass of dirty, dingy buildings belching smoke and pollution and looking grey and unattrac- tive. On the side of the famous Bluewater Highway, a tourist route to the northland of On- tario, nothing could be more undesirable and the In- dustrial Commission is right- fully keeping -an -eye on- the tip- - pearance of Industrial Park. However, the Dearborn building is not that dismal. Perhaps the Industrial Com- mission fully expected a truly impressive front on the Dear- born plant. Perhaps the Com- mission is somewhat disappoin- ted with the fact t that Dearborn plant . has a rather plain although otherwise clean, neat appearance. It may also be an indication that the Industrial Commission should set some hard and fast rules about building fronts in the Park, particularly those along High- way 21 .... regulations -which are clearly ,spelled out and defined for prospective -com- panies and the contractors who will eventually build their plants. It also behooves the In- dustrial Commission to look a little more closely at the ultimate intent of Industrial Park .... to provide jobs in Goderich and a broad, in- dustrial tax base upon which to build a better community. Dearborn along with DR - MCO and Domtar and umpteen smaller firms, is providing much needed employment in Goderich and district. What's more, Dearborn has relocated in the Industrial Park rather than, moving out of Goderich entirely when suitable expan- sion could, not be arranged at the uptown plant. It is a very definite asset to the town as will be DRMCO and all other companies who eventually set- tle in that much discussed ip- dustriaj Park. It seems somewhat petty in the light of all this, to make an issue of the absence of some decorative,brick or block on an otherwise fine addition to the industrial landscape of this town. Surely the Industrial Commission must temper its eagerness for art exebptional terior appearance with a deep and abiding concern to keep Goderich moving ahead in- dustrially toward a -solid, progressive future. * * * At this juncture, it will probably be claimed that the Signal -Star was unwise to publish the story about the let- ter going out to Dearborn ex- pressing dissatisfaction of the Industrial Commission over the absence of decorative brick or block on the front of the new pla nt. If the Signal can be accused of irresponsible journalism by including the story from the In- dustrial Commission minutes, could it also be construed that the Industrial Commission was unwise or irresponsible in making the decision to write the letter to Dearborn? A Signal reporter sat in on a meeting of the Rec Board last Thursday evening at which the Deputy -reeve of Goderich, Stan Profit charged that the Signal had blown the story of the hiring of an assistant arena ,1 hot -tiara If it's not alive why, do they have to kill it? On May- 13, while watching T.V. Program 'W 5' on Channel 13, I witnessed an actual mur- der for the second time. The, first actual occurrence was the murder of President Kennedy, when he was shot down by an assassin. The second murder, televised on May 13, was that of an un- born baby by a doctor. We may never know why President Kennedy was shot; but they stated on television the reason for the second mur- der was that this baby was not convenient at this time as the parents had planned a vacation. Some people believe that a baby is not alive until it reaches a certain stage of developement. If it's not alive why do they have to kill it? Pat Osborn Teachers rated Dear Editor. It has recently come to my attention that Don McKee will not be on the staff of Goderich Distric Collegiate next year. This causes me some concern for it raise's serious questions regarding the educational establishment. • Within the schools, students are supposed to learn and teachers teach. That this can occur in 'a situation where the students outnumber the teachers around 20 to one is doubtful for the exchange of in- formation and ideas is a process which takes place bet- ween individuals not role players. hut teachers are sup - manager outof proportion. Profit apparently feels that relations between (council and the Rec Board are good, and that the Signal falsely fabricated a feeling of growing uneasiness between the two bodies. Deputy -reeve Profit may not, by himself, be aware of any such feelings nor harbor any resentment within himself. But the seeds were surely planted for a major blowup which has been averted by the swift and commendable action of council whose members have suggested a thorough discussion of the duties and the jurisdiction of the Rec Board. Surely that exercise is valuable and in some small way was brought about by the fact that this newspaper indicated that a problem was developing. If the story concerning the hiring of an assistant arena manager was blown out of proportion by the 'Signal as the deputy -reeve suggests, could it also then be construed that the rec board and council had drawn- undue attention to the matter, possibly even handling By Shiileg J. Keller - it badly enough to attract the searching eye of the local press? * * * Usually at this point, mem- bers of a public body will state these are the reasons that many meetings should be held behind closed doors. In the case of the Industrial Commission, the local press to date has never attempted to cover these meetings. The only contact is through the miputes which are published and distributed at Goderich Town Council. As for the Rec Board, the ac- tual hiring and the negotiations leading up to such hirings were not covered by the local press. The controversy developed later at the Town Council table in an open meeting when the Rec Board minutes were_ under discussion. Therefore, it is easy to' con- clude that committee meetings away from the press are not always the, best way to get business done or avoid con- troversy. There is just, no assurance that decision making is any easier or better when it is lone in private. posed to play a role and as long as they are supposed to be professionals and get paid for their efforts the art of teaching becomes a job. This brings us to the crux of the matter for if teaching is a job there must be some way of protecting the rights of the worker -teacher. Since teaching is his livelihood, there must also be some method of assessing his poficiency as a teacher since he m%fst expect to earn his livelihood not just receive it for incompetence but , just daily attendance. • Unfor- tunately both such safeguards seem to be missing from the present system. With respect to ad- ministrators the teacher oc- clipies a position similar to his students. Teachers should be seen and not heard. They should definitely do as they are told. Conformity and acquiescence are the qualities which go rewarded. In dealing with teaching ability what should be assessed and who should make that assessment? 1 personally feel that the in- spector who observes a teacher 'for a few hours each year is not qualified to make an assessment. He may have all the PHD's in the world but he is disqualified because of insuf- ficient time. The obvious choice would be the 20-30 students who observe a teacher during most of the classes during most of the year. These are the people who know the teacher as an individual and have some idea of -how successful his teaching is. After all he's sup - pr -4d to by educating" them, not the county inspector. It is interesting to note that last year was the first time that all Grade 13 teachers were sup- posed to ask the classes for an end of year course evaluation. What I looked for in making that evaluation were,• knowledge of subject; awareness of students and class room atmosphere; the ability to understand why a student didn't understand and the'4 patience to help him through difficult spots. One of the most important criteria for a good teacher was that each day was important, interesting, and a definite loss if a student missed it. For the six grade 13 courses I took last year, the evaluations ran as follows; one course and teacher, excellent; one very good; two bearable; one bad; and one disastrous. The significance of my evaluation is not that its the final word on how a teacher did but that its a personal reac- tion by one individual. It gives him an indication of how I viewed the course. When coupled with the other student evaluations, he gets an in- dication of his overall success or failure. It was interesting to notice that the teachers who received ratings of excellent and very good had both usedstudent evaluations in the preceding years and were prepared with questionnaires covering various aspects of the course and their teaching methods. The two who received the worst ratings mentioned that there was to be a student evaluation of the course. Neither seemed very en- thusiastic about the idea of receiving student feed back. i gave Don McKee a rating of very goo!:1. His lectures were not repetitive or loving, itis frequent use of movies was an asset, they were usually in- teresting and provided contact (Continued from page 3) LOOKING 1114 MA 31 i Capt. Baxter, wbot' bar of years It, of propriet?r of the boathouse at the sold out to Harold of New York' The c very Popwith patronized the boa his cheery voice will b* from the old accustomed He walways cuetW comfort and safetyof d his boats, and hs wituseh he good wishee� successortis an energy man who is well Goderich. He ind the public a firstten•clary 'in e of pie cure LastthFriday night ooe Fish Company's tug, , ng (Capt. Dan Id, failed to return to , usual, and about• S Saturday morning Craigia of the tug Evel is also captain of the lite station0 suspecting she have come to some mis out to sea to find her. A o'clock he sighted the tug over twenty miles W.N.W. of the harbour brought her in about 2 in the afternoon. A crank shaft was the cause trouble and the Sea l( drifted several miles. cident occured about Friday and since that tug was at the mercy somewhat rough sea, Malcolm McDonald also out with the tug Huron 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to any further assistance needed but the Evelyn in the Sea King suc� The wall to separ stairway up to the roo will be occupied by Dr. from the new bank pre nearing completion, Red is so scarce that a building at the rear p resent bank is being down to provide brick new work 25 MAY 31, 1948 More than usual inYEARSce taken locally in the re the bank robbery at Th last week, owing to the that a former resid Goderich, Mr. Moorhead, is the ma the bank that was.ro had a narrow escape from might have been a fatal It was on Thursday m that two armed men the Thedford Bank of the of Commerce, forced the enter the vault, and made with $3,400. Before s the manager and his ass' in the vault one of the fired a shot at Mr. Moo •who saved his life bye an inch -thick oak door bandit's face. Mr. Moorhead, who merly accountant in G branch of the Bank of merce, left here for only a few months ago. A large audience filled Pavilion. on Friday ev when "Harbor Aires, formed male chorus, pr- a program of music of ding merit on its first publ pearance. The choir organized and is dir Mr. George Buchanan a Choruses showed a su achievlsm'e' after W hard work. The practices held, by the courtesy of S. Hopkinson, in the lou Sky Harbour airport ,oA whichThe waS.S.s schedutsuled to Goderich harbor Monday did not arrive because of cident. It is reported to lost its rudder in the River and the boat's list of Decoration holidayers was oblid return to Detroit by t According to srot received here the :site American is still under and will not be able to the second call at thigh* scheduled .for Saturday. will not make Godench September. YEARS M 31, 190 John KaneAY, vice•Prtt' 431. a Sarnia Public 8601 ,0 are, and a past 3 Ye adnate of Queen Kingston, will take riot as principal of Ro, Memorial Public S°h Goderich, in Seem Mr. Kane, now 0°m his tenth year of tea' Sarnia, ie a former IWr, resident, the son O M%s. John Cory, great, great•8rrnd'f0 Thomas MacQueen, sk and editor of the Signal. 1,1 q hree Sal conferen, wa this wee Premier er John N'h along with rs from the ea and th ant. The ailed to d contnbutu°1 °grants an such as int is policies. 1 went now operating c' cost pr( re hospital st secondary the Pro' Inc elf and adr $ which tial iurlsdl I contributio billion. fur e $710 n re and y1 U: ondary edc cher major m at pre` ,asslsta the Fede pay the tiv $905,3 ,out half of The Federl four progra 300,001 or Federal but rip's prop° the Fede from s and t( mens ttirn es a'share ich it now 1 I Governor 11 percent 01 e tax• co provinc e ously prop, sin the fina any educati, I0' more r !proposals' ing arrant cost healr e conferen t anv firm r side to lr changes. ngs-c9ptin Select comp t1I' i n t s dealings Corporati nofa$45 building. 1 eorge Gat hot seat me leaded igh ted with anda from dealing u new huilc ing const ack arra. a Square by Gerh, fend of Pre ential r ed ,by' Gt bet, 1971, .e job of bui ffice go to ' rn we have It did per but oning Mr agreed the memo v e that the