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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1970-02-05, Page 4PAGE FOUR ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1970 Helping the Poor is Real Progress The ugly horsehair sofa gave way to the comfort and beauty of the chesterfield, the ice -box to the refrigerator. Technology has given us an amazing improvement in things. But improvement in the numan condition lags far benind. Where poverty is concerned, we still live in the horse and buggy age of thinking. "The poor are a lazy, worthless lot, " it is said. "They have only themselves to blame," is frequent comment. Regarded as second class citizens, they receive second class treatment. This dark age spirit of charity, the crumbs -from -our -table approach must forgo. Studies, case histories - the cool logic of statistics, explodes the hoary myths of worthlessness. "The poor by and large do not want to be parasites, " states Reuben Baetz, executive director, Canadian Welfare Council. Dr. Albert Rose, professor of Social Work, University of Toronto maintains, "Few of the poor are lazy or wasteful and those so described, suffer from profound emotional sickness, like drug addiction or alcoholism. And assistance should be given to the non-employables, without the stigma of poverty, says the Economic Coun- cil. But studies show 75% of poverty is avoidable, but not hard core. Let's clear away the cobwebs. "The poor" is not an act of God and immovable, it results from an in- equitable distribution of the national income. For too long, plush apartments, ski-doos, power boats, etc., have taken priority. The production of sufficiency, beauty and comfort in the lives of our 4, 000, 000oor is the great urgency. Here is the true meaning ofp progress, equality and freedom. titter No creature fouls its habitat more than man. The evidence is everywhere. It is not just the filth that hangs like a cloud in our polluted air. Nor the oozing waste that poisons our waters. It is also the litter, the debris of our new, improved way of life, that most of us, at one time or another, have been guilty of spreading. The Ontario Department of Highways, for example, estimates that it costs $55 a mile a year to remove broken glass, waste paper, cigarette packages and other junk from 13, 000 miles of roadside, The total costs, $700, 000. in 1969, will soon exceed $1 -million annu- ally. • Our lakes and streams, for example, the ones in which no chemicals or effluent are deposited, are littered with bottles, broken glass and other signs that say man hass passed this way. In one northern community, members of a sports- men's club collected 20 hampers of man-made and man -distributed garbage along a quarter of a mile of stream. Multiply this by the thousands of miles of streams and lakesides in the more popular areas across Canada and you have one big mess. Unfortunately, all levels of government have only lent an inattentive ear to the problem of litter. Al- though litterbugs may be fined, there are not enougla policemen to enforce the law. It seems that now, especially with the new throw- away bottles and cans and all the other disposable wonders of our technology, it is time to educate and to enforce against littering. For if we fail to do this, the outdoors and the city streets will become a pigsty. (Unchurched Editorial by the United Church) ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 131 w Member: �j�ne' Canadian, Weekly. Newspapers Association !0I'll w Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association lif°°01.10pce Subscription Rates: $3.50 per year in advance in Canada; $4.50 in United States and Foreign; single copies 10 cents Oh, the frustration of working I've been thinking seriously about giving up my job as a teacher, and settling for a lot less money and a lot more peace of mind. And I'm not the only one. Colleagues, right and left, are unhappy. One would like to go into the hotel business. An- other dreams of buying some rough land on Manitoulin Is- land, and raising sheep. Others, who have been teach- ing a long time, are planning to quit soon and take a re- duced pension, rather than bat- tle it out to the full term. They can't face another five years of teaching apathetic, lazy and in- solent kids, Another friend, who has taught' happily for 23 years, says he used to look forward to every day of it. This year, he admits, he faces each day with a sort of vague horror. Still another is socking every nickel he can spare into investments so that he can get out while he retains his sanity. Had lunch the other day with a chap who this year, after some . years of running his own business, came into teaching — in the technical department. On his own, he worked 10 or 12 hours a day. At this lunch period, he didn't stop talking for half an hour. From the outside, he thought teaching was a snap. The pay was good, and the holidays looked great. Now, he's ex- hausted at the end of a teach- ing day, though he's done no physical labour. He said: "I never knew there were kids like these." Perhaps we sound like a bunch of old fogies who are getting tired. Most of those I've mentioned are in their 40s, not quite in the old -fogey class. And they've enjoyed their teaching for years. But another colleague is talking about going to the Northwest Territories. Another is thinking of taking a job in a steel plant. His wife, also a teacher, wants to get out and do social work, at less money. They are all in their 20s. All of us are making quite reasonable salaries. It would be quite a wrench, financially, to quit, especially for those who have roots in the commu- nity, a mortgage, and growing children to educate. But the malaise is there. And it's difficult to put your finger on the trouble. Our wives are getting worried They ask, "What is wrong, spe- cifically?" And it's difficult to give an answer that doesn't sound. trivial. It's a host of little things which add up to one word — frustration. What is the trouble, then? I think there are two major sources. First, the pendulum has swung too far from a system that was archaic to one with ned permissivences. Eve- ryone is supposed to do his own thing. Sad truth is that a majority of teenagers hasn't got a "thing" to do. They want to be entertained, not learn. They'll sit happily through a movie at school, chewing gum. But try to get them to talk about it, express their ideas, relate it to their own lives, and they groan with boredom. They're mentally lazy, as 'most teenagers have always been Their favourite comment on a thought-provoking, stimulating movies, is "Stoopid." I've never believed in cor- poral punishment, either as a disciplinary deterrent or as a spur. But I'm beginning to wonder. I am hurt and alarmed at the increasing lack of cour- tesy, the "who cares?" atti- tude of the kids, and the in- crease in plain, dirty talk. (The language you can hear in a modern high school, especial- ly among girls, would curdle your blood.) You can imagine the joyous rapture of my wife to any pro- posal that I quit. Like the good little wife she is, she said she'd go anywhere with ane, and do anything, as long as I was hap- py. She made up a great list of where and how we could save money, without the salary. But the reaction has set in, and in 100 casual, little hints she is revealing the utter folly of it all. But I was prepared for that, and I'm going to keep her thinking about a shack, and a pot-bellied stove, and potatoes, and porridge for a while yet. It'll do her good. 0 VARNA A pancake supper is being held on Tuesday evening, Feb- ruary 9. at the United Church. The sympathy of this com- munity goes out to the family of the late Sherlock Keyes in their recent bereavement. The February meeting of the U.C.W. is being held in the Church on Thursday evening of this week. Mr. and Mrs. Bob McClymont, Michael and Shannon, of Guelph spent the weekend with relatives at Clinton and Varna. May Eliminate Because of increased enrol- ments at teachers' colleges dur- ing the past few years teaching on letters of permission in ele- mentary schools may be entirely eliminated in the near future. An Ontario Department of Education directive states that regulations covering the issuing of letters of permission will be tightened during the 1970-71 school year. While there may still be a few centres where certificated teachers are unavailable there is generally an adequate supply of qualified personnel from other areas, and is should be only in the most unusual circumstances that a school board would find it necessary to apply for a letter of permission for an unqualified person to teach in an element- ary school, the directive states. The directive, sent to region- al directors of education, dir- ectors of education and superint- endents of separate schools, states that any board applying for a letter of permission must provide documentary evidence to show that a qualified person is not available. FOCUS: One Moment of Time Our camera records a child's First Smile . . . makes an official report on the bride's radiance . . . Commemorates a trio posed for Dad's birthday surprise. Moments like these can never be recaptured unless they are per- fectly preserved by HADDEN'S STUDIO. Your family's pictorial history should be in qualified hands. Contact Hadden's Studio GODERICH .118 St. David St. 524-8787 Business and Professional Directory OPTOMETRISTS J. E. Longstaff f OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527-1240 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m., Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE 10 Issac Street 482-7010 Monday and Wednesday Call either office for appointment. 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