The Citizen, 2019-04-11, Page 3THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019. PAGE 3.
Wonderful are the effects when a crucified,
glorious Saviour is presented!
(Letters of John Newton)
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You!”
Psalm 73:25-26
There is nothing that I desire more, than frequent, lively, and heart-affecting
views of Jesus; who, like the brazen serpent of old, was lifted up on the cross-
-that we, beholding Him by faith, might live; even though the old serpent has
so often stung us and filled us with the baneful, painful poison of sin!
Wonderful are the effect when a crucified, glorious Saviour is presented...
by the power of the Spirit,
in the light of the Word,
to the eye of faith!
This sight of the crucified, glorious Saviour...
destroys the love of sine,
heals the wounds of guilt,
softens the hard heart,
fills the soul with peace, love and joy,
and makes obedience practical, desireable and pleasant.
If we could see more of Him--we would look less at other things. But, alas!
Unbelief places a veil before our sight, and wordly-mindedness draws our eyes
another way. Some vain hope, or vain fear, or vain delight--comes in like a
black cloud and hides our Beloved from our eyes.
A Grace Gem
Submitted by: Immanuel United Reformed Church,
Listowel, ON 519-291-1956
MEETING NOTICE
Municipality of
Morris-Turnberry
The upcoming meetings for the
Municipality of Morris-Turnberry will be held:
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
Please note time change!
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. Regular Council Meeting
CHSS, SACSS students protest education reform
Over 150 students from Central
Huron Secondary School and St.
Anne’s Catholic Secondary School
walked out of classes last Thursday
to protest proposed cuts to
education.
The walkout was in reaction to
many of the proposed reforms to the
education system made by Premier
Doug Ford’s Conservative provincial
government, all of which have
come from Minister of Education
and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa
Thompson.
The protestors from the two
schools were joined by several
families as well as representatives
from the local NDP riding
association. The group marched to a
park on Highway 8 in Clinton to
bring its message to the public.
Students were concerned about
everything from specific issues such
as class sizes and the availability of
educational assistants to broader
strokes, such as the future of
education in Ontario based on these
reforms.
Marissa Nesbitt said she is most
concerned about the changes to
average class sizes, saying that
having 28 students to a single
teacher wasn’t realistic.
“The bigger the class size, the
more questions that can’t be
answered,” she said. “With an
average class size of 28, there will be
students who won’t be able to
discuss the issues.
Alyssa Greidanus says she is
concerned about the future of
education in Ontario, saying she
didn’t know if students would be
able to flourish in the system
proposed by Thompson, and didn’t
know if the education system could
bounce back from such reforms.
The reduction of educational
assistant (EA) positions concerned
student Kiera Agnew, who said EAs
fill an important role in education.
“Students may not be able to get
help in the classroom if we get rid of
EAs,” she said.
Several students, including Grace
Robinson, were concerned about the
proposed mandatory four online
courses each student will need to
take over the course of their four
years in secondary school. Robinson
was especially concerned with how
students with learning disabilities
would be able to participate in such
courses.
“They will need a teacher to help
them through the course,” she said.
“That kind of assistance won’t be
available, according to what’s been
proposed.”
Olivia Picadoswall is another
student concerned with online
courses, especially for younger high
school students.
“Students in Grade 9 and 10 might
not have the self-regulating skills
needed to succeed in an online
course,” she said. “They will need
help from teachers and that
might not be easy with online
courses. It’s a real detriment to the
students.”
Taylor Carter said she was upset
with all the reforms suggested by
Thompson. She said that, as a
student graduating this year, the cuts
won’t impact her, but she has two
younger siblings whom she doesn’t
want to suffer through an education
system that doesn’t support them.
Cassandra Lintott was also
concerned about the wellbeing of her
family in the education system,
saying her two brothers, who are
currently in Grade 6 and 7, learn
better under the care of EA.
“That’s one of my biggest
concerns is how these changes will
impact them,” she said. “The
mandatory online courses are also
not a good change, because some
students will be left behind as a
result of that change.”
Making their voices heard
Students from Central Huron Secondary School and St.
Anne’s Catholic Secondary School walked out of classes
last Thursday afternoon to protest the education reform
proposed by Huron-Bruce MP and Minister of Education
Continued from page 1
party leader, chose to blame the
walkout on teachers and their
unions, saying they influenced
students’ decision to walk out.
He has remained defiant in the
face of widespread protest, saying
his government remains focused on
what’s best for students.
“Our government will not be
distracted from making the
necessary reforms to create a
sustainable, world-class education
system that protects what matters
most for students,” Ford said on
Twitter.
This is the second walkout protest
that has taken place at Madill since
the Ford government was elected
and Thompson was made Minister of
Education. The school is
Thompson’s alma matter and many
students expressed not only their
frustration with the government, but
with Thompson personally
for turning her back on her
constituents.
Emma Skinn, a Grade 12 student,
said she chose to walk out for a
number of reasons, chief among
them, however, are the proposed
class sizes increases that will stretch
resources that are already as thin as
they can go.
She said that it’s already difficult
for students to focus on what’s being
taught with existing class sizes, let
alone allowing them to grow even
further. Thompson has been quoted
as saying that larger class sizes will
build “resiliency” in Ontario’s
students – a statement that has been
met with much criticism.
Skinn said that what’s being done
at the provincial level is not what’s
best for Ontario’s schools or its
students, including cuts to special
education that will then impact
classes throughout the rest of the
school.
She added that the proposed cell
phone ban in classrooms will also
affect her. With an auditory
condition, she needs her phone to
help her focus when doing work on
her own. Without that aid, she won’t
be able to learn effectively and her
education will suffer, she said.
In addition, Skinn said she’s had
disappointing experiences with
online learning, so the shift to online
courses (high school students would
be required to earn one credit online
every year) also concerns her, adding
that it would be replacing an
interactive, productive classroom
environment with an online
environment that is anything but.
Zeke Walden, another Madill
student, was also concerned with
class sizes. He felt there were better
ways to find efficiencies across the
province than by sacrificing the
futures of the province’s students.
Grade 9 student Ella Sawchuk said
she was very concerned with the
direction of the provincial
government, saying that increasing
class sizes is a definite move in the
wrong direction.
She added that seeing students in
the riding protest should concern
Thompson, but she didn’t feel that it
did.
“We elected her and I’m
disappointed in how she’s using her
platform,” she said.
Julia Wright, another Grade 9
student, agreed with Sawchuk (the
pair came together to hold a sign in
protest of the government), saying
that increasing class sizes would in
no way improve her learning
environment.
Robyn Weishar said she was
scared of what she was seeing, not
just as a student, but as someone
who wants to be a teacher in the
coming years and raise a family in
Ontario.
Weishar said she already has her
post-secondary education sorted and
that she plans on studying and
becoming a teacher in her home
province.
What’s happening with the
education system under Thompson,
however, is very troubling for her –
to the extent that she’s begun
crafting a back-up plan for her
career.
She said that the decisions being
made are disheartening to someone
who wants to be a teacher who
inspires students as her teachers have
inspired her.
Not only is she reconsidering her
chosen career path in the wake of the
provincial government’s decisions,
but she also said that Ford and
Thompson are creating an
environment in which it would be
“scary” to have children in the
system.
As someone who has been heavily
invested in her school’s drama
program in recent years, Weishar
also said she was dismayed to see
that cuts will likely result in losses in
arts programming.
Arts classes, she said, have given
students a voice for decades when
they felt they didn’t have one
through the traditional curriculum.
To take that away, she said, would
fail a whole division of students who
are artistically-inclined and able to
express themselves through that
programming.
Skinn agreed with Weishar’s
statements, adding that the lack of
interest and engagement from
Thompson on the subject has been
very disheartening.
Madill students voice concerns
Lisa Thompson. The students took their combined protest to a
park on Highway 8 to gain as much attention from passing
motorists as possible. Concerns include class sizes and cuts to
special needs funding. (Denny Scott photo)
Get information
on Huron County attractions
on the
Stops Along The Way
website at
www.stopsalongtheway.ca
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
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