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Times-Advocate, 1987-06-24, Page 28Page 16A Times -Advocate, .June 24, 1987 Program by Keith Roulston "People make you feel less in: telligent because you don't have a diploma. It's nice to make them eat their words," says Bonnie who's get- ting marks in the 90's in a new educa- tion program for adults at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton. The program, conducted through co-operation of the Canada Employ- ment Centre. Conestoga College and the Huron County Board of Educa- tion, is designed to help adults who have been out of school, upgrade their education to pursue post -secondary education or learn job skills that will give them a better chance of getting a good -paying job. More than just technical skills, however, one of the biggest bonuses of the program for - most of the 15 students in the first- ever class seems to be a boost in self - 'confidence. Students have been out of school for varying lengths of time. Pat, for in- stance, hadn't been in a classroom for John Gillespie • 29 nears. tier first day. she recalls. she couldn't stop shaking inside. Now. she says. "i'm surprised I'm still learning as much as I am. surprised the old brain is working. I'm proud of myself up to now but I've got a long way to go." The kind of personal growth that her students have shown in the first 10 weeks of the program makes it "just very. very satisfying to bepart of it," says Lynda Lentz of Blyth, one of three teachers in the program. She and Judi Weber of Seaforth took on the duties of organizing the project and she teaches a life skills course that aims to improve the com- munications skills and self-image of the students. The life skills class, Judi says. is - developing skills the students will need when they go back into a work setting: how to deal with others in a social setting. The reward is almost as good for the teachers. "i've learn-' ed almost as much from them as they've learned from us," Judi says. John Gillespie. Manager of the Employment Centre in Goderich ex- plains that the program came about because of a need for somewhere.in the county to provide academic upgrading during the daytime after Conestoga College was unable to con- tinue the program at its Vanastra Campus. His office started talking to officials from the Huron County Board of Education but a major hur- dle had to be overcome: the federal government can't deal directly with a board of education. The solution came when the employment centre 'Was able to contract the work to Con- estoga College and the college was able to contract the work from the Huron board. ' The process took more than two years to set up from Gillespie's first memo on the subject in the sumf'her of 1984 to the final start-up on March 23, 1987. The course is designed to do tWo things: upgrade the academic qualifications of the student to the Grade 12 Ontario Secondary Schools Diploma and to provide employment preparation skills to help people find ,!mploytnenl if they didn't go on to post secondary schooling or to help them find jobs to finance their schooling. The first 15 "seats" in the program were financed by the Employment • Centre. Those attending through the Centre have their tuition paid and receive unemployment insurance benefits if they are eligible for them •or an allowance if they aren't. in ad- dition some may receive help with travel and other costs of attending the prog. am. Thal isn't the only way to get into the program however, Lynda Lentz points out. For people who don't need the financial assistance of Employ- ofeis soe.nd dioses for motors students rrient Centre funding there is no reason that they can't come in under the regular school regulations for in- dependent students, she says. Many people find it easier to study in groups than to take a cor- respondence course, she says. The observation is borne out by comments from the students. "1 couldn't sit down at a table and do it t the work by myself," says Laura. The group provides encouragement, she says and there is immediate access to a teacher, not like a correspondence course where if you run into a pro- blem it may take considerable time before•the problem can be solved. For Ron, who wants to get his Grade 12 diploma by this fall so he can study to be a policeman, the benefit is getting more courses quick- ly. In a correspondence course, he says. you can only take one credit at a time. In this course you can study three or four subjects at a time: For the teachers, the project began when CHSS principal Joe Wooden ap- proached Lynda Lentz and Judi Weber in late September last year to see if they would be interested in organizing the program. In October the two visited other schools with adult education programs to see how the programs worked. They then for- mulated a proposal that was submit- ted to the Employment Centre. The final response came_ in March and - March 23 the program was in operation. The teachers sat down for personal interviews with each of the initial 15 course participants to see what their careerg oals were and determined the limit of their 'previous education. Where the student had completed one or more grades of high school a - transcript of their marks was obtained. They started each of the course par- ticipants initially one geode above the last level they had completed in school. whether they left school five or 30 years ago, then monitored "the frustration level" to see if they could cope with that level and workeiltQ. help if not. • Under the perogatives of a school. principal. up to 12 credits of the 27 credits necessary for a grade 12 diploma can be given for equivalent experience outside the school system. For instance, Pat, who had been out of school for 29 years after not hav- ing completed grade nine, received 12 credits while another student who dropped out in grade 11 received six credits to take her up to her max- imum allowable credits under the system of 23. She'll have to earn the last four credits in the program. Judi Weber says the teachers have tried to get each student working on the extra credits that will most help in a post secondary school or job situation. For that reason one of the credits nearly all students are taking is computers, learning word process- ing and other skills to be able to com- pete in a modern workplace. The computers, plus a change in the profile of the typical student brought an early change in the program. The Employment Centre had projected that most students taking the pro; gram would have dropped out in grade nine or 10 so Lunda and Judi thought they would be able to teach all the subjects needed between them. Actually most students had dropped out in grade 11 or 12 and Judi didn't feel she had the advanced mathmatical skills to teach that level. Enter, quickly,Sheiia Mullin of Seaforth who teaches math and computers. Most of the students are taking four credits: English, math, computers and life skills. - The students are a diversified lot in their ambitions. One woman wants enough education to qualify for a . licence to drive a bulldozer. Another entered the course thinking about becoming a Registered Nursing Assistant but now is thinking about becoming a full-fledged nurse. One woman came into the course with on- ly grade nine but has been so suc- . cessful that she's now contemplating - going all the way through university. "One thing we picked up as a com- mon denominator.' ' says Lynda Lentz, "is that you have to address the problem of .a lack of self- confidence." Some of that lack has been addressed by the students themselves, through the closeness that has developed in the group and the encouragement they give each other, she says. Judi says the will- ingness to share each others success the whole class celebrated when one got 100 on a math test t is one of the differences betweenteaching in this environment and an ordinary environment. Another difference is the will- ingness to work. "We didn't an- ticipate they would be taking work home," says Judi, since the group contained people who have busy lives at home such as a singlemother and a grandmother but they have, and they've been swamping the teachers with work to be marked. To help the students measure their growth and to help build communica- - skills each writes a journal at the end of each week reflecting their feelings for the week: not just in school work, but in their personal lives. For the most part, Lynda Lentz says, they are very honest in the jour- nals and it gives the staff a good in- sight into how the students are feel- ing at this particular stage. CHSS's principal Joe Wooden has given the program two classrooms in the old wing of the school, one of which is -used for classes and the other. with furniture supplied by a student. has been turned into a - lounge. Lynda says the program just couldn't have worked without the co - 'f a-4 GETSr. HELP Morg Medd of Blyth gets help on the computer from instructor Sheila Mullin of Seaforth. Computers are one of the job skills courses most of the students in the course are undertak'q i Plan leadership camp The opportunity of a lifetime is just around the corner for Junior Farmer members in Huron County. Each year the Rural Organizations' and Services Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food organize and conduct a Provincial Leadership Camp for local Junior Farmer members aged 17-24 as of January 1st, 1987. it is a week long experience, September 5 to 12, to provide prospec- tive leaders with a .training ex- perience which will assist them in providing more effective leadership to local youth clubs and activities. To obtain further information about attending the 41st Junior Farmer Leadership Camp, contact Janice Murray, Seaforth (527-1532). Richard Hamilton Rural Organization Specialist operation of Wooden - a en. r it*' -considers a highly successful If the reaction of the students is con- sidered, the program already seems to be a success. "I.didn't expect the course to be like this," says Marg. "I'm very impressed. principal Rob Parr. program. No student has dropped out Funding for the course has been ap- and there have been no complaints proved until April 1, 1988 says John about the program. The ultimate suc- Gillespie at which time the success of cess of the program will be measured theprogram will be reviewed but so in how many students obtain their UPGRADE — Judi Weber (left) and Lynda Lentz (right) co-ordinators of o special program at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton for academic upgrading, look over the work of one of their star students Laura Hogg of Exeter. Fifteen people from across the county take part in the program. ::.:424naffiftlga>3y'NIOIM4MMOS.MOMMUR€«::M��tK•��OONMY:yMMES.:OROWIAMOSM: Jack's Jottings Clear rights By Jack Riddell Workers and communities in On- tario will have a clear right to know about hazardous materials in the, workplace, as a result of legislation introduced by Labour Minister Bill Wrye. The legislation: reaffirms the Ontario Government's commitment to make places of work safer. Che legislation is designed to make our province part of the new national Workplace Hazardous Materials in- formation System. or WIIMiS. The bill involves four components designed to fulfill workers' right to know about hazardous materials.One, the bill requires each employer to establish and maintain an inventory of -all hazardous materials. Two. the bill stipulates that each container holding a hazardous material in a workplace must he identified with warning labels that can be easily understood. Three. the bill requires the crea- tion. maintenance and updating of a material safety data sheet for each hazardous material in the workplace. Finally. the hill requires employers to provide workers with instruction anti .training and to develop courses in consultation with workers. Mr. Wrye said that through cooperation between labour. manage= ment and the government all On- tarians will benefit from a safer workplace. Community Services A long-term plan for the care of developmentally handicapped people was recently announced by Com- munity apd Social Services Minister, John Sweeney. The seven year plan has been designed to achieve the long- term goal of a community service system where all developmentally handicapped people are supported in their home communities. •Up to 11,000 people who currently live in the community, in nursing homes or in :i provincial institutions will be provil ed with wide range of residential, supported living and employment services. . New Programs will help families to better care for their developmental- ly handicapped children and aging parents. The programs will set up households with the support and supervision they require. Communi- ty action will be encouraged by the in- troduction of new affirmative business. employment training and supported employment programs. The plan will receive a $3:3.6 million in funding in its first year. The fun- ding of programs will focus on new community-based services. As well. some of the money will he spent on the maintenance of high quality care for those who remain in institutions for the time being. Stabilization payments Ontario farmers will receive record $12.7 million in interim payments for grain through the 1986-87 stabilization program of the Farm Income Stabilization - Commission. Interim payments are being made on a record number of crops this year -- corn, soybeans. barley, winter wheat, oats. and canola. We're making these interim payments before the end of the year to help ease the financial pressure growers are facing because of depressed commodity prices. Rather than wait to give a lump sum -near the end of the year. i wanted to give them some.needed financial support now. Unlike the 1985 interim payment. this payment will he based on the number of tonnes a producer registered for 1986. This allows for an earlier payment than in 1985 and che- ques will begin to flow by the end of June. Producers will be paid for 60 per- cent of their registered tonnes. using a payment per tonne for corn of $3.60. soybeans $8.60, barley $3.44. winter wheat. $4.25, oats $3.44, and canola $8.00. Any required adjustments will be made on the final payment. which will he based on sales. Producers growing several com- modities will receive one payment cheque this year, rather that separate cheques for each commodity. Only producers registered in the 1986 Grain Plan offered by the Farm income Stabilization Commission are eligible for the payment. Soybean men object The Ontario Soya -bean Growers' Marketing Board strongly objects to a $5.00 per truckload grading fee which the soybean crushers have an- nounced they will impose, effective September 1. Such a fee was not discussed as part of negotiations for the upcoming crop year and therefore is not part of the 1987 Markeing Agreement. The Soya -Bean Board stresses that under the 1987 agree- ment a producer shipping soybeans to either a crusher or a dealer is'in no way obligated to pay such a charge. Under provincial marketing legislation the Negotiating Commit- tee for soybeans, comprised of representatives from the crushers. dealers and growers, has the power to adopt a marketing agreement which sets_(he terms and conditions of sale as well as any charges relating to the marketing of soybeans. The committee sat down on April 1, 1987 and hammered out a marketing agreement. A fee for grading was not discussed or included in the agree- ment. All parties - crushers. dealers and growers are signatories of this agreement as it stands. The marketing agreement does state that any receiver df a shipment of soybeans. be it either an elevator or crusher, must supply a record of grade and moisture as a part of a nor- mal business service. To dale there has been no fee for such a service nor is there provision in the 1987 Agree- ment for such a fee. New director appointed graduate of the University of Western Ontario School of Business Ad- ministration, he also holds a Master of Education degree 'from Queen's University in Educational Administration. Anderson will succeed Stewart Toll who returns at the end of December after serving as the Middlesex hoard's director since July 1981. TheannouncementofAnderson's ap- pointment was made following a special board meeting at the end of a day -long series of interviews carried out by the full board of trustees. Anderson is married and the father of three leen-aged sons. He and his wife Karen will be moving to the area in the near future. Edward D. Anderson of Woodstock has been appointed director of educa- tion for the Middlesex County Public School System. The appointment was announced today by Betty Poole of Lambeth, chairperson of the Mid- dlesex County Board of Education. While the appointment takes effect September 1, Anderson will not assume the office responsibilities of director of education and secretary of the board until October 1. Anderson has been Superintendent of Schools with the Oxford County Board of Education since 1982. Before that he was princial, Listowel District Secondary School, and Timmins High and Vocational Schbol. Recommenc- ed his teaching career with the Brant County Board of Education. A STEPHEN CRAFT WINNERS were Cameron Sweiger, Jill Winners in the recent junior arts and craft show at Stephen Central school Russell, Peggy Brownlee, Shawn Lynn and Phillip Elder. T -A photo NEW RETIRED TEACHERS EXECUTIVE = A new executive for the Huron Unit of the Superannuated teachers of Ontario was named recently. From the left etre past president John Hoymon, Goderich; vice- president Irene Haugh, Crediton; secretary Theresa McCann, Mount Carmel; treasurer Evelyn Merrill, Clinton and social convener Jim Stoner, Goderich. Missing was president Al Jewson, Clinton.