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Times Advocate, 1997-10-08, Page 4Pao 4 ftmv; Advocate, October 8, J997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager. Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir, Craig Bradford, Chantall Van.Raay . Brenda Burke. Kate Monk, Ross Haugh Production; Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray. Barb Robertson Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodgert . Ef nLO cejaircpunting; Sue Rollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald.. Cassie Dalrymple. Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership Publications Mali Registration Number 07511 0110 year rate for Canada subscribers - S38.00 + OST Two year rate for Canada subscribers - 383.00 + OST 4U8= 069111 1 COMm4, Outside Canada - 9102.00 • INY-law R ♦SSO Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM ISO by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1.519.235-1331 • Fax: 519.235-0768 a.s.r. awno5210835 ---111111111=1111111111------ Teachers' salaries have been the target all along T he secret is out - Ontario Edu- cation Minister John Snobelen has ad- mitted that he plans to get rid of some 14,000 teachers through attrition and buy-outs, and' replace them with" fewer than 1(L000 teachers fresh out of col- lege; This means a shortfall of some- thing in,the range of 4,000, but not to , worry, it won't.mean larger class sizes, - just ,less -preparation time. , The revelation brings to mind two statements, one by Snobelen himself, andthe second by a public' school prin- cipal. The. first statement was made short- ly after Snobelen announced his -plan to • revamp education and provide a better education for.Ontario students while saving the taxpayer money., The second was made shortly there- after, and went something along the ' lines of, '`You don't get more for less: - ou get less for less." - Initially the education minister tipoke'of trimming "redundancies" from the system, and funding to_boards of education was cut. The result in some areas_was r _ming extras_ from a `sys- tem well able to afford it. Other. boar s, especially those in'rural areas like our own. had trimmed wherever possible years before and syere already running "lean and mean". Despite Shobelen,s, promises, programs were cut. Teaching positions were eliminated: All along, there have been voices, both in support of the government and. againstits policies, saying teachers' salaries. were the target. It simply isicit possible to generate real savings in edu- cation by nipping at the edges, build- ings, equipment and supplies, busses. As with health care, the biggest invest- ment is not in hardware and real estate, but in people. Staff salaries amount to a huge percentage of the education bud- get. . ' As our educationminister under- stands, experienced, highly qualified , teachers are paid quite well for their skills,while teachers fresh out of school • are cheaper.. 'Our education system has become top heavy, with: a high proportion of old- er teachers: We have: demographics to thank for that'- the post war baby boom hit the school system. creating a huge but temporary need for teachers. like a• bulge in a hose. Most boards haven't hired more than'a handful' of staff in the past decade. As enrolment returned to normal levels, new teachers were not hired. This means that children now in school have sorpe incredibly well qualified class- _. room teachers. But what -happens when the bulge in the hose finally makes its way through the system'' Over the next few years, most of those experienced teachers will retire. and they will he re- placed with receur-graduate -- —'---_ The situation' will correct itself. There is no need to turn education up- side down and create chaos to achieve the goal of fewer highly paid teachers. What our education minister should be worrying about is the affect on our students of too many inexperienced -teachers, who will need every minute of preparation time they can get.: and long sun'lmer yacations to upgrade their skills and take extra courses repnhreel jrnrn Sauye,i (-.r 'Your Views Letters to tbeEdier Providing a qualityeducation "Visit my classroom Mr. Harris." Dear Editor 1 challenge Mr. Harr. visit my classroom and then say that 1 a'm.not to be trusted ai provide quality education. I tree my students' shining eyes when they meet the challenges of "spelling with your eyes dosed and pluses and take-aways and beingan artist and help - Ing their fncnds and warm fuzLies " These tour and five year olds in my Early. Years classroom meet any and all expectations that 1 have of them and they dig so with eagerness. pods: and joy. They know they are learning and they love every minute of it. Visit my classroom Mr. Harris. You have insulted not only me and my whole profession. but also the students that I have taught for -the past -29 years. Yours sincerely. Jean Twigg. Early Years. Hensall Public School A View From Queen's Park By Eric Dowd • TORONTO -- Premier Mike Harris is starting to lose an image that has served him well. as a rare politician who does what he says he will do. This view of the Progressive Conservative premier is changing because he has retreated on several high-profile issues. dropping plans to ban municipal. hospital and school board em- ployees from strikes during downsizing, start the school year earlier and set a fast pace in .closing hospitals. ,Until now, Harris has had a special stature as a politician who keeps promises, which he was able to establish oddly even before he was elected premier and which helped him win an election in 1995. Hams laid the foundation for it a year before the election, when as the obscure leader of the third -biggest party in the legislature he an- nounced his Common Sense Revolution plat- form laying out his policies,, mostly for cutting government and saving money. in unusual de- tail and was unswerving and unhesitating in in- sisting to would implement them. , Harris volunteered many times that he would resign if he failed to keep his promises. and did not water this down with reservations that.of course he could not be held to his promises if events happened which he could not control. such as a decline in the economy.. His -opponents, New Democrat premier Bob Rae and Liberal leader Lyn McLeod. said poli- ticians could not realistically give such guaran- tees. Voters naturally were attracted most by Har- ris's policies of less government and taxes. but also liked him as a leader who appeared firm and unyielding on doing what he said. As premier, Harris mostly has kept premises despite criticism and seems roughly on track to achieve his major goals of a 30 per cent cut in provincial income tax and balanced budget by the end of his term. He has fallen short in some other areas which have not been widely noted. such as promising no tax hikes but increasing many fees. insisting he had no plans to dose hospitals but marking That's my opinion By Chantall Van Raay. What is more beneficial: college or university? Someone asked me me of the hardest questions 1 have ever heen risked the other day • "What do .you' think was more henetitaal to you: college or univer- sity ", . • I ;pent three years in university. laking something that I will 'prob- ably never use: anthropology. 1 am S..31).000 00 in debt. I suffered a beer _gut. long -nights in the study with a pot of .a)tfee .tnd a hag of .chips. Heil the healthiest diet). and ( had lust purchased new shoes to wear to the unemployment Zine. Very ..few Of my university friends were landing lobs. This frightened me. because 1 thought. "I'm paying S30.000 to he unem- ployed'" ' But then ( heard of people going to college. obtaining a erne -year cer- tificate itnd••finding a Joh in their field almost .immediately. That's.when 1 decided to enroll in the one-year journalism print pro- gram at Sheridan College, Now 1 have a job as a reporter. (*In happt- ly paying off my somewhat linger- ing debt. and 1in cleansing rnv sys- tem with trust and vegetables. You would -think the question asked would he a relatively easy eine to answer. Before lumping in .inti saving, "'Well. college of course." I thought about Where 1 would he• without .t university education. - - University taught me the life skills.that were well worth 530.000. It has helped me open up to novel ideas and interests. While 1 cannot remember. every 'ecture f attended in university.do recall_ that most at them were worthwhile. Where. - else are you eiven.the opportunity to talk about life. to he philosophi- cal. to vent. digest or "he"" 'Univer- sity gives people .t chance to ex= - press what and who they are and come to trams with it. Mat is how 1 decided -university. •.vas.more henetictal to me -than any- thing else 1 bare ever taken. Besides of nurse. what 1 took in kindergart- en. in_ university you take the ABC's . ou were taught in ktndergartcn and italicize -them. While college has landed me a job and is making me money. umversny has landed me lite and has made me - unique. We welcome Lour opinion. All letters to the editor must be signed and are subject to editing. Dellver to 424 Main Street, or mail to P.O. Box 850, Exeter. Ont NOM 156 Harris losing image many for the axe and haying smaller municipal- ities cost less but then forcing them to amalga- mate. • . • But until the recent spate of.more dramatic retreats. even many who totally oppose Harris's policies conceded grudgingly that he did what - he said. The view that Harris always keeps his word is now likely to diminish and it will hurt him. as previous governments were injured when they broke major promises. Rae, Harris's predecessor as premier. aban- doned a plan to establish government auto insu- rance on the ground the time was not right. al- though it had been a cornerstone of NDP election platforms for decades. . NDP MPPs still recall this as their govern- ment's most disastrous move although others will think its over -spending hurt more, because it set the NDP on a path of being seen as a party which does not do what it had promised. David Peterson as Liberal premier carried the stigma in losing the 1990 election that to win an earlier election he had promised to fight free trade to the last drop of his blood and reduce in- surance premiums. but then proved remarkably lethargic in following through with/ either. I Ontario's most famous retreat in recent times. its version of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. was Tory premier William Davis's announce- ment just before he retired in 1985 extending provincial funding to all grades of Roman Catholic high schools, although he had won an election in 1971 partly by refusing the same aid. Many did not like providing the funding, but the sheer deceit of it also hurt the Tories under . Davis's unfortunate successor. Frank Miller, in an election that year in which they lost majority government after 42 years in power and were reduced months later to opposition. Harris's retreats will please some who wanted changes in policy and make him look more moderate which also can be useful, but he no longer will have the special niche of being a different politician who always keeps his word.