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The Huron Expositor, 1983-11-02, Page 2$fesf410,.>Ssrtdrfp fh. i 4011 ky, (lra 41. s V 1 , incorpor flag iI ''Poh L ,1)g4{l(iilg(Y 1872 d ': 12•Ma n St r .., r' ` 5227-0240 P.ublllfhsld at SEVORTI4,ONTARUO every. W00nUdiy morr'lli g /4144 1400f Managing Editor - .., ... j ioc.lyn . Shrler, PubIIshat MamharCanadlen:Cothmunity NewspaperAssi)c Ontario Com'nun/t y Newapapir AasocfatIon,and ,,4u lt'Buraau'ofClrculMfjat • A member of the Ontarfa Foga Council Subscription rites: • Canada $18.75 a year (In advance) • Outsldil Canada $55.00 a year On advance) Single Copies -50 cents each SEAFORTH. ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER, 2, 1983 Secohd class mall f)egistratlon Number 0698 • • Change for the better How are kids going to learn anything, ask parents, if teachers are always taking days off. MoSt parents and students have the misconception that Professional Development days are days when teachers sleep in, clean their yards, go shopping, pr simply take a holiday. A few may goof off during P.D. days, but the majority are attending seminars and workshops to upgrade and learn new teaching skills. The public also doesn't know that teachers' federations, along with the boards of education, help pay for P.D. days. It's because of these seminars that attending elementary school, for the student, is almost a fun -learning experience. Years ago, It was drilled into the students to stick to the textbook and that was that. Field trips were few and learning was boring. School just wasn't even interesting let alone fun. A professional development day in Seaforth on Friday attracted 220 Huron County teachers and 25 parents. Roles were reversed, the teachers were learning and the students had the day off. Friday was jam packed with seminars -- five in the morning and eight in the afternoon. The most any one teacher could possibly attend was four. Most classrooms were filled. It was standing room only. Teachers came away from the seminars filled with new ideas, eager to pass their knowledge on to their students. Hands-on experience, field trips, show and tell and cooking are some ways to make learning easier and fun. "Provide the concepts and let the kids fly with it," says Sharon Abbey, one of the keynote speakers. It works. That's been proven right here in Seaforth. Just ask any grade one student at Seaforth Public. Hands on learning is emphasized from kindergarten ,to grade two. As students advance, learning gets more refined and they are taught a more structured method. - Grade one teacher, Mike hark was complimented when Mrs. Abbey, 'primary consultant with the Perth County 'Board of Education said she wanted to take Mr. Park's classroom out of the school, put wheels under it and drag it around the county to .show other schools. "It's just an excellent classroom." The new ideas and teaching techniques from professional development days are benefiting the student, teacher and parent. In fact, if these days weren't held, students would still receive 185 days of education per year. The school year doesn't change, but learning has — for the better. -RW Garbage belongs to us Even if you're not a taxpayer whose contributions help fund the Perth County board of education, chances are you've followed the saga of the man who found 'school equipment in the garbage outside a North Easthope school. That taxpayer went public in a letter -to the Stratford Beacon Herald, listing what he considered perfectly good equipment (projectors, tape recorders, desks, a trampoline, typewriters, a tuba, among other things) that had been thrown into the garbage. The Perth taxpayer's letter, naturally, was discussed at a recent school board meeting. Then a news report prompted one Perth newspaper, The Listowel Banner, to editorialize against the waste. A week or so later a teacher at Listowel's high school wrote the,aper, pointing out that repair costs for many of the items which end d u� in the school's garbage can were probably so high that it was indt 3d ore economical to get rid of them. Unless you've personally examined he equipment in question, you don't know who's right. Probably there 'as some Inexcusable waste and equally probably some of the items thrown out were as the teacher describes: a six-year-old manual typewriter which would cost $175 to repair. When you think about the mountains of garbage we are creating with our embracing of the throw -it -out society, you realize that someone should have looked through that Perth school garbage with an eye to what could have been fixed cheaply or donated to the local Home and School. Just like we should go over our own throw -outs at home more critically, or have a recycling expert atoll our local landfill sites who does that job. But what we found most disturbing about the whole incident was the fact that a number of Perth trustees, instead,of thanking the taxpayer for his concern and re-examining the board's throw out policy, criticized the man for looking through the garbage in the first place. The fact that several trustees in our neighboring county felt that used equipment was "our garbage" and a taxpayer had no right to look at it, speaks volumes about what's wrong with education and the county board system. Neither the garbage bins, nor the schools nor the board offices are the exclusive preserve of trustees. They belong to the people who finance education, the taxpayers. We've got a right to question what's being thrown out, just like we have a right to discusswhat's being taught. We'd feel happier about education in Ontario if we were sure everyone shared that assumption. -SW Oo���o... - 'HALLOWE'EN was for kids this year as area school children ,dressed for the occasion. Johntowe, Brussels dunked for five apples and was - Soaked five times, top;- apple dunking was also popular end wet at Seaforth public, bottom left; Sherry Harburn, Seaforth, shows how to eat an apple by rolling It In her hands; Brian Dillon was sure to win • first in his pirate costume, • ()Nassink photos) The war in one -of the best places Like a lot of other people I've been reading practically every word about the troubles in Grenada. Unlike a lot of others though, I don't have the problem of not knowing -where or what Grenada is. I know, and 1 know'iiow it's pronounced (the a in the middle rhymes with hay) because, after a very short visit back in 1979, the Caribbean island became one of the places I like best in the whole world. When times get tough, as they often do in a Canadian winter, it's been a soul -restoring fantasy to dream about heading to Grenada for a month' or so. 1 have the address of someone who rents basic but comfortable cottages there. They're on Grand Anse beach, not too expensive, and the availability of those cottages has been a consoling thoughteamany, many times over the fiisi'five m As has been the memory of the dignified, polite people we met in St. Georges, Grenada's biggest city, when our cruise ship stopped in there for a day. HE WAS POPULAR Our visit was about a year before Maurice Bishop and his followers deposed prime minister Sir Eric Gairy while he was away in the US on a visit. While US media especially 5Omitt C@t bOotsg ie© by Sasort,51flitQ... ‘211111rdBliduiP9i'Marfis'tlAiibfaltCetiab6iit• Y2r%lied fate):" an Sir. Eric 'bad'�eJfe vely a second Cuba in the Caribbean, What we'd 'bitflitede tlsit'oVipartici: 'AndTarNfitt I b heard on the island and what I'd read about Bishop's fether id been shot and killed by a the Gairy government made it plain the 'govelnmient employed gang back in 1974 Grenadian people supported Mr. Bishop and when he tried to protect some unarmed his New Jewel Movement. women at a demonstration. And the Grenadian people we met that day nearly five years ago were what sold us on Grenada. A woman customs officer escorted us up steep St. Georges streets to the only bank in town open in ‘the afternoon. A saleswoman took a -great interest as we described our one -year-old dau ' at home for whom we were buyin cotton to make a summer dress. _i • . -ry store A employee and my h , and got into an animated discussion aboutublic health problems here and there. We got hooked on Carib, wonderful Grenadian beer, as we s ant a couple of hours sharing stories with CHILE AND CUBA The Bishop coup didn't seem too alarming, 1 thought. And perhaps he had sought -allies in Cuba because former prime minister Gairy had snuggled up to the military rulers in Chile. . But politics aside, the strong good sense of the Grenadian people seemed as good a guaranteeaas any of eventual stability on the tiny spice -producing island. (About 110,000 people live on its 120 square miles): The stand of the Canadian government, to p continue aid to Grenada despite the Ameri- the owner of a small shop. can statements about a Communist threat on While no one wantkdtoopenly talk politics, , the island, seemed awfully sensible to me. it seeped out that perhaps. the Gairy SHOCKING government was too big for its britches. 1 The killing of Mr. Bishop by the far -left military •wing within his own government is shocking. But so is the invasion by US marines' and a token . Caribbean torce (including policemen, for heaven sakes, from 1,0a islaud¢.4icifl4}p)k'irhaye sta)Mling The dust hasn't cleared enough so that we know what's really going on in Grenada. What would have happened if the US had not gone in there; what will happen when they leave? - I think the Grenadians could have solved this one on their own. I agree with UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher that free western nations can't impose their version of good government by force. But its the island's bad luck to be a pawn in the game the world's super powers play. Grenada has strategic importance far beyond her size because she sits very close to the route the huge oil tankers take in bringing their cargo to the USA. Above all I worry about the killing and the wreckage that war must be bringing to that tiny beautiful island and its inhabitants. Let's get the Americans out, the C'uban's out and all the super powers out, so that those sensible Grenadian can start nutting their country back together again. Trudeau should quit, but first .. . There are those who would tell you there is one good thing Pierre Trudeau can do for his country; quit ,tomorrow. Given that's an unlikely prospect, however, there are a few other good deeds he could take on before he calls it quits. And call it quits he should. There are signs, some experts say, that Trudeau has no intention to quit at all, that now that he's got a challenge to fight for his job he's getting his old interest back. Let's hope not. Despite his many critics, Trudeau has done many good things for his country. It would be sad to see the third longest -term prime minister in history go down to an ignominious defeat because he didn't know when to call it quits. He should quit for the benefit of his own party and for the country. A country can't remain healthy with so many people hating its leader. BUT FIRST.... But before he does turn over his office to a new leader, Mr. Trudeau could take on a U of Waterloo students interested in action for the disabled �j O h ^�RO� We are interested in hearing from fel �1 Q u Q concerned persons with respect to obstacles encountered by disabled men, women, and "Disabled persons need greater protect- children. We would also like to know ion under Canada's laws because their rights whether you have noticed any change in as human beings are often ignored". This is attitudes towards disabled people. if you a quote from the 1981 report of the Federal have any concerns about what's not being Committee on the Disabled and the done, or comments about what is being Handicapped entitled "Obstacles". done, we would be very happy to hear from The report forms a central reference point you. Please contact us at the following for a study we are conducting. We are address: Graduate Student Workshop, looking into existing or proposed action (for . School of Urban and Regional Planning instance, municipal by-laws, transportation University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1. arrangements, building access, etc.), which might enable disabled persons to more Sincerely readily participate in main -stream activities Beth Heinen. within our communities. ebb K®04h lAcwarkwu couple of difficult tasks that must be done if the country is to be made healthier. The first is really justa continuation of Mr. Trudeau's longest battle, constitutional re- form. Now that the new constitution is in place and the country has had a chance to cool down from all those years of hot-tempered arguments, perhaps it's time to finish the job and get on with reform of the Senate. The Canadian Senate has become a laughing stock instead of the proud -institu- tion it was meant to be. Senates are chosen, not for what they can do for the country, but for what they have done for their political party. But the Senate can once again play an important part in Canadian government. The Senate should provide some voice for the provinces and minorities and - balance the centralizing tendencies of the House of Commons without letting the country disin- tegrate into the 10 little kingdoms some of the provincial premiers think is the way to show Canada's diversity. The Prime Minister may be too tired of constitutional wars to tackle this dirty Job but he would be undertaking a valuable service if he helped put the Senate in order. GOAL TWO Mr. Trudeau may actually accomplish the other goal I'd like to see him take on without trying. The Prime Minister has"takenla,huge job on in truing to start a new international i dialogue that will get the U.S. and the Soviet Union to take a more serious resolve to solve the arms race. His chances are less than one in a million that he will have success. Both superpowers are so blinkered in their thinking that they don't know a rational argument when they hear it. The Prime Minister is risking the last of his prestige in Canada on this noble goal and even if he comes out looking like a fool, he should be thanked for the effort. But he may accomplish something else in his battle. He may begin to turn Canada away from 20 years of navel gazing to realize that there is the rest of the world out there. Canada since the nationalism of the sixties, has become more and more isolationist, partly because of the Prime.Minister himself. We must begin to see the rest of the world and its problents if we are to understand our place in the world. This new crusade of the Prime Minister may just do that. Let's hope so. Advice for -those frozen in terror Are you frozen with -terror, these days? You're not? Then wake up, you vegetable. You're supposed to be. Haven't you noticed the relentless cam. paimi to scare the living daylights out of us ordinary souls? There seems to be a conspiracy, in the communications media, to put you and me and our wives and kids into a perpetual state of fear. Advertising is the most prevalent, though not the most powerful, weapon of the scaremongers. It is suggested that if we have meas hair or a greaay sink, we're sunk; that five don't use a certain soap, we stink; that if we don't drink a man's beer, we're a bunch of you -know -whets. Well, all this is enough to set up a certain nervous tension in the ordinary amiable chap. What man wants to admit he's a failure because he can't :mahout to his friendly neighborhood deafer and snap up an all-new Super Aurora Borealis Shooting Star Sedan, with safety belts? Or has dandruff? Butt hi�isforthemorons. You_know, all the people who don't read this column. if they want to wind up with acid stomach, upset Sugca rand zpK@ by ©6I0 Sata(k*� nerves, migraine headaches and irregularity, as constipation is now known, serves them right. Anybody who is frightened by that kind of advertising deserves it. But it is not nb the humble commercial - watcher that the big guns of the horror -bri- gade are trained.. It is on , the serious reader -viewer. They have moved, lock, stock and frightfula, int) the newspaper, maga- zine, book and "serious" TV field. Every thne i pick up, leaf through, or switch on one of these media, somebody is trying to frighten the wits out of the about something. Its a bit hard fora fellow to cope with. BLACK HEADLINES ' Black headlines of graphic pictures ,su - gest that I'm supposed to be shaken rigid about Commtmh>m and cancer; birth control and bingo; high school drop -outs and homosernalism. Simultaneously, I'm supposed to be stricken by integration and insulation. If I'm not in favor of the former, there'll be a terrible blood -bath. if I'm again the latter, my heating bill will soar. Sometime during the day, I'm supposed to be whimpering in a corner because of: high-priced funerals; the computer, which is ggooiinngg to put me out of a job; the unfiilfilled housewife; and all that leisure time I'm,going to have next year, when automation tikes over. You'll notice 1 haven't even mentioned nuclear fission, which Is ofd bat, noe the egidrreis in my attic who, at this moment, according to an article, ate chewing; my wiring to start a fire in which we'll- be cremated, and dowe have enough insurance? If people weren't basically so tough, sensible and mean, they'd all go to bed and pull the covers over their heads. Fortunately, we're as sedsitive as an old rubber boot. But, in case the scare -distributors are bothering you, let me give you a formula that is guaranteed to steady the nerves'. One thing at a time. Communists — most of us are tWice as scared of our wives as we, are of the Red menace.' Juvenile Deliquents -- hit them on the head. Hard. Cancer — you want to live forever? Creeping Socialism — better than the gallopingtype. The Computer — so who wanted a job in the first place? Leisure Time — be happy to have a chance to sit on your butt. - UWfllled Housewives -- fill them. PVNtiation'Eitplosion -- see Birth Control; also, Nuclear 'Fission. High -Priced Funerals — you don't have to .pay' And so on. 0� 4,