The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

qprtion Two ý7 The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanjille, J, 77, 7ýl Kelly Beers, Kim McKnight and SalIy Bradley 'ead a sing song at Sunset Lodge. The girls also read stories, recite poetry and do simple chair exercises withthç residents at the nursing home on Church Street. Andrew Sproatt is one of 18 students involved in the Bowmanville Senior Public Sehool Community Services elective. Other volunteers who worlç at the hospital keep busýj by visiting patients on the extended care ward and doing odd jobs where they're needed. by Liz Armstrong" Often the most inspiring kind of education is not the sort that a student receives while he's sitting at a deslk taking notes from a teacher or textbook., While ýnot'denying the value of books, it's wortli empha- sizing here that first-liand experience can teach its own lessons. For example, it would be pretty difficuit to master the art of driving a car by simply studying the operator's, manual. And it goes without sayin that most car owners would be a little reluctant to lend their vehicles to someone who had no practical experi- ence behînd the wlieel. Recentiy, first-liand exper- lence has suffered at the hands of tlieory in our public schools. The 'freedom to leara' theme of the sixties wasn't everyone's cup of tea, and the system haýs corne_ under heavy criticism during the past few years for 'neglec- ting' the basic subjects, adding non-academic frîlls to the program, and creating a Keneration of semi-literates in e process. Thougli education costs have risen in leaps and bounds since 1960, there is some justification to the charge that extra funds in the budget haven't produced noticeably suero intellects, and that th ulty of formnai educa- Telephone 725-3144 mdraperies BROADLOOM DRAPERIES BY THE YARD VENETIAN & CLOTH BLINOS CUSTOM MADE DRAPES DRAPERY RODS & TRACKS INTERIOR DECORATING SERVICE HOWARD VICE 926 simcoe St. N. Pro~retorOshawa, Ont. _-Ille At Strathaven, Lisa Stackaruk has her long hair brushed by Miss Sarah McPherson while another volunteer Cheryl Anyan, looks on. The elective was organized by B.S.P. teacher Susan Medd as a means of linking the school to the comnmunity. tion may even, be deteriora- llege profesÉors bemoan the fact that a pod percent- age of universîty- freshmen can't construct a sentence that 's grammatically correct, and that spelling competency and math skills have reached an ail-time low, Remedial pro- grams have been ha9tily introduced at many unîversi- ties in an attempt to raise standards to an acceptable level. Iu elementary schools, it's quite common to have an achievement spread of seven or eight years in the average Gr. 8 classroom, with students of the same age functioning anywhere from a grade four to a grade 12 level in reading. Narrowing the gap, or at least helping the academîcally handicapped to attain a higher level of performance, is one of the school, system's greatest challenges. Iu response to this worri- some state of affairs, "Back to the 3R's" lias been -the rallying cry of both educators and the public lu the past couple ýof years. Yet, wheile everyone would agree that competence in reading, writing and aritlimetic is a g oal which sliould be stead- fast!yurued (and hopefully achieved),"back tolte basic" houdntnecessarily mean a returu to the rîgid and Games of euchre keep the senior public school volunteers who visit Marnwood NuxÎsing Home on their toes. In many cases the residents themselves have taught the girls how to play the game, which is a popular pastime at the home. From left to right the students are Bey Stevens, Stephanie Heath, Ann Woolger and Terry Ann Townsle , inflexible style of teaching 7 learning that characterized the past. So much for philosophizing. However, if eliminating the so-called 'frilîs' (in order to puseacademic ends exclu- svely) mas cancelling pro- rarns like the Community ville Senior Public Sechool Y then the students will be the ~ losers. (In passing, it should be pointed out that the B.S.P. program is definitely not under threat of beie axed, but it is the t e of course' that would lely1,iseeye- brows in n few otl er boards of edcication these days.) During the 90-minute Com- munity Services Electîve eac week, there are no direct Y lessons in math or science or English literature no mea- surable resuits, and no tests or final terra report cards. As the name imiflies. Coma- New e r's claNs Now. nil Co e t The Hairport Pemnet Ling-Sts - etc. Spcilson Permanents for, E*eryone!! Reg. $30.00 Reg. $20.00 'Reg. $15.00 NOWONY NOWNLY .NtW7ONLY Prices in effect Jan. 8 to Jan. 31 Please CaIl 62,3-4901 for Aopointment 133 Chur<l jr ort ylingj ch Str.-eet Bowmanville C athy Olinski spendssome time sorting books on the hospital library cart. Most of the students who were involved in the Community Services program in the faîl enjoyed it se much that they have decided to stay with it this terni. munîty Services involves B.S.P. students in activities at sev-eral institutions lu Bow- manvîlle - more specifically, Memorial Hospital and Maru- wood, Sunset Lodge and Strathaven Nursing Homes. On any given elective day, the 18 stuents învolved in the program can be found partici- patin$gljaa wide range of activîties,' from washing botties lu the hospital pliar- macy, ta making decoraions for specia ~arties and playmng eucire withthe card sharks at Marnwood. Though the 'lestions' may not be traditional, the students learn to take new responsibili- ties in their stride, to com- municate with an older gener- ation, and he pre'par-ed to en a helping hand where it's needed., The idea for the Community Services pgram belongs to Mrs. Sue e d a grade seven home room teacher ut B.S.P. When the staff at the school drew up plans for their electives in September, she thought that a logical activity would be to link the sehool to the community surroundiug it. According to Mrs. Medd, "An elective should offer students a chance to do something that they wouldn't normally do." -Though the scheme took a lot of organiza- tion before it got off the ~rund in early October, the idea ispaigoff. The stcns w ho sighed up for Mrs. Medd's elective are obviously enthusiastie. Thougli most of their friends ut B.9SP. decided to try out a different activity when the second round of electives got under way this terma, 14 of the 18 students working in the Community Services program opted to continue volunteering ut the hospital and the nursing homes. 1 Mother Worries As any parent knows, a student's answer to the ques- tion "What did you do ut school today?" is usually "Nothing,.". Yet one of the g ris involved lu the elective talked about lier activities at Maru- wood so much that her mother worried tliat she was spending most of her school time there, rather than 90 minutes everv sixth school day. As an offshoot of the program, the students have also become involved with the Trinîty Church Meals on, Wheels service. Twice a week, a pair of them assist Mrs. Pat Rundie in delivering the hot meals picked up from the hospital. Several of the stu- dents have also given up some of their own time after school hours and on weekends to vîsit the nursing homes. On their- own initiative, the volunteers who work at Me- morial made arrangements for the school choir to sing carols at the hospital just g ior to the Christmas holi- One unexpected beniefit of the, program has been to Sroduce greater commnica- ion between the grade seven and eiîht students at the sho.nmost senior public schools, it's traditional that the grade sevens are regarded as 'babies' b y the senior students, and there's usually not much effort made to co-operate with or help the younger ones. Since the elec- tive started, the aries ave been broken down and the sevens and eights are com- municating and working to- gether more effectively. So far, Mrs. Medd is "very, very pleased" with, the resuits of her elective. As a former student employee at a nursing home, she knows tnat -visit- ing the old folk every other Sunday is not enough. " People ln nursing homes are some- times lonely, and regular visits by the students not only help to fili up the daytime hours, they also promote better understandîng and help to bridge the generation gap. The experience lias opened up a few of the studen t's eyes too. When a patient on the extended care ward at the hospital suffered a stroke several weeks ago, theB.S.P. volunteers had a chance to see the medical staff in action during the emergency. The incident showed some of themn that life isn't just a bed of rose and according to Mrs. osdd; "It made them grow up It should be noted that the folk receiving the benefits of B.S.P. volunteer services have also made life a lot richer for the students. There is a tremendous -opportunity for the students to learn from those whà remember Bow-, manville and other communi- ties fromn way back. The friendships that have developed are an added bonus, and that's another thing you can't learn from a text book, Janar ad Fbrar YOU JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO, COOK AT HOME! reýýsent thîs coupon and receivè $ any purchase of $5.00 or More Ladie-s' Wear L LARG DLE O F I ESIGNER TO CLEAR /2 r FIN T QALIT WITERCOT Extra Master Charge OPE THRS.AND 1 FR1. TO 9.00 p.m. Mays Littie Lm Is'tAsWhite A nw Beca use she sold h when the pries were high and now i's f leece îs made into, lovely Scotch Tweeds Sport Jackets that are on sale -with ail the other quality items at MURRY POilSTONS 1/2 YEA RLY SALE starting Thursday l5th January ai Ye Olde Clippe Joynt ai 8 Simcoe Street North i Downtown Oshawa ttention enior Citizens!! isc unt on Il Ï l".