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8! | os - -~ ) - aN A Fo fas am LAr" eal SES ~ . EN -- oo SEA 2 Loa wd Rao) ae ns FOR 4 NT WF aa <. ". ditorial P Credit Where Credit Due It is often all too easy for a newspaper to sit back and level criticism. Most papers, this one included, do it. Being critical is part of the function of the modern press, whether it be a small community paper, or one with a mass circulation published in a large city. We believe that along with being critical, it is also part of our function in the community to toss a few laurels, and this week there is not better time. Three separate events took place recently in Scugog Township which we think deserve a word or two of public praise. First of all for local sports fans, the Port Perry Minor Softball Association concluded a very successful two-day tournament for midget-age players, and from all accounts the event over the weekend came off without a hitch. Despite a rather unpleasant experience last year in the same tournament, and the fact that there was no local team entered this year, organizers decided to proceed just the same. Anyone who attended any of the games was treated to some exciting softball, played with skill and intense competitive spirit. At the same time, one could also detect an air of good sportsmanship. Nobody likes to lose, of course, but as far as we could determine, the young athletes who played so hard also conducted themselves as gentlemen on and off the field, To the men and women from this area who worked long and hard to bring about this tournament, we say it was a job well done. Still with minor sports in Scugog Township, the local soccer club officially opened its new playing fields north of Port Perry over the weekend. Last year at this time the playing area was nothing more than a field of stubble. The organizers of soccer in Scugog put a lot of work into getting those new fields ready for play, and several hundred young soccer buffs are now enjoying the results of those efforts. Soccer, it seems, is here to stay in Canada and Scugog Township and is helping to provide a summer of recreation for active boys and girls. And finally, we understand that the Baptist Church in Port Perry is making plans to sponsor a family of Viet Nam refugees, or "boat people," as they have come to be known to the world. Any human being who cares at all can't help but be touched deeply by the pitiful plight of these unfortunate people, who have been up-rooted from their homeland, cast adrift on the oceans of southeast Asia, and in some cases towed back out to sea when they finally do reach shore. While the governments of the industrial world are making some effort to help the 'boat people,' small groups of citizens and even individuals in Canada and elsewhere are coming forward with outstretched arms; getting involved, offering sponsorship which means finding accommodation, providing money and securing employment. It may be just a tiny step when one looks at the overall scope of the tragedy, but at least it is a chance for one family to start a fresh life in a new country. In a world where the value of a human life seems to be diminishing and any semblance of the dignity of man almost non-existant, it is re-assuring to know that there are people who care and are willing to act. To the local group that is reaching out, we way thanks and good luck. We think this community will be a better place for your efforts. oQe VIETLAB, HOPING FOR RE-ENTRY bill smiley ANOTHER YEAR Every year, when July rolls around, I breathe a pretty heavy sigh of relief. Not because school is over and there's a long holiday ahead. That's nice. But I can teach English with one hand tied behind my back. And I'm not that wild about holidays. No, the reason for the relief is that I have managed to wiggle my way through another year of being a department head without having any deaths, suicides or nervous break-downs among my staff. Being head of a large department in a large high school would seen to be a rather enviable position. You are paid extra for it, and usually teach one less class than the other teachers. Those are the good aspects. But there are others, and they are not all a piece of cake. I won't bother moaning about the incessant paper work, the scrambling to stay within a meagre budget with cost of books soaring steadily, the taking of inventory about twenty thousand books. Those are the drudge jobs, and everyone has some of this in his work. It's the personalities involved that make the job something less that a sinecure. A department head must be a combination of Momma, Polonius, Machiavelli, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a priest, Napoleon and a touch of a psychiatrist. For one thing, English teachers are a bit more creative, articulate, and rebellious than most of their contemporaries, perhaps because they continually deal with ideas, not facts. Ideas are shifty things, and the conveying of them to students is more slippery than the teaching of more prag- matic subjects: science, math, geography, shops. As a result, the English department head must serve as a wailing wall for his teachers who loudly and sometimes tearfully vent their frustrations at their inability to impart their own skills to their students. He must oil the joints of his department frequently, when some of its members seem about to come to blows with each other. He must act as a buffer between them and the adminis- tration. And he must stand up for them vigorously when someone is trying to shaft them. Now, I hope you are not expecting me to say that I do all of these things. A pat on the back here, a word of praise there, a shoulder to cry on, long one-on-one talks to restore their confidence, a stern reprimand when necessary, frequent department meetings where we "talk things out." Not at all. If I tried to do all those things, I'd have been committed or had a heart attack long ago. I just leave them alone, let them crack up or break down, and try to show them, with invincible calm, my old theory that there is nothing, absolutely nothing in this world to get excited about. It seems to work pretty well. I am rather shy and don't get involved in their personal lives, except to listen once in a while, if they can't avoid it. When they are seriously ill, I- don't bug them, don't even go to see them. We've had three department members with serious heart trouble in the last three years. They're all back on the job, better than ever. Probably because I left them alone, didn't show any particular sympathy and let them solve it themselves. When a couple of members are at each others throats, I tell them to sort it out themselves, not come running to me for help. We'd never think of having a meeting at "which we "let it all hang out." We have the shortest department meetings in the school. Most of them are taken up with ribaldry, a little business, and a quick acceptance of a motion for adjournment. , We have quite an assortment. Three working mothers. One artist. One student who has been taking extremely difficult courses for several years. One poet. One guy writing a novel. One syndicated columnist. Three of us are former news- paper people. One lady teacher is a dogged and determined member of the salary committee. We have a devoted Catholic and a couple of agnostics. We have a mixture of racial backgrounds: Polish, Scottish, Irish, Greek, French-Canadian and German. Occasionally, one or two members of the department need a good blast from their head for recalcitrance, mopery or gawk. But I am psychologically unable to ream somebody out, and the trouble usually goes away, like bad weather. Once in a while, when I become a little depressed at the way they are draining me, without knowing it, I take out a booklet entitled, "Duties of a Department Head". This gives me a good laugh, when I realize that I am a lousy department head, and I feel better. There is only one area in which I fulfil my function. And this is a holdover from wartime. A good officer always defends the men under him. Unless, of course, they are hopelessly incompetent. When somebody climbs on the back of a member of my department, the usually benevolent Bill Smiley unsheathes his claws, and the attacker backs off. Some departments have lengthy meet- ings, terrific infighting, and - resultant smoulderings. We have the happiest, most relaxed department in the school. Just want to say thanks, guys, for a good year. And next fall, don't tell me your troubles, Tell your husband or wife or mother or kids, and we'll have another great year. .