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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, S ep te m be r 12 ,2 01 9 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca newsroom@theifp.ca IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Iouliana Polar Real Estate Kristie Pells Regional Production Manager Manuel Garcia Production Shelli Harrison Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 280 Guelph Street, Unit 77 Georgetown, ON L7G 4B1 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Fax: 905-873-0398 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at theifp.ca Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail lpolar@miltoncanadianchampion.com or call 905-234-1019. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFP.CA EDITORIAL Remember former Ontario Education Minister John Snobelen and his attempts to recreate the province's education system? After the 1995 provincial election, Snobelen was filmed talking about how to initiate significant reforms in education by creating "a useful crisis." The video went public, and the minister and the gov- ernment were vilified but that didn't stop the PCs from introducing Bill 160 in 1997. The bill introduced stan- dardized testing, cut teaching preparation time, allowed the government to determine class sizes and gave the province control of municipal education taxes. Fast forward to over 20 years and the Doug Ford-led P.C. government won its majority by promising to in- crease class sizes and repealing the Liberal's 2015 sex education curriculum. In essence, the Ford Conserva- tives were not only trying to appease its right-wing sup- porters, but also hearkening back to the P.C. party of old to create a crisis in order to reform it. So, what's in store for teachers, students and parents this school year? While Ford railed against former Premier Kathleen Wynne's destructive sex-education curriculum, his gov- ernment of the people - intent on saving each penny of taxpayers' dollars - spent $1 million to talk to parents and the public. After all that consultation the result is a sex-education curriculum that looks like the former Liberal government's document, with a few minor changes. Conversations about gender equity will happen in Grade 8 rather than in Grade 6, sexual orientation will be taught in Grade 5 rather than in Grade 4, consent will be discussed in Grade 1, homophobia in Grade 5, the impacts of pornography in Grade 6 and sexting and contraception in Grade 7. The Progressive Conservatives introduced conversa- tions about vaping, opioids and emphasize mental health. But the party's education "crisis" strategy extended to increasing class sizes. Former education minister Lisa Thompson announced in March the average class size would increase to 28 students over four years to cut costs. As the school year got underway, new Education Minister Stephen Lecce put the brakes on that plan, arguing there was misinformation and that it wasn't actually going to happen this year. He said the plan is still to increase average high school class sizes to 28 by 2023, but it will be gradual. He also raised the possibility that class sizes could be tied to union negotiations since teachers' contracts expired Aug. 31. That idea was quick- ly squashed by teachers. So, what is the plan for teachers and students? It would seem the party strategists determined their back- tracking on the education file played better as a cam- paign slogan than a real-life plan. But then that has been the party's problem all along. Their cartoon slogans sound better on the campaign trail than they do when they are put into practice. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL Somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, about 900 mil- lion years ago, a black hole gobbled up a neutron star. The catastrophic event occurred millions of tril- lions of miles away, sending out gravitational waves across the universe. It oc- curred so distant that its waves are just now reaching us - and scientists think it was detected by the Europe- an Gravitational Observa- tory in Cascina, Italy, in mid-August. Both objects are unimag- inable. A neutron star is created after a supernova explosion and is incredibly small and dense. It's about the size of a small city, only six to 12 miles in diameter. A teaspoonful weighs about 10 million tonnes. A black hole is a singu- larity in space where noth- ing, not even light, can es- cape its grasp. Here are Sep- tember stargazing events, which are listed in the Ham- ilton Amateur Astrono- mers calendar. Sept. 13: Hamilton Ama- teur Astronomers meeting, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Hamilton Spectator, 44 Frid St. Free admission, door prizes and everybody is welcome. An optional food bank donation of non-perishable goods will be collected and appre- ciated. The Harvest Moon also rises tonight at sunset. Sept. 14: The smallest full moon of 2019. Sept. 20: The moon ap- proaches the Hyades in the predawn sky. Sept. 21: Last quarter moon. Sept. 23: Fall officially begins with the Autumn Equinox at 3:50 a.m. Sept. 27: For the next two weeks, from a dark loca- tion in the eastern predawn sky, you could see the Zodia- cal Light. It's caused by sun- light reflecting off dust par- ticles in the solar system. For more information, see the Hamilton Amateur Astronomers website (ama- teurastronomy.org) or call 905-627-4323. The club offers a basic astronomy course for members. Mario Carr is the club's director of publicity and can be reached at mario- carr@cogeco.ca or on Twit- ter (@MarioCCarr). A NEUTRON STAR COLLIDES WITH A BLACK HOLE CELESTIAL EVENT OCCURRED 900 MILLION YEARS AGO, WRITES MARIO CARR MARIO CARR Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA