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6 u ° =z = Ss = KUDOS TO ALL ADAPTED TO THESE CHALLENGES, WRITES TED ARNOTT The IFP - Halton Hills | Thursday, September 9, 2021 | xo = i] n m = = Ss = mi TED ARNOTT Column with ea in-person our schools this 7 month, students, par- ents and teachers all de- serve Special m mention and acknowledge: stay focused to online les- Some faced insur- mountable obstacles, be- cause of problems at home or inadequate or unavail- able internet or technology. arents struggled as well i Many were working from home, while simulta- neously supervising more than one child, with multi- ple schedules and devices. Organizing this for months at a time was stressful be- yond imagination. Teachers faced chal- lenges they had never expe- rienced before. Teaching online meant learning new technology and improvis- ing to make a television studio in their homes, and then teaching | to ascreen. The vern- : public health officials. -PANDEMIC-ERA EDUCATION A REAL LEARNING CURVE However, it continues to be controversial, and wheth- er it was the right call and how it was managed will be debated for years to come. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Education re- leased. esenes for fhe safe ning schools, Thee aagjelines are available at: zon rio.ca/page/covid-19- health-and-safety-mea- emerge and new scientific knowledge is provided by public health officials. Opposition MPPs will offer their critique, and the government should listen to constructive ideas to en- sure students and staff are safe, while making the edu- cational experience as nor- malas possible. A few years ago, I worked with Irvin Studin on a proposal to encourage the teaching of more inter- es’) in our schools. He now heads the Institute for 21st Century Questions, a lead- ing Canadian think tank. recent Globe and Mail article, Studin argues it going forward, ke: as a so- ee ttnerative Cae excel- lence and normalcy must be the goals, and an ex- traordinary effort must be extended to help students who've fallen behind to catch up. We have learned many lessons in our fight against COVID-19, and together we can pass this test too. Ted Arnott is the MPP for Wellington-Halton Hills. He can be reached at ted.arnott@pc.ola.org. TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT THEIFPCA SNAPSHOT Anne Philpott photo green heron rests in a wooded area in rural Halton Hills. Do you have a great local photo you'd like to share? Send it to sleblanc@metroland.com, along with a brief description. FINANCIAL PLANNING TOUGHER FOR WOMEN GENDER INEQUALITY PRESENTS UNIQUE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, WRITES PETER WATSON In a perfect world there would be no difference to the financial challenge be- tween men and women. That is not the case. Women are often under- aid compared to iiaareed lified Tess money translates i into areduced ability to save for the future. Childbearing is the sole domain of women, but also they are more likely to re- main out of the workforce if the decision is for one par- ent to stay at home with the children. Ifan elder parent needs family as: woman assumes that ve PETER WATSON Column sponsibility. COVID-19 was a Perfect example of women being at a disadvantage. People started working from home, children were not at school, and depend- If a family runs low on money during retirement, chances are it will be the widow who lives her final years with insufficient funds. planning is customized to the circum- stances of each client. It'srecommend youcon- sider the financial risk that is more applicable to wom- en. Peter Watson is regis- tered with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. (ACPI) to provide investment advice. 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 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member w Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2, Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca ocna el newsroom@thei IndependentAndFreePress @IFP_11 WHO WE ARE Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Distribution Representative Real Estate Kristie Pell Regional Prato Manager Manuel Gar Halton Moka General Manager Jason Pehora CONTACT US The Independent & Free Press 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-873-0301 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 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. ingon their age,neededas- Investment products are Published letters will appear in sistance with online learn- provided by ACPI. ACPI is print and/or online at theifp.ca a member of the Invest- ne rone parent: was forced ment Industry Regulatory Delivery to leave their j One ll delivery inquiries, please e-mail this reality, it was more of- ae are tent the woman. those of the author and not | call 905-234-1019, taking time out ofa ine workforce miss earn- in income and fall be- hind men in gaining valu- able work experience. Women typically live longer than men. necessarily those of ACPI. Watson provides wealth t services through Watson Invest- ments. He can be reached at www.watsoninvestment- fisAe)