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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1997 GIVAR WN Mayor wants Youth Advisory Committee Are you too young to vote but old enough to know what you want? Do you need a chance to have your say? Mayor Marilyn Serjeantson in- vites Halton Hills young people to attend a planning meeting to look at ways to develop a Mayor's Youth Advisory Committee. If you are between 13 and 21- years of age and think you should have a voice in how this community works for young people, head for the Civic Centre Council Chambers on Feb. 26 (next Wednesday), from 7to 9 pm. Call 873-2601, Ext. 397 if you are interested in attending. HRPS Blue Halton Regional Police are looking for a few good men and women. HRPS is accepting applications for future openings for the position of Police Constable with Halton. Applications will be available Feb. 27 to 28, from 9 am to 3 pm, and March 1 from 10 am to 3 pm, at the Halton Region Centre Audito- rium at 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville. There will be a charge of $1 0.70 per application. For further information contact HRPS's recruiting line at (905) 825- 4747, Ext. 5116. VOC meets tonight Dick Field, National Chairman of the Voice of Canadians will be speaking at a free public meeting tonight at the Optimist Club of Geor- getown Hall, on Hwy. 7. The meet- ing is scheduled to start at 8 pm. The Voice of Canadians are hold- ing this meeting to inform and edu- cate the public about the potential loss of freedoms in Canada. VOC is not a political party, nor do they endorse any particular political party. For more information call (416)503-8444. OMAFRA holds work- shop A tural leadership workshop on Volunteerism is planned for next Wednesday at 7:30 pm, in the On- tario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs boardroom at 332 Guelph St. The sessions, led by Denise Edwards, will discuss concerns and develop solutions to help organiza- tions survive and thrive. To register call 873-9930. Story time at Library The Halton Hills Public Libraries Children's Services are now accept- ing registration forms for all of their Spring Preschool Storytime Pro- grams. Registration is done by lottery and forms will be available until March 11. For information call 873-2681. HEY! "Snowball fights, and when you slip on ice : and bonk your nose." Matteo Destepfano, Barber Drive "You get to play in the snow and the bad part is you get cold." Zach Sabourine, Mill Street What is the best and worst part about winter? "The best part is hockey and the worst part is that you have to stay inside." Andrew Sliasas, Eaton Street. "Building things and when you get hit in the face with snow." Claudia Destefano, Barber Drive THE GEORGETOWN GEMINI oi t figures! I I just noticed an amazing statistic. Figure skating on TV drew more viewers than any other organized sport, with the exception of football, during the last year. This year, between September and April, over 60 figure skating competitions will be telecast in North America, and they say they are just getting going! Figure skating terminology is suddenly everyday language. Hey, did you see that triple lutz that Kristi Yamaguchi landed? Watch for Elvis Stojko to do the quad. Do you think Oksana Baiul was really drunk when she hit the ditch? You and I know that somewhere a plan is being hatched to turn figure skating into a team sport, with a franchise team in every major city. That's the proven way to make money in sports! Just imagine -- the Los Angeles Lutzes, the To- ronto Toe Loops, or maybe the Carolina Camel, or the Detroit Death Spiral! Maybe Tonya Harding could make a comeback as an "enforcer" for one of these teams. Can't you just see Kurt Brawning as a playing pach of some team, doing his Casablanca number. Only In Georgetown With Bill Ellis I can imagine Frank Gifford watching old Johnny Esaw film clips by the hour, getting ready todoa game play-by-play com- mentary. And how about Barbara Ann Scott signing up to do a Don Cherry-like commentary on the Toronto Toe Loops home games. Could be Dick Button would make a terrific referee-in-chief. I can picture Gordon Alcott Arena on a Friday night with figure skating team scouts hiding behind every pillar, making up prospect lists of young figure skaters, for the annual draft. And you just know that some team will recruit a basketball player, who can leap five feet high. The quad will be old stuff. This guy gets so much hejght on his spin that he can do five or six revolutions. What if my granddaughter, Kelly, would get drafted by some far-off team like the Seattle Spins? Now that is scary stuff. Let's just leave figure skating as it is now. O.K.? Bill Ellis is an Associate Broker with Johnson Asso- ciates, Halton Ltd., Realtor in Georgetown of Ranting won't settle the issues I am relieved the Metro area teach- ers mostly ignored the O.S.S.T.F. call for union action in the class- rooms. Right thinking teachers de- cided they have no authority to ped- die the union position on students under the guise of an information session. I think the parents would have reacted swiftly and negatively. The teachers are right to be on guard for changes which would ad- versely affect their capacity to be effective in the classrooms. As par- ents become more involved in ac- tual decision-making through par- ent councils, I expect that teachers will be held more accountable for classroom performance. It's only fair then, that they should have in- put into the decisions being made today. That said, the perversion of the traditional teacher-student rela- tionship by using the kids as pawns would have been unconscionable and ineffective. Most of us are, to say the least, confused by the myriad of changes being put forth by the Harris gov- ernment. I would like to hear some competent analysis from associa- tions like the teachers'. I am quite capable of making up my own mind on the issues. Having someone in my face hollering that the whole education system is going down the toilet doesn't do much to convince me. Almost daily some politician, community activist or spokesthingie for the Coalition of the Perpetually Perturbed is thundering about this or that. John Sewell irritates me, Barbara Hall and Mel Lastman are exasperating. Why do these people think the only way to present a po- sition is at 500 decibels? One aspect of the debate I find disturbing is the personal attack on Minister of Education John Snobelen. Specifically, I find offen- sive the continual reference to Snobelen being a "drop-out" and his resulting lack of a degree. I've heard negative comments about Mr. The Way | | See It) With Mike O'Leary Snobelen's lack of formal educa- tion at both high and grade school meetings. I find this attitude elitist. First, changes to the education system would have been drafted, if not conceived, by bureaucrats. Pre- sumably, several of those people would have had a degree of some sort to give the proposed changes a type of snooty respectability. Second, I understand that Mr. Snobelen is a successful business- man in his own right. As such we can assume he has a working knowledge of finance, motivational techniques, personnel (and therefore basic human rela- tions), marketing, strategic planning ete. cic. Ican almost guarantee that he has been at his kitchen table at 3 o'clock in the morning, worrying over how to meet his payroll. You learn a lot about responsibil- ity and accountability running your own business. Anyone who would believe that having a degree makes one automatically superior to some- one with extensive successful busi- ness and life experience is either a fool or an O.I.S.E. grad. And what little gems have the rocket scientists from O.1.S.E. (On- tario Institute for Studies in Educa- tion) given us over the years? Well, open concept schools is one of my personal favourites. How about new math and finger count- ing? If we had tried finger counting, the good sisters would have rapped our knuckles. Whole language training is an- other beauty. Also known as "illit- eracy made easy," this program turned out year after year of chil- dren who couldn't spell and thought grammar was Grandpa's wife. How about teaching strategies, meaning- less report cards, non-effective dis- cipline standards? I could go on and on. When you think about it, the havoc inflicted on our schools by the Boobs on Bloor and their co- horts should be the subject of a commission. The conclusion would probably be that future education ministers would never be allowed to have more that Grade 12. You know, all that training you go through to get a degree isn't worth spit unless you have a little common sense to go with it. I want to support the teachers. I think they have a tough job and most do it very professionally. My children have been fortunate enough to have had several teachers who positively influenced their lives. We've also had a few who were less than acceptable. The good far out- weighed the bad. The status quo will change vis a vis teachers' employment standards. The '80s are over; welcome to the brave new world. Most parents will stand shoulder to shoulder with teachers to protect classroom standards. We are talk- ing about the future of our children after all. Parental support, however, shouldn't be taken casually by the teachers. They should rein in some of the more militant spokespersons. My- opic programs involving students and mean-spirited attacks are be- neath the dignity of the profession. Or, at least, they should be. If change is to be, let's discuss it rationally. Let's do what's best for the children and fair to the employ- ees involved. Ranting won't resolve anything. Mike O'Leary is a columnist for The Georgetown Gemini.