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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 14, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Letters to the Editor Resident says tree bylaw is not just an issue about trees In an issue of The Oakville Beaver, July 5, headed "Please Keep Out of My Backyard" etc., and at the Committee meeting about the proposed tree bylaw, I wrote and spoke very adamantly against a proposed bylaw that was looking at a hefty per tree permit, potential arbourist reports, and more (in other words, a cash grab). Both that meeting and the subsequent Council meeting were over four hours each. I listened very carefully. Tree coverage in Oakville is barely 13 per cent -- recommended would be closer to 40 per cent. At that, most of it is in south, predominantly southeast Oakville, where all the large, sometimes even acreage lots are slowly being "clear cut" to allow for the construction of many large homes. Trees aren't just attractive, shade givers, landscape icons or privacy tools. They play a very large part in the ecological world. They try to combat the damage we are doing to our air, essential in an area where the pollution is the highest in Ontario (higher than Hamilton or Toronto most of the time). It became obvious very quickly from questions asked and answered at Committee that the Town is totally unable to prevent "clear cutting" or the unnecessary destruction of trees anywhere in the Town without a bylaw. Legally they have no teeth. A resident from old Oakville, living on a street where 12 lots have been sold to developers and where three lots have been clear cut already, had many photos, showing very clearly that our mature trees are positively under attack, whether they are "heritage" trees or species specific (endangered trees) that are falling to the almighty buck (and the photos he showed had been taken during a single drive). Take note: "You can't just penalize developers; the general populace has also to be held to account, and if you were able to make it developer specific, then their offers would be made subject to "tree removal prior to closing." Property rights are one thing. Ignorance of the dire need to preserve mature trees is something else. Perhaps if more of the 692 members of the NTBiN (No Tree Bylaw is Necessary) group had attended one or both of the meetings, they, like me, would have realized it can't just be about "me", it must be about "us", our future and the importance of all trees. I still don't approve of one tree per permit, but I do approve of a bylaw allowing up to four large trees in 365 days and a bylaw that prevents any unnecessary "clear cutting". The Town and its residents should be planting trees, and if the Town is really serious, and the situation is serious, then it's time it put bylaws in place to prevent the total paving of front gardens, as is becoming increasingly the case in many areas, especially the newer areas, where residential parking lots, four cars side by side, are allowed and happening, changing the face and character of Oakville, because trees and concrete are not compatible. Good bylaws, like fences, make good neighbours, and something has to protect the trees, because they don't object when the buzz saw appears. They just fall down and roll over. PAT MELHUISH RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Confounded and confused by modern math and homework I t's become a ritual that I dread. Each night our 10-year-old comes to me, a puzzled look on her face, and an open textbook in her hands. The book is called Math Makes Sense, but it doesn't. Not to me, at least. "I need help," she says, and I break into a cold sweat. I dutifully stare down at the problem over which she's toiling. Honestly, I don't understand the terminology, let alone the question. For all I'm comprehending, the question ­ and, likewise, the entire textbook -- might as well be written in Sanskrit. Maybe it is. I think it's called "new math", like the old math wasn't confusing enough. It's all about "prime numbers" and "composite numbers" and "rotational symmetry" and doing the sort of mental gymnastics my mind long ago lost the agility to perform. But when your offspring needs assistance, you assist. So, I read: "Sam jogs every 2 days. He does Pilates every 3 days. Suppose Sam jogs and does Pilates on October 1. What are the next three dates on which he will jog and do Pilates?" "I think," I say, after trying for an embarrassingly long time to process the problem, "that Sam should forget about jogging and Pilates in October. Maybe," I add, brightly, "Sam could just play squash or go biking!" Did I mention that this routine is nightly? It's true, each night she has at least an hour of homework, including a half-hour of math, this despite mounting research that contends homework is oftentimes more harmful than helpful for pre-highschool students. Andy Juniper In fact, I have before me three separate magazine articles, citing (or authored by) assorted education experts saying that there is a resounding lack of evidence supporting the common claims that homework boosts achievement or fosters good study habits, and calling for an end to homework. Did you know that in countries like Japan, homework has been all but outlawed? No homework! It's a bandwagon I hopped on long ago, my logic being that kids don't need extra school work so much as they need time to be, well, kids. Take my daughter, as an example. She leaves for school at 8 a.m. and buses home at 5 p.m., which, in essence, makes her school day (if my math is correct), nine hours. Now, I know adults who grumble against a nine-hour workday and who would only grudgingly entertain thoughts of extending that by doing more work at home. But my daughter does. To her nine-hour day add at least one hour of homework (oftentimes up to two hours) and her workday is suddenly 10plus hours. I also have in front of me a newspaper article in which an expert advocates that all kids should do at least one hour of work around the house each day to help them develop into decent adults. Great, let's toss in an hour of housework in the mix for good measure and my daughter is suddenly staring down the barrel of an 11-hour workday, and a 55-hour work-week, bare minimum! And when, I wonder, as she tries to squeeze in a half-hour guitar practice and a shower before she has to go to bed, when does she get a chance to read a book, or play, or put her feet up? It's nuts. And, like modern math, it makes little sense to me. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.