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-theHERALD- SECTION B E HILLS School News New program at George Kennedy an educational innovation By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald The first day of school can be one of the most difficult days of the year for an inexperienced teacher Thanks to a new student teacher program that offers more in classroom training six teacher candidates at George Kennedy Public School know they 11 be able to handle the pressure The teacher candidates Ineke Bosboom of Acton Norma Cushnie Carol Howltt of Milton Lisa of Stratford Roger Skelly of Waterloo and Brent Phillips and Audra Reimann of Kit are enrolled in York University s Consecutive Program The program offers people with un dergraduate degrees a chance to earn their teacher s certificate with two days of campus training and two days of practical training per week It a whole new concept to have teacher candidates in public schools every week to earn their teaching diploma said Carol of Georgetown who along with Latimer of Acton are the Consecutive Program s course directors They teach the course at Public School in Oakville one of nine sites in the greater Toronto area where the course is offered It s a great program The teacher candidates get their theory in the campus classroom two days a week and can apply it immediately to the host school classroom said Ms Of the people who apply only are accepted to be matched up with a host teacher at a public school At each school an adjunct professor is chosen to act as a Iiason between the host school and York University Besides the two days in the host school teacher candidates also spend two oneweek blocks and one threeweek block in the school assuming the role of teacher After spending half the school year in one school they re transferred to another school to get their practical training Even the host teachers role is unique in this course said Ms When I had practical experience in school the teachers were called Masters and would sit at the back of George Kennedy Public School grade teacher Kim Phillips checks student note books with teacher candidate Brent Phillips of tchener Mr Phillips is one of six teacher candidates at the school working as a team with the regular teachers the class and mark me but these host teachers act as mentors to the teacher candidates she said The teacher is there to coach and help and they leam operate as a team She wishes that when she was going for her teachers certificate there was a course like this one available The teacher candidates in this course are So much better prepared They have a wide knowledge of so many areas she said When I was in school we were basically taught to teach lessons but these candidates are taught to see the whole picture Peg Elliott George Kennedy to gain practical teaching experience George Ken is one of several schools opening their doors to these York University Consecutive Program student teachers Herald Photo adjunct professor feels the same way These teacher candidates are able to work with an experienced teacher and learn a lot of teaching techniques as well as having the chance to practice and perfect their own techniques she said The program is also beneficial to the school because there are more adults on staff to work with the children she added The teacher candidates them selves are no less excited about the course With all the handson training I see how the teachers interact with kids and learn the little tricks they use said Bosboom a mother of two teenagers who decided to pursue her dream of being a french teacher this year Roger Skelly said he chose the York program because it offered the best experience of any program Besides the in class training the campus learning is also very practical and much more related to a classroom setting he said The teacher candidates have also been made to feel very welcome at George Kennedy he said They re obviously excited about us being here They see the course as not only helpful to them but helpful for Taxpayers Coalition and teachers butting heads By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald The Halton Taxpayers Coalition and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation are butting heads The OSSTF is insistent on the desire quality education be factored into the cost discussion while the HTC wants reduced education costs Both have come out with documents attacking each other s perspective Frank Gue president of at the Board of Education meeting Sept told school trustees the OSSTF wants to blackmail you into meekly agreeing that quality equals cost and hat you will requisition from taxpayers whatever OSSTF may request in the name of quality This bait you must not swallow He asked to speak at the meeting to comment on an OSSTF Political Action paper which came out in April this year In it OSSTF calls for activists to counter the thrust of the tax revolt messiahs that are now networking in the province Called the Tax Revolt Campaign the paper states unless we are able to blunt their momentum they risk in timidating trustees and election candidates who defend quality education programs In his address to the board Mr said the permanent state of fairs every enterprise is your costs are too high and your quality is not high enough and gave exim pies He pulled out an old style soup can explaining it had three times the seam length of newer cans thus increasing the possibility of per foration and food spoilage and costs per cent more than the new style soup can The new style soup can is of far higher quality and significantly lower cost so it should be and so should you expect it to be he said What your taxpayers want is to see this progress in the education process linked with reductions in the education cost he added Georgetown s school trustee Dick Howitt said no one can quarrel with Mr ideal of improving quality while costs but he said he does quarrel with Mr Gue examples His comparison of education to tin cans TV and computers aren good comparisons because you can t punch kids out like an bly line said Mr He s talking about economics of scale in industry but you can equate that to kids He also rebutted Mr Gue statement that the is pressuring trustees There s absolutely no pressure behind the scenes from the federation he said It just there The OSSTF itself admits the HTC isn wrong but that their actions are misdirected The great tragedy of the tax revolt movement t that they are wrong It is that by their actions the supporters of the movement may depnve our underfunded schools of the revenues they need the political action paper states Worse their slash and hack demands may destroy the ability of school boards to deliver expected services Sally president of the OSSTf in said ve don oppose tax reform We don t disagree that taxes are too high every teacher in the province pays taxes but we do believe in a quality product She admits some of the wording in the political action paper could cause people not to react too well to it but said teachers in Halton are not politically mil tant and are only about the kids It disheartening as a teacher and representative of teachers to this kind of criticism which paint us as being solely interested in money because that sjust not the case she said The OSSTF itself blames downloading higher levels of government delegating some of their costs to lower levels of govern ment for higher taxes They say the federal government cut billion from its Established Programs Financing for the On tano budget If the province had received the billion that was cut from the EPF and applied it to eliminate local over the ceiling ex there would be no tax revolt in Ontario states the political action paper The federal Conservative government funding practices are at the root of the squeeze that local taxpayers are now enduring OSSTF said the provincial gover is also downloading in that it mandates educational programs but does not provide the grants necessary to pay for them When angry taxpayers target what the tax revolters term irresponsible local trustees they are missing the real target provincial and federal lawmakers states the document Trustees at the board received copies of both Mr Gue speech and the OSSTF political action paper but there were no questions or com merit from the trustees after Mr Gue made his presentation to the board Thrifty business Saturday was the official opening of Hemy Downs a thrift store in Moore Park Plaza To celebrate the occasion owner Slavica her husband John and son Sasa served cake cookies and squares to customers The store sells new and lightly worn clothing from 3 for mens shirts to dresses and jackets Nothing In the store is over Herald Photo