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6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER THE OAKVILLE BEAVER It‘s about Etime : Halton Region has come up with its ‘wish list‘ for funding under the fedâ€" eral government‘s makeâ€"work infrastructure plan. And we‘re pleased to report that the third Waterfront Park. If ever there was a project in need of money, it‘s this project that was a « visionary piece of development years ago and even now must be completed if the town and the entire region is to attract people to the waterfront. The concept of the park is sound and its ancillary services will bring in more tourists and that‘s also good news for the Bronte merchants. And while this project will draw people, it will also expose them to downtown Oakville and other local facilities such as Gairloch Gardens and Bronte Creek Provincial Park. For those who have followed the path of the Waterfront Park‘s developâ€" ment, the main word has been frustration. Even after the political inâ€"fighting at Halton Region abated and a construction plan was passed, the project has _ been on a stopâ€"andâ€"go basis. The result has been an unduly long period to complete the project and without this infrastructure funding, the time frame could have been extended even further. It‘s to be hoped that our new Liberal MP Bonnie Brown can lobby for this project that deserves to be funded. Positive move s ometime in the coming school year students in grade 3, 6 and 9 will be S tested to see how well students in these grades read, write and express % themselves. That‘s good news for students, parents and teachers alike. Years ago, language had a dominant place in the education system. So â€"much so, in fact, that it was.the main core subject that continued right through thigh school. That has changed over the years and the results have been well ‘documented. Universities found that a disturbingly large number of high graduates had inadequate language skills for universityâ€"level work. {They then had to set up their own testing programs to see which new students item on the construction list is the Bronte Harbour 467 Speers Road, Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 845â€"3824 Fax: 845â€"3085 Classified Advertising: 845â€"2809 Circulation: 845â€"9742 or 845â€"9743 is accepted on the condition that, in the of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising occupled erronsous item, mw.m%m}nmmw@GMhmfihMWm b'y‘hm in MONSIEUR BOUCHARD GOES needed remedial english classes. » language skills. 8 * receiving. | sfall below expectations? Something to think about. Dear Sir: People who have a knowledge child development and an ; understanding of the stages of ! cognitive growth and what they : are dependent upon (experience ‘ and maturation) are very tired of «lay people making blatantly incorrect statements re: chilâ€" / _ That situation was a damning indictment of the public education system «that has finally started to see the value in early testing to determine a student‘s What‘s sad about all of this is that if individual boards took it upon themâ€" selves to test how well their students were learning, they wouldn‘t need to + have the province push them into language testing. But it‘s all part of a new direetion in Ontario education that is seeing the ; Ontario Ministry of Education being more responsive to the requests of parâ€" ; ents who have complained about the quality of education their children are { ; _ We endorse this latest initiative by the ministry and look forward to seeing | {copies of the test that is to be completed by December. This whole issue ; fmakes us wonder about one thing, however. What will happen if the results dren‘s needs in regards to their education. The editorial "Kindergarten dilemma" is such an example. f The writer displays a common misinformed attitude that is prevalent today â€" children, from exposure to TV know so much more than children of past generâ€" . Museumâ€"OHS relationship clarified Dear Sir: I am writing to correct some information contained in the caption to a | picture entitled "Heritage Week" on page 2 of your issue of Friday, Feb. : 18th, 1994 which states "...Oakville Museum celebrated Heritage Day : and Week with an open house at its King St. Archival Collection, Library : and Offices". Following a settlement between the Town of Oakville and the Oakville Historical Society signed in December 1992 and reported at that time in your newspaper, there is no connection between the ®akville Museum and the Oakville Historical Society save a desire to preserve, protect, and promote the heritage of the Town of Oakville. The Oakville Historical Society operates its archival collection, referâ€" . ence library, and offices at 110 King Street, not the Oakville Museum ; which is a division of the Town of Oakville. Our hours of operation are < Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1 to 4 p.m. Our phone number is $44â€" 2695. George F. Chisholm President Oakville Historical Society Article stirred interest in Big Sisters Dear Sir: I am writing this letter to clarify ‘ a possible misconception which may arise as a result of Ms. Yanchus‘ article last week on the + _work of "Big Sisters" in this comâ€" + ~munity. ~__In the article, Ms. Yanchus made reference to the large number * of Little Sisters who come from single parent, motherâ€"led families. Unfortunately, in the same senâ€" tence, she also referred to "extenuâ€" wating circumstances such as a histoâ€" ty of abuse or behavioral probâ€" ~lems" possibly leaving the impresâ€" sion that one situation necessarily x follows upon the other. I would like to state emphatically that this _is not the case. w _ "Big Sisters" provide friendship <and guidance to girls whose life wweircumstances and need for support ~.cover a wide spectrum. In most â€" of single parent families, the â€"needs of the child are more a funcâ€" tion of the impact of poverty and lack of both financial and emotionâ€" al resources. While we do care for girls with a history of abuse, as Ms. Yanchus pointed out, it most often occurred in the past usually in the context of family violence. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Yanchus and the paper for the coverage. As a result, we received quite a numâ€" ber of inquiries from people interâ€" ested in becoming a Big Sister. To me, this is ‘community‘ journalism at its best. From the the Little Sisters on the waiting list â€" thanks! Jacqui Penson Executive Director Oakville Big Sister Assoc. ‘Kindergarten important in child‘s development ations. One cannot deny the fact that children today do have more lanâ€" guage (labels) for topics that preâ€" vious generations may not have had, but a child specialist knows that children‘s language very often tumbles far ahead of their conceptional understanding. It is quite common today to find children four or five yearsâ€" ofâ€"age who are adept at playing relatively challenging computer games who have not reached the stage of thinking where they understand the conservation of quantity (e.g. the quantity of a ball of plasticine does not change when it is rolled out into a sausage shape). Children, who do not underâ€" stand that no matter how a set of objects is arranged the number remains the same, are not ready to do what the writer refers to as "grade one work". Jean Piaget, the Swiss psyâ€" chologist who developed a theory of stages in intellectual growth, classified children two to seven yearsâ€"ofâ€"age as preâ€"operational thinkers. They have an inherent need to interact with symbolic material (e.g. blocks, plasticine, dressâ€"up clothes, etc.) and it is through play with these concrete materials that they learn. The child‘s play in conjuncâ€" tion with quality interaction with adults (parents and teachers) are needed for the child to gain an accurate understanding of the impressions he has made through his observations of the events and people in his world. I contend that the reason we SPEAK YOUR MIND Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845â€"5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 secâ€" onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday‘s Oakville Beaver. The Oakville Beaver welcomes your comments. All letters must be signed and include the writer‘s address and phone number. â€" Letters should be typed, doubleâ€"spaced and addressed to: Letters to the Editor, . The Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, Ont. L6K 354 Mar. 9, 19 Publisher n a th Advertising Director c ooo Copleome ueriey Ceogen Norman Alexander Editor Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Casas Office Manager Tim Coles Production Manager Free This This We Mard W%Sun. Press, 3 mm oek. a mmmmemmmvomum.mmnomT wmmmmmmwmmmmmmmm All materia) in the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Any reproduction mmhpmmmmmsmmamwmv:ymmmmmwm together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be for, but the batance of the advertisement will be o umhlhmmm«mmmhw.m Mmofim-dmdn-ybovmdmlurid e . advertising ez y e ofi e s 255};7/; TL oo e L RBAARan; MA ‘ LETTER OF THE DAY Who makes the decisions? Dear Sir: Re: ittee finall (Eeb. 27th/94). "Do it today and change it tomorrow if you don‘t like it"... since when do government bureaucrats ever change anything the public doesn‘t like (once it‘s written)? To hear a bureaucrat say, "...get on with it... Objections can be dealt with at the ministry level" should give us shivers of fear, We know the ministry won‘t change anything. They‘re too far for local delegations to trek down to and lobby for change. Let‘s face it, that kind of thing just doesn‘t happen, and when the regional planning commissioner says "objections can be dealt with at the ministry level", he knows exactly what he‘s doing. He‘s counting on the fact that most members of the commuâ€" nity haven‘t got the time or enthusiasm to lobby for change or policies that may not have been right in the first place. In effect, do these words suggest that he who gets paid to serve the public and reflect the public‘s wishes has instead become so used to doing it this way that he has no patience for the foolish inquiries of councillors and public? And for Burlington Councillor Savoline to say, "Delaying for a month won‘t prompt us to make any changes...We can deal with provincial initiatives when the plan is approved at the provincial level"...smacks of arrogance and insensitivity to the fact that based on past experience, rarely does anything ever change once it‘s approved. As I have read and heard others ask...is there an attitude problem here? If there is, then for those of us on the receiving end, it ought to be time to start turning up the heat for change. > Simon Dann roves regional land use ment have so much need for remedial work with children is due to the fact that they have been rushed to do peneil and paper activities and mental operations before they have thoroughly experienced the "concrete" stage of learning. To state that JK and SK are "tantamount to babysitting" not only reflects a total lack of knowledge of how children learn at these ages, also insults the fine educators in that field who proâ€" fessionally guide children in their play so that each child is given appropriate experiences and is lead to a deeper and clearer understanding of his/her impresâ€" sions. I suggest that the writer visit The Froebel Kindergarten (three to sevenâ€"yearâ€"olds), as Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten recommends in Mississauga where the true purâ€" pose of a kindergarten education can be seen in practice. I assure him that he will not find children "bored out of their minds"! Jane Raham (Primary Specialist) Thanks to strangers who helped Dear Sir: I would like to thank the two ladies who helped me up after a nasty fall on Rebecca St., Wednesday, Feb. 23rd, on my way to the doctor. It‘s nice to know there are people like you around. Many Thanks. Emma Gittings WEEKLY FOCUS _ _ Cancer and Aging Researchers have determined, a recessive gene in a line of cancer cells, which gives them the ability to be immortal. 1. A tumour cell with a recessive gene Aâ€" in chromosome 4 divides indefinitely 3. This changes the recessive gene Aâ€" in the cell destroying its immortality 2. Through microcell fusion, researchers introduce a normal chromosome 4 to the cell 4. The next step to longevity, is to find where in chromosome 4, the recessive gene is, to figure out how it determines the aging of cells Basic data: Scientific American