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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday February 16, 2008 - 5 Education minister defends lateness policy By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER CABINET REFACING AFTER after Ontario Education Minister Kathleen Wynne says the Leader of the Opposition and Burlington's provincial government representative need to do their homework before criticizing existing guidelines about how teachers should mark late assignments. In a telephone interview, Wynne defended ministry criteria around the assessment and evaluation of students and said the Conservative duo of Party Leader John Tory and Burlington MPP Joyce Savoline have overreacted to recent media reports -- including one in The Oakville Beaver -- about existing ministry guidelines, specifically regarding when teachers should consider deducting marks for late homework. In a news release issued late last week, Tory and Savoline -- the PC education critic -- called on Ontario's ruling party to stop encouraging school boards to ban penalties for late homework assignments or projects. "The McGuinty Liberals are giving our kids a one-way ticket to easy street," said Tory. "This policy does nothing to teach Ontario students about what it takes to succeed in the real world." The education minister said the use of the word 'ban' is wrong. "There has been a misinterpretation by the Opposition.... The actual (ministry) language is 'mark deductions, as a consequence of late and missed assignments, is suggested as a last resort'," said Wynne, emphasizing her final four words. The issue came to a flashpoint locally about a month ago when a Nelson High School student wrote a column for The Burlington Post in which she complained that some students receive special treatment by not having marks deducted after handing in school assignments days, weeks or sometimes months overdue. The opinion piece generated public response, with many residents and parents writing or phoning Halton's school board trustees and administrative officials asking for a more detailed explanation of the board's policy concerning how teachers are handling late homework evaluation. The issue was added to a special school board meeting Wednesday night, where associate director Ruth Peden presented an overview of the ministry's guidelines and board's policies on late assignments. "This is not a new policy. It was spearheaded through the Conservative government of the time," she told trustees. Peden used the symbol of an iceberg to illustrate the debate about late homework and mark deductions. She said the recent controversy is the tip of the iceberg, but that the most important aspect, an overall view of student assessment and evaluation techniques, is represented by the bulk of the iceberg that is not seen on the surface of the discussion. "We need more (assessment), coaching and less of the final-evaluation-it's-overevent," she said, referring to the before BEFORE See Burlington page 12 · Dear Neighbour, If you are looking for a new dental office in Oakville, I would like to welcome you to consider my practice. My office has developed a number of amenities to make you and your family feel as comfortable as possible during your time with us. Some of these amenities include satellite televisions in each of our treatment rooms so you can watch your favorite programs or you can listen to music on an IPOD with BOSE noise cancelling headphones. 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