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ARAL SRI ES NR ; tania ie RE REA ERNE SARE aaa TE a '. ~ The Volunteers Scugog Community Care used the occasion of its annual meeting In Port Perry last week to pay tribute to the 171 volunteers who serve senior citizens, the handicapped and thoSe with special needs under the direction of that organization. It was a thoughtful gesture by Community Care * to recognize publicly the contributions made {y .the volunteers, although we are sure they do it hot for the ""lime-light," but rather out of personal commitment to help those who need help. Community Care, of course, is but one organiza- tion which would almost cease to function were it not for the commitment by the volunteers. There are scores of others, everything fr minor sports, service clubs, scouts and guides, §yurch groups, the list could go on and on. : he 'people who do volunteer their time, effort - and talent and expertise too often do not get a lot of outside recdgnition for the contributions they make to their community specifically and society in general. But {ust try to Imagine for a minute what things would be like if all the volunteers quit tomorrow. We believe this community is blessed with many reps who are only to willing to serve as volunteers, and their efforts add considerably to the quality of life most of us enjoy. . =» - And we don't believe it Is out of line once in.a while to say 'thank 'you' publicly to all the volunteers. What you do Is very much appreciated. Keep up the good work. The Class Of '76 Statistics Canada seems to have a habit of turning out fancy reports which do little more than confirm the suspicions that most people have, anyway. Last week, the organization turned outa kind of "progress report" on about half the 97,000 students ~ who graduated from colleges and universities in 1976. Predictably, it found that some 33 per cent of university grads and 25 per cent of college grads believe the jobs they are doing do not measure up to . their expectations or their academic qualifications. . And lo and behold, the 500 page study turned up this startling bit of information that 63 per cent of those who graduated with degrees in philosophy feel they are under-employed. Obviously, the demand for philosophers these days just ain't what it used to "be. ." And just as startling, the study found that grads in medicine, dentistry, engineering and_pharmacy | editorial v omment had the least trouble finding work to suit their academic training. So, what else is new? On a mere serious side, the study did reveal that Ontario lostrmore university grads than any other "province with most heading for the boom provinces "of British Columbia and Alberta. Newfoundland, long the poor sister of Confederation was found to offer the best all-round employment picture for university and college graduates. The finding that Ontario Is indeed losing many of its grads fo greener pastures should bé cause for alarm. It takes a bundle of tax-payers money to graduate a student these days, especially In fields such as medicine, dentistry and engineering. And while they can not be blamed for taking a grab at the golden ring elsewhere, itis a oyble-barrelled loss for this province. Ly As 'for those grads in the liberal arts, the humanities, social sciences and some fields of applied sciences who are having the toughest time pegging their education to related occupations, this should be further evidence that there are no guaran- And good old tees in 1981, the way there may have been 15 or 20 years ago,..... -- : ; " Nevertheless, students contemplating a degree in the liberal arts and sciences field should not turn away just because the job market may not be particularly bright. What they must come to grips with is lowered expectations and the fact that when they do land a job, they may have to go through an extensive period of training at a low.salary level. Or, they may have to continue studies in more special- ized areas. Every time reports similar to these appear, there are those who say the universities have their priorities wrong and should be turning out more ready-made employees for business and industry at the expense of the liberal arts and science programs. That line of thinking Is highly in vogue these - days. Hopefully, society will not abandon completely the notion that there are inherent values in all forms of highers-educdtion and that universities must continue to provide a retreat from society, rather "than being just a training ground. -' MARKING EXAMS Marking examination papers brings out the best and the worst in: a- teacher. Any tomfool can set an examination. Any other idiot can write the thing. But marking the finished, or more often unfinished product is something else. In some ways, marking exams is the absolute anus of the sometimes creative body of teaching. It is to the teacher what an over-flowed toilet is to the plumber. bill smiley . who has professed the desire for such a profession, and spells it "brain surjen." One becomes a philanthropist: "He's flunking badly. But he did clean the blackboards and plug in the record players and said '"Have a nice holiday, sir,' and he's going into the old man's business because-, there's nowheré else to go, so I'll give him 10 marks for co-operation and attitude. That'll please the Guidance Department." One is amused. She wrote on the outside Bio Normally, a plumber's life is a fairly a5 happy one. Whanging away at pipes. g Cursing gaily as he tries to unscrew a rusted 24 nut. Dropping a dirty great wrench on the i) customer's new tile floor. And writing out a whacking great bill at $14 an hour plus parts which must be made of 24-carat gold. On the whole, a satisfactory fulfilling life. A plumber is usually a'smiling, affable chap, 4 much like the highwaymen of olden times, 1% ».who grinned galantly as they stripped the i ers of the stage of their valuables. 22, It's the same with teachers. You seldom : see a teacher who is not smiling, except between the first of September and the end of June. :, -- They too have their little joys in every- £1 day life: bullying kids; cursing the principal ers; shop teachers; business" teachers, and under their breaths; gossiping venomously about colleagues who are having more fun than they; happily whining about being i : underpaid and over-worked; thanking God - that it's Friday. A challenging life of dedication and idealism. - But both.parties have one craw in their ointment, or fly in their throat, or whatever ---- you call it. When a plumber walks in, rubber- booted, and faces a floor covered with water, sanitary napkins, toilet tissue, and semi-dissolved feces, his normally serene mien becomes one of stony stoicism. And when a teacher finishes a term at school, utterly exhausted, empty of ideals, drained of dedication, and faces the mark- ing of about 180 exam papers, his normally congenital expression turns into something resembling the agony expressed in a cheap reproduction of the Crucifixion. Nobody looks quite as crucified, stag- gering home with both arms full of exam papers, as the English teacher. His-her thouglits about Physical Education teach- others, who don't have formal exams are unprintable ini a family journal. Theirs attitudes - toward science teachers and geography teachers, with their true-false exams, are barely less charitable. These ruminations, none of them original, recurred to me as: I sat serenely during this year's March break, pursuing the current crop of regurgitations, wild guesses, and hopeful meanderings that constitute the average student's exam. .' . This year, I sat in something resembling a white man's igloo, and marked my papers in Moosonee. Unperturbed by my grand- boys' fighting, érying, challenging me to a game of chess or dominoes, walking across my exam papers with dirty rubber boots, I sat like Solomon, alternately bemused, amused, bewildered," and occasionally bewitched, by the outpourings of adoles- cence. g Some were simply stunned. Others _ were desperate, seekign any port in a storm. Some had a clue, but couldn't solve the case. And very occasionally, there was -- --sheer delight in seeing a keen, original mind at work. . I-mentioned the chore as bringing out the best and worst in the harassed peda- gogue, peering, pencilling, pouting over the papers. = . - One becomes a pilosopher: "Oh, well, 'what the hell? We can't all be brain surgeons," after Falling te efforts of one of the paper: "I did my best, Mr. Smiley. I hope your in a good mood when you mark this." 1 took off a mark because she misspelled "you're." : One is appalled. Question: "Use a sentence containing the ward morale." " Answer:. "A hero thinks he is greater than ordinary morales." Things like this make the young teacher panic and -ask self, "What's happening? 1 am not getting through to these kids at all." "Not to worry. The kid will probably be a good mother. Occasionally, one is enchanted. One,of those students who is a wall-flower in class, obviously shy, hiding behind drooping eye- lids, flowers on paper; ail-inhibitions forgot- * ten in the sheer joy of expression, and turns ° in a brilliant piece of creative thinking. And the teacher is momentarily elated, realizing he hat kindled a flame. 2 in all, an enriching experience, giving the marker a good look at a good cross-section of | youngsters, a few good laughs, some self-doubts, a certain humility, a delightful feeling of playing God, Jr. and the odd flash of sheer satisfaction, if not joy. a