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Representing the York South NDP was Mr. George Kolish, 175 Church Street. George Kolish is a member of the York South election committee and will be assisting Donald C. Mac. Donald's bid for re-election in the provincial election expected later this year. Mr. Kolish attended courses in leadership techniques conducted by election experts including Mr. Gordon Brigden, NDP Provincial Secretary and Mr. Michael Lewis, NDP Organization Director, and brother of NDP leader Stephen Lewis. A Weston man was one of 75 Ontario New Democrats who completed a three-day leadership course recently at Cedar Glen Camp near Bolton, Ontario. , Sui Rm This association, a non- profit organization boasts 28 branches across Canada. It was formed in 1963 for the purpose of promoting an understanding between the child's parent, the school, and to give parents some aid and encouragement in helping their child reach his full potential. "Many parents are unaware their child has a learning difficulty," Mrs. Pritchard explained in an interview last week. "Because their perception of outside stimuli is often distorted, they react in unusual ways so people label them as problem children." By Cathy Dunphy "There is no such thing as an unteachable child." Strong words from a woman with equally strong actions to follow them up. Mrs. Margaret Pritchard, of St. Lucie Drive, is a mother of a M-year-old son with a learning disability. She is also the publicity chairman for her division of the Canadian Association for Children with Learning Disabilities. Mrs. Pritchard described her son's case. "When he was a baby, he never used his left side. Doctors told me he had a slight case of The C.R. Merchant dropin is generally agreed to be one of the "auccettatul" drop-ins. According to kids there, the reason for Marehant's success lies with the leaders; the Baders, and Jay Fukukusa. For the past month, the program at the centre has been in limbo. “I was starting a counselling session with some of the kids but I've had to stop," Irene said. "I can't have the kids become too dependant on me when the centre might be closed down any day." But, they feel they have to leave. "I can't do anything more under the existing situation," explained Irene. the two drown leadeh at C.R. Marchant Public School you read about in this newspaper in February. But, on May 14, Bob and Irene and Jay will spend their last evening as supervisors of the centre. They, and all other staff of York's centres, have sub- mitted a "was resignation to the Parks and Recreation department. they don't want to go and none of the kids want them to go. Bob and Irehe feel the BottandirrtneBaarare 2weeks t288. Inclurim In! mam Acmvmnnml‘on n1 Sumo! Crest nr1dtwarhclut)rrutmrrcrsNp Cimrmrrmruroryirul)r;hl mml and bar eon/mo )epmmq mm! Saturdays from April [)vr Bonk non Weston man at NDP leadership school WESTON TRAVEL SERVICE 1912 Weston Road L (m the Wail-w Building) " 33113233; Drop-in supervisors: Why they resigned Children with learning disabilities can be taught 244. 5324 New Democrats attending the school also heard a detailed report from Professor Jo Surich, lecturer in political science at the University of Waterloo. He spoke of recent increases in NDP voting strength throughout various areas of Ontario. Professor Surich reported that research into the NDP victory in Middle- sex South in 1969 had shown that with proper organization, the NDP could greatly increase its number of seats in the next provin- cial election. Additional NDP personnel conducted seminar groups on leaflet design, publicity techniques, committee room organization, sign cam- paigns and election finan- cing. "He is in a vocational school now," she continued, "but even here the fine motor activites are stressed and he is having problems." Mrs. Pritchard em- phasised that her son's story is not unusual. She spoke of many conversations she has had with parents who have just learned their 14 or 15- year-old child is per- ceptually damaged. Many times it isn't the parent's fault they hadn't known previously about their child's handicap. cerebral palsy. When he grew older he never seemed to get along with other neigh- borhood children - he was always getting into fights and throwing temper tan- trums. Doctors said this was just a stage he was to outgrow. In Grade 2 he was placed in an opportunity class which worked out quite well for him because he had a good, qualified teacher. "But, after that year he didn't respond well at all. We enrolled him in a special summer camp for children with his problems and it was thereI was told that my son was five years behind academically." "Parents can't see the report of the school's diagnosis of the child. So it is Irene agrees that the decision to close the centres for damage would be detrimental to the program. "We have closed this centre down ourselves," she said, “but the kids always know why it is being closed. The explanation is the key, you can't leave the kids hanging." The drop-in staff also cites the replacement of Gregory Spears by Tug Wilson as Director of the drop-in program as another one of the reasons they resigned. ttemot tl'ihfll, "The centre is our only means of earning a living. Although I'm hired for a a hour week, it's a 24-hour-a- day job." They both protest council's trial edict of closing the centres for one day for every $40 of wilful damage done to the centre. "Who determines what is willful," Bob wanted to know. “This ruling is taking away the leaders' bread . . . that's all. The staff is the recent We: passed by camel] are indicative of an only expenditure as the centres only get 8100 a year to buy materials. "We were giiren nd ad- to close down the by BobBoulton The Etobicoke Philhar- monic Orchestra presented their Spring Concert to a full house Friday night at Martingrove Collegiate Auditorium. It's rumoured the Borough of Etobicoke intends to introduce a by-law making this a regular event. Presentation number one was Suppe's Ban. ditenstreiche Overture. Not only was this selection- completely entertaining in its but it also served nicely to in' oduce a fine orchestra, led Harman Haakman. This rk, although not on the tip 0 every music lover's tongue, was a welcome warm-up. Rousing and cheerful, the tune is one which, after listening to it for awhile, becomes recognizable as an old and welcome friend. Miss Stephanie Sebastian, a native of New York City who came to Canada four years ago, was the guest artist for the evening. Miss Sebastian has appeared with Leonard Bernstein, has recently done four IN shows for CBC and was one of the few pianists invited to perform during the opening of the Los Angeles Music Centre. hard for them to know what the problem is." "Mrs. Pritchard explained. Yet it is necessary the parent un- derstand exactly the nature of the problem. They must learn the children them- selves are very aware of their limitations and are often capable of great frustration. This frustration leads many times to emotional problems, com- pounding the situation." "The kids can sense they are different, starting from the pre-school hostility they suffer. It is necessary they be accepted. The social given a reason tor Gregory Spear's replacement." said Irene, "Greg was doing a prefect job, the centres were healthy." Irene explained that Mr. Wilson had visited their centre the other week to explain to the kids the new three-tiered program devised for the centres. It is to consist of craft sessions, educational tutorial sessions and guest speakers. "The kids are really down on this kind of program. They get it all day at school." Irene declared. "We tried the study part ourselves but it didn't work out. The kids come here to relax." "They're trying to turn the drotrins into a social club and the one thing this area doesn't need is another structured club," said Bob, "The kids who come here are seeking an alternative way of life. They don't want to hear a talk by 'the butcher, the baker, and the candle- stick maker'." Nor are Bob and Irene happy about council en- forcing the $2.50 mem- bership fee for the centres. “This is direct discrimination against the poverty level. There are kids Irfl STRAPPING 8" LONG 156cm MAHOGANY P"El-ul!fi 4 It 7 32.75 4 It 8 33.25 CEILING TILE (‘llAthX Efobicoke's Spring concert For Inquires MON. to FRI. 8 a.m.-5 pm. Call Any Time SAT. 8 a.m. - 12 noon "Most children suffering from a learning disability are capable of average or near-average intelligence. They can reach their full potential if society pulls together to help them," Mrs. Pritchard declared. "I heard of one class of 30 students, all perceptually damaged, and all but three of them were pulled up to a grade 10 level. This is all we expect. We don't demand our kids become geniuses; we simply stigma must be removed if they are to be freed from anxiety and able to learn." Mrs. Pritchard stressed. For her appearance here, Miss Sebastion chose Beethoven's Concerto No. 3 in C Minor. Like all the pieces presented Friday night, this one is not overly familiar, coming as it does immediately before Beethoven's musical maturity. Nevertheless, just as Napoleon was First Consul before becoming Emperor, Beethoven, of chronological necessity, composed the '3rd' before producing the magnificent but over-performed 'ith'. If it had been any composer but Beethoven, who is often called the bridge between the Classic and Romantic periods, the performance of the '3rd' would have been just another history lesson in the development of music. However, even Beethoven's lesser compositions are greater than the best efforts of most of his rivals. Miss Sebastien rendered this heroic and passionate concerto rather too straiihtt forwardly. However, in me lyrical passages, she shone as perhaps only a female artist can shine when presenting the poetry of a proud young man. This absorbing performance provided intriguing and who cannot afford $2.50, and it is a waste of trained staff to guard all the exits checking tor membership Rick Foley is l7-years- old, a member of Weston C.I.’s student council and an ardent tan of the C.R. Marehant dropin and its leaders. When asked if the kids at the centres had felt any repercussions from the recent council measures, Rick replied with an incredulous "Are you kidding?" "When the staff leaves, there is no way," he continued, "I can talk to them easier than I can to anyone else." Rick said he felt the enformcement of the $2.50 membership would prevent a lot of kids from coming to the centres. "In my family, four of us come to the centre. That What about the kids who go to the drowns? Are they being affected by council's measures and the recent staff turmoil at the centres? Or do they even care? iiTiiiiWtiaira'stTii m." Irene man. "It guard all the exits 1rou/ty,rvthekiowe want acking for membership In, out. The kids: They care PLAIIN Ilia 1h: EACH Tlit? "There is estimated to be more than a million children with the same problems as my own son who are living in Canada," she added. "This figure means there are approximately as many parents in this country who could form a united front and accomplish much more After the intermission, Dvorak invited us to throw away our crutches, tear off our neck braces, and frolic. The majority of Dvorak's work is characterized by highly endearing froth and technically adept super- ficialities. Symphony No. 4 in G Minor is no exception. The second movement (adagio) has an unmistakable resemblence to, say, Mantovani presenting the greatest hits of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The or- chestra played this delightful piece cleanly and with child-like enthusiasm. In order to accomplish this goal, Mrs. Pritchard is at- tempting to form a chapter of the Association for Children with Learning Disabilities within the York area. Dvorak never seems to want to ‘finish his com- positions properly and so finds it necessary to run away from his audience. In the same way, Friday night's listeners were sorry to have to put thisthoroughly enjoyable evening behind them. The Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra is to be congratulated. expect them to reach their own full potential." enchanting moments. The audience was un- derstandably hesitant to say goodbye and applauded her back to the stage many times. been happening to the centre," he said. "Someone keeps pinning council', motions about the drowns up on the school bulletin board." Rick also stated that closing the dropins for a day for $40 worth of d a m a g e w a s "frustrating". Rick wanted the kids to raise the money for damage themselves. "When we had some damage here a while ago, we all decided the day after that we would have a car wash and a rummage sale to make the money to pay for the damage," he said. would mean $10 a year we would have to pay to attend I public building to come to a place where under these new restrictions, we wouldn't be doing anything." Rick explained that he felt most of his friends at the dropin agreed with him. "We all know what's lst QUALITY Call Blitz Headquarters SALVATION ARMY BLI'IZ A singsong in a children's home. Kids frorr/trroF Giiiirs" v learning the joy of making music. With a guitar. . . and gentle help. . . and happiness. Yes, you can buy happiness. P.ieate For others. Now. Today. We toT Give to The Salvation Army . Red Shield Appeal. 1ttylfith VOLUNTEERS NEEDED s 920-9880 2 Cent“ have been featured. Friday and Seaway per- tormances will begin 7:30 pan. at Downsview Secon- dary School, 7 Hawkeadale Road, in Downsvizw. bilierinu of BroadiamU, Centennial and Grantham Approximately 700 children have been ap- pearing in the colorful Tomorrow evening and Saturday, North ork'l Schools of Recreational Ballet will continue Ita It 'eoatetiorudthetnNt'Ths Ugly Dueeiine'.The talented " Innullod mom then 1 ya: no, it may to in but. mod ot [nu-nun mintomu‘ W. offer I puma Maul which also includes phi-up, noun cleaning and ninnnllnion for in! S39.96 (man nukes). Call now baton the but mill-t Monday evening, " 31st. The wmvnmmy. 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