WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8.1986, PA&GE H1 iHarwood mnakes achievers oui of "failures"' By SUSAN LESJAK Free Press Staff When Witby teenagers Kelly Kane and Jillian Green first lear- ned they were being sent to Har- wood Secondary Scbool, they were scared. The so-called ticoconut college" was infamous among their peers. Rumors flew about the scbool's stupid kids, drugs and jail-like atmosphere. Four years later, as recent graduates of Harwood, the two feel quite differently about the school. They have nothing but praise for the institution that transforms would-be "failures" into scholastic achievers. 'II went from hating scbool to loving it,"I says Kelly, wbo's now being interviewed for a job as an industrial mechanie. "It's frien- dier than any other school I've been to' "I'm proud to say 1 corne from Harwood _. I feel lucky to have gotten on the list to corne to this school," says Jillian, who is now working as a sales clerk in a clothing store. Kelly and Jillian graduated with honors last montb, but tbey weren't always this successful at school. It took years of failing and being at the bottom of their class at nuinerous scbools, before tbey started to do well. Like other students at the vocational school, Kelly and Jillian were sent there because of their "llimited success" at regular schools. When Jillian arrived, she was working at a grade three level in math and a grade five level in English. In four years she's managed to bring ail of her subjects up to a general level. When she thinks back on ber years of unbappiness in the regular school system, sbe's angry that it took so long to get the belp and encouragement she needed. "It makes me upset to tbink that 1 went tbrough ail those years of failing ... Now, look at me - I've got straigbt A's. " Not everyone is as positive about Harwood as Jillian, bowever. Some parents - par- ticularly those fromn Whitby where the scbool is less known - fight bard to keep their children out of the school. Tbey fear their child may be labelled "Idumb" if sent to Har- wood and that sucb a decision is tantamount to admitting that their offspring will neyer amount to anytbing. For the staff of Harwood, wbo are confident tbey can help students wbo aren't getting what they need in the regular schools, the resistance encountered from some parents in frustrating. Last montb, tbe scbool beld a special "Wbitby Day" open bouse in an effort to dispell some of the myths circulating about the in- stitution. Dawn Hambling, a Witby resident whose son attends Har- wood, was one of the parents in- volved in planning tbe day. Sbe's an outspoken proponent of the scbool and bas barsb words for parents who prevent their cbildren from going there. Hambling blames pride on the reluctance of some parents to see their. kids attend Harwood. "lBecause of the parents' tenden- cy to realize their own dreams through their cbiidren - because of Mommy and Daddy's desire to keep up with the Joneses, tbe kid is living in bell, " she says. Hambling is convinced that ber son could neyer bave made it at Henry Street bigb school. He bad been faiing grades since kmn- dergarten and it wasn't until be got to Harwood that he found he could be successful at anything. What is it that enables Har- wood to get through to kids that were written off years ago by otber academic institutions? Jim Osborne, a guidance coun- sellor at the school, believes it's a combination of the scbool's curriculum and its atmosphere. Since its students have ail had difficulty with straight academics, Harwood emphasizes pragmatic, hands-on learnîng. While the three Rs are stili taught, the school's success lies in its 24 "sbops" in which studen- ts learn crafts or trades such as graphic design, merchandising, drafting, quantity cooking and hair dressing. The variety of sbops - virtually ail of whicb are sampled sometime in the students' four years - gives themn a chance to explore areas of potential in- terest or aptitude. In-class training is combined witb work experience - arranged througb co-op placements lasting fromn several days to several montbs and "job sbadowing" in wbich a student observes a professional working on-the-job for a day. Learning makes more sense to Harwood students when it's tied in directiy with practical ap- plication. As the variety of cour- ses gives students plenty of op- portunities to exceil, their self- image improves appreciably by the time tbey graduate. Kelly, wbo had always been at the bottom of his class before be got to Harwood, found that com- peting witb others at the same level made aIl the difference. "Suddenly, I wasn't "dumb" anymore. I got a chance to grow together with everyone else. " While no school can reach every kid, the "success rate" at Harwood appears to be high. Employers speak warmly of Harwood graduates and the number of students who find jobs upon graduation is impressive. Part of a graduate's success in job-hunting can be attributed to Harwood's Work Education Career Awareness Program, run by Sarkis Kay. The counsellor has a battery of interest and ap- titude tests to help students mat- ch themselves to prospectiVe careers; a library of information about jobs and post-secondary training programs and a wealth of job-bunting tips. In addition to working one-on- one witb students, Kay leads workshops on resume-writing, in- terviewing and other job-bunting skilîs. "Career counselling increases students confidence immen- sely," believes Kay. "The scbool's whole process is one of positive self-image building.. students feel very good about tbemselves by grade 12. " Dawn Hambling has only one piece of advice fo r parents whose children are recommended for placement at Harwood: "Let them go." Whitby students Kelly Kane and Jillian Green spent a lot of time at this table last montb, flip- ping tbrough job listings, preparing resumes and consulting witb career counsellor Sarkis Kay about their upcoming job bunt. The two are recent Harwood Secondai-y School graduates now, and tbanks to Kay and the school's work education resource centre, they should bave a real edge over other-work seeking grads less lued in to the job market. Free Press Staff Photo lALE, INTRODUCINVG*SELECTEL FOR WHITBY SUBSCRIBE AND YOU COULD SAVE 1/3 ON ALL CL/S TOMER DIALED CALLS TO TORONTO. SELECTEL is a new, long distance discount plan that could save you 1/3' on ail your customner diaied calîs to Toronto. Just $3.00 a month for residence phones or $7.30 a month for business gives you an automnatic 1/3 discount. And that saving appiies in addition to the usual evening and weekend long distance discountsl «A minimum charge of $34 applies on al oeils. 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