Whitby Free Press, 10 Jun 1992, p. 6

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PAE 6-.WgMYFE1iPPEJ8&,WEDNESDA., JUNE 1,!1992ý The only Whitby Neéwspaper owned and operated by hîty esidents for Whitby resîdents! Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Imc. at 131 Brook St., N., Whitby, Ontario i N S Phone 668- 6111 Toronto Line 427-1 834 Doug And&rson - Publisher Maurice, Pither - Editor Alexandra Martin -' Production Manager 2nd Glass Postal, Registration #05351 Somne ide as,to improve the ed'ucationsystemn To tho Editor: Re: Sohool systom Iln Durham I-'à r'i amazod at the Idea of a four-d ay wesk -for school children, in the Durham Region even being propos«, ha is geing on hors? if you phono the sohool board, tbe wil tityou that thoy are short,;0f funds and this is a way te save; on I .hoating costs, ,&e. Meanwhllo, they have $25 million avallablo te . build themsolves a now ýhoad «office. 1Isuppose thoy will propose a, four-day weoiç there, too, te cut back on heatlng cests.> How came R 1is always 'service' that ls -cut before anytbing else?' Provldlng- an education f or. Our children. la what they g et the malority' et our taxes, for,, net making , themsolves more comtortable when there are neo tunds for other thîngs. Now there may b. some logic to purchasing a building rther than Trenting their- promises. However, in this economuc climats there.are endless buildings avalle and ready te move inito ai way bolow the $25 million price tag. Why de they need te bulid new remises, they couId. save moeoy ýIpurchasing an oxisting building that ýwould net only saye meney, but would use up seme et the glut ef buildings availablo. 0f course, not bslng held accountable tbeydo te, have te think, they just make elaborate plans, borraw-.the money and away we gÎo. Guess wbo will bu piklJng Up the tab uftimatÉely, oven though thoy will argue they. are borrowlng the monoy? ý 1I wouid rsally like te ses a tres Of eployu lnthé school board, withther ido'Mdoutes and rde ofy I ld net mention resultwelcnew what the rosult s are -. dismnal. 1 wôuld >aise liko te oses an organizational tres te ses how many levels cf management thoro are, thoir qualifications, duties, pay, etc.l1lmagineitRls full ofdead wood that cou . bu chepped down te save somo bard-oarned dollars. 1 aise have some other ideas as te bow te savo money, giveOaur childrsn a botter education and still have a flve-day weok for the school clilidron. i. Get back te the basics& Make Engllsh. math, science and world history essetial st4m4ectsin which studonts must bu required te do wolL Ail Cther subjects such as music, French,* home economlics, etc., should only bue available te these ýstudents wbe are intorested. How many et us have klds who thin k these subjects are'a waste of time and berlng? 2. Wh- regard te music, ospeclally, there are probably only abut two, par cent. of students who really enjoy music. Lot themn have their music classes and stop forclng Rt on klds wbo, bad they net buen tumned off by stressed-eut music teachers screamlng et themn ln frustration because they can't get the bang et the instruments, mlght have a botter appreciation et music today.. 3. Frankly, the only reasons 1 can ses for havîng vice-principals in any school 1 have encountered is te have.somneone cover for the prncpal wbils he takes sxtended lunch breaks, or decides te bave a day* off, or an extra week's holiday hors and there. -iR le aise anether way et upping the pay scale for some. 1 can understand Johnny Carson needing a slde-kick, but this ls carnying if abit far. 1 4. Cut eut days off 'fer teachors te prepare for their classes. They'have te realize that. this ls part et their job and should bu dons. This could lie achieved by oxtendig thoir heurs tram 8 arn. te5 p.m. The efficient teachers will achiove great things during these heurs and, even thon, may have te work an extra heur or two. 1 myselt work in an office and somnetimes have te werk until 8 p.m. and most Saturdays. ft's part et the real world. 5. Have a way eto grading teachers. Some teachers are geod teachers and do wenderful thinga with thekids, but 1 have aise deaIt with solme whe ,1-are,ý lazy, narrew-mlnded, oùt-ot-date on the subjecta they teach, and'wbinln'. Have tbom pass-tests t e p telir jobie-and toiget lpsy ralèss.Hait et tbemn are iteaching subjeots .Int which thýy, themnseives are illierate. 6. Scbool principals should net bu memnbers et the teachers' union. As if stands, Rf Is a waste et time going te ses the principal et a school about any problem you may9 have. Yeu can 800 they are Jstr iistenfing, knewing fuil well t hey can c de nething te rectify anry problems ' you may bave.c 7. Scrap tues sool board c altagether and make education the resonsbiityoflocal gevernment. E ei bivf are some et my ideas on how te save money, mako the education system botterE and get rid of the dead wood. Edward Leahy *The Whitby Free Press welcomnes letters te the editor on any subjct of concem to-our readers. Letters shauld be brief and ta the point - rarely more Uian 300 words. Ail letters must b. accompanied by the name, address and teephone numberoU-tIe wriler; hôwever, on mequest, your name, may be withheld from publication if we agree that thora is a valicireason. The paper reserves the riht te raject or edt ail lattais. Send te: The Editor, Whiby Free Press, Box 26Whitbiy, Ont .LIN 551,or drap through'aur mail siot at 131 BrokStN'. By Ervin Enchin Wido-open Suniday shopping could lead ta the extinction of the amail indopandent' retailor, whicb would b. a Smd day for consumera bocause if would sevent ually lead te hi*gber prices. There la ne prqblsm Wh epening up cenvonionce stores, drug stores or even llmited tourlst districts, but-opon-house for alil'retail stores en' 'Sunday l, aa recIPe for disaster. Much ,iobbylng la bulng conducted on buhaf etf the department sterenababs, the giant retail chains, and- the heller-thmn-thou big-city print and broadcast'modia. Pretonding te bu the pratectors et the publie purs,ý they desperately try te convince everybody thet Sunday shopping ls ln thoir best interests. But net everybody wants Sunday shopping. Most churchgoers, most unions, meat retail employees and tho ,vast majority et undependont shopkoepers do net want 'open-heusa' ',on Sunday. The- independents -have nover' been censultéd on this matter and Sunday shopping wlll nover siicceed without their* support. The major players in this imbroglio, including The Baye Dylex, Woolwerths, Zollers and the Toronto Star, are authors et a hidden agenda that is destined te make the seventh day of tho week Into a big 'payday' for themselvos. And tbey will resort te any ýmeana te. bring 'this about Inciudlng bullying aur electod authorit les'and oven bsnding some et the public opinion polis. Consumers have been the loast vocal et ail the pretagenista. The public b a's always been ambivalent on matters relatung te Sunday, and ifs views have nover buen fully articulated. Stil, it's a known tact that few consu ,mers would opt for Sunday epeninga IW they, themsives, had Io work on that day. There are many reasons why Sunday cannot become just another werk day. Firstly, meat Ontariens stand teo lse tinancially as welI as sociotaly if Sunday isa wiped eut as a day et rest. Independont shopkeepars, numbering some 1180,000 ln Otarieoaing, mnd constifuting 97 par cent et ail rotait busines, could bu decimated by Sunday. openings bocause et famîly, health, staff ing er financlal _preblemsa.,And costa te muÎnnicip0altes -fer firetighting; policing, maintenance' and public transportation for the- extra day et business, wauld add te local tax burdons., S.The, arthmtlo i. 'isuch thait-if sveryonie declded teo pen on Sunday, ne newi business * s genertd don the seVonth dy Business would juat bu stolen away tframf the, other si days wl retailers endîng up delng -six.,days et ' business I n .sevon days. ln, addeliln, the quality of potentiai entrants' into retalllng wouid deilne. Mest people wlli'slde-stop acareer that Involves Sunday wr and,_cf course, fuliý-timiesafr are aise reluctant te work on'the Sabbat. The resuit, wouid bu a glut et parttlmers offerlng their seconid-rate services ,te an unknewlng public. But, even' durng normai timos wth a regular six-day week, the quality et retail services ln many shopa ýlà net that gret Why, then, would anyone want te worsen those 'services by pushing 'for a savon-dayweek.,.> The retail plants lay the blame- fer thoir pool tînancial showings on border-crosslngs and Sunday ciosings. But a dloser examination will reÏveai that 'the tauit lies elsewhers. The reason for ail their red ink is due te, a docided lack et prof essionalismn on the part et tbsir warktorces, which are simply -awful. ff triose -moneliths wsrete til thoir rosi estate wif h. competent, triendly. and helptul full-tdimne-, well-pald -staffera, and carrled full stocks et appeaing merchandise, th eroes weuld beover.And sixr tudays ot business oach weekç. would gurely bu eneugh? As ifIt s, "the stores are net the >least:it' crowded new on, mýy'day. Se, what'stheneed,? - weekles a ose-Ose situation fer everyone. Retallers cannet win, because ot hlgber eperatlng cests. Customfersw wan't.gain bocause tlioy wiIl bu .getting interlor services -tram ,bordes ef part-timers and ai et higher pricos, And the manufacturera won't bunefif sithler, bocause retailers are net -purchaslng morebecause thoir customner base bas nedt increased The only rosi winners are t he' advertiaing media, who wilI cerne Up ameling roses, wif ban extra psy-dlay, for tbemselves. And ai evqrybody's expense. OCpinions -exPressed ame those oi the author. Ontario rldlng- MP> Each time we go shopping, we've g t cholces to make and dcsnsto reach. Certainly, we should loo k at price and quali as'dotsfrmining -factors. But we should aise tako a min to thin about Canada. W. ail have a. stako in premoting Ce.adiangod and services. When consumer spending stays ad homese do jobs. This Is the main messae bshlnd the federal gavernmen'srecently unveled OCanada. Buy into lt initiative. Actually, the campaign, was suggested b.- a number of concemed Ganadians. Over theo past six months, the federal governimsnt bas consultod thousands ef Canadians In 186 cities and towns durin9 the wCommunfty Taiksr procoss, as part of the Prseiy*Initative. One sugestIon that -ropoatedly arose in this consultation process wa to instituts a 'buy Canadian Initiative. Wbat's more, people expressed a necossity for the private sector to becomo Involved in communlcating these vitai themes as effectively as possible. That is why the wCanada. Buy into R message will b. conveyed through paid media, to Ganadians from coast. to coast, In vlrtuaily every. comnmunity amd everyregion'cf the counitry. Throug h this campalon, Canadians are belng--asked to consider. price an1- quality i n theïr buylng decisons,, and ifcomparable, to. consider. p urchaslng .Canadian.-.products- and services. It will hlghllght t he fact- thae by purcbasing a Canhadian produti or service or by shopping In a Cânadian store, thore Is aïpaback in jobs and a stronger economyi. It will aise stress that Canada is béoomlng, more competitive th an ever with other countries,' and continuing, that progress Is vital. ý"Let"s get,'this onel", Suùnday 'shopping:, Bane or boon?..,

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