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The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 28, 2001 - A7 New Ontario school curriculum gives basics short shrift Re: Teaching methods behind poor test results Oakville Beaver, Nov. 7, 2001 The letter that Frank. Gue from the Taxpayers Coalition Halton Inc. wrote regarding the latest testing results for Grade 3 and 6 students was absolutely insulting to most teachers, and espe cially student teachers like myself. Not only does Mr. Gue not know what he is talking about, he is using government rhetoric to back up his shaky position. His assertion that "classes are too big" and studies across from "around the world" show that test results for stu dents are similar cannot be justified. First, what is happening in the rest of the world does not matter; what matters is what is taking place in Ontario. Second, I am currently practicing teaching in a class that is way of the `lim it' of students set out by our gov ernment. My associate teacher and I find it extremely difficult to give atten tion to all students who need, no, deserve the consideration that is due. Because of government cutbacks, classroom sizes have been increased. Because of government cutbacks in special education, ESL, ADD, EMH and dyslexic students have been placed in the regular curriculum, without addi tional teaching help or programs at schools to help them. It is left to the teacher in the classroom, who has lim ited, if any, training to deal with these special cases competently. When standardized tests are admin istered, teachers must teach to the test. Absolutely, no consideration is given to what should be taught regarding local community issues, and there is no room to deviate outside of the prescribed cur riculum. So, in order to score high test marks, teachers will teach to the test, and not teach what the students need to leam in order to progress. And for your information, Mr. Gue, I can spell but, unfortunately, most stu dents cannot. Why is this? A number of reasons, but the most prevalent issue is the curriculum. By forcing teachers to teach a prescribed program, `the basics' such as reading and writing are being neglected. Finally, I, along with my colleagues in all of the Faculty of Education's across the province, are being taught the proper methods needed in order to teach. If Mr. Gue believes that we should be babysitters instead of taking initiative and challenging students' minds as teachers are supposed to, then perhaps, citizens should be informed of: a) the cost o f a Bachelor of Education degree ($5,250 for tuition alone); and b) the curriculum and meth ods that are taught. If the only method to see the `results' of our teaching is teacher and student testing, and people like you degrading the profession o f teaching, then I do not know if I want to be a teacher any more. MARK KISSEL Studenr teacher Ontario Institute fo r Studies in Education (OISE), University o f Toronto Tax dollars wasted on w ar against m arijuana Re: 'Neighbourhood pot labs busted' Oakville Beaver, Fri. Nov. 16, 2001. The RCMP efforts to eradicate the marijuana trade are no doubt well-intended, but ultimately counterproductive. The drug w ar's distortion of basic supply and demand dynamics makes an easily grown weed literally worth its weight in gold. Canadian tax dollars are being wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing more profitable. And let's not kid ourselves about protecting children. The thriving black market has no controls for age, making it eas ier for teenagers to buy illegal drugs than beer. Politicians need to stop worrying about the message drug policy reform sends to children and start thinking about the children them selves. There are cost-effective alternatives to the failed drug war. In Europe, the Netherlands has successfully reduced overall drug use by replacing marijuana prohibition with reg ulation. Separating the hard and soft drug markets and estab lishing age controls for marijuana has proven more effective than zero tolerance. As the most popular illicit drug in Canada, marijuana provides the black market contacts that introduce users to drugs like heroin. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Given that marijuana is arguably safer than legal alcohol -- pot has never been shown to cause an overdose death -- it makes no sense to waste tax dollars on policies that finance organized crime groups like the Hells Angels and facilitate the use of addictive hard drugs. If you are interested in a dated comparison of Dutch vs. U.S. rates o f drug use one can be found at: C o u n c il & S t a n d in g C o m m it t e e M e e t in g s 1 Monday, December 3,2001 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7 :3 0 p.m. Monday, December 10,2001 Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - T rafalgar Room httpy/www .nethgrW s-em bassy.Qrg/c drugstat.html More recent figures can be found at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm Annual Causes of Death in the U.S.: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/causes.htm ROBERT SHARPE, M PA. Program Officer The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation http.VAvww.drugpolicy.org 4455 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite B-500 Washington, DC 20008-2328 Tuesday, December 11,2001 Planning & Development Council Council Chambers 7 :3 0 p.m. Monday, January 7,2002 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7 :3 0 p.m. j C o u n c il & C o m m itt e e T o u c h to n e P h o n e L i n e 815-5 9 5 9 P u b l ic lg ae M C e e t in g Local vets nominated Thank you for helping the Ontario Veterinary M edical A ssociation (OVMA) promote its annual Awards Program. The Awards Committee received five nom inations from pet ow ners in Oakville. The large number of nomina tions speaks highly of the veterinary services provided in the region. The theme of the nominations were similar. In every case, the veterinarians nominated provided exemplary cus tomer service. The nominees were cited for their compassion, ability to commu nicate well, and concern for the welfare of the animals they were caring for. The identity of the awards recipients will be revealed during a special cere mony at the OVMA Annual Conference of Jan. 24, 2002. DR. RODGER GRIFFITHS, Chair, OVMA Awards Committee A le a n - up i r ] o t h V in te r^ y J n u m o re iP u in my LIVINGSTON FUR For the finest selection of leathers, light-weight shearlings, fabulous furs and cashmeres visit our showroom on Brant Street. Choose from street-casual to updated classics in jackets, shawls, capes and outerwear coats. We also custom-design garments for that unique look. As part of the 2002 Town Council Budget Committee process, the Paries and Recrea tion Department will be reporting on options to potentially increase algae clean-up along Oakville's shorelines. During the summer of 2001, Town staff, and the Mayor and Members of Council received numerous complaints regarding the odour of shoreline algae. You are invited to attend the meeting and share your views with respect to this issue. Date: Location: Thursday, December 6,2001 Oakville M unicipal Building 1225 Trafalgar Road Oakville, O ntario Council Cham bers 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Time: Since 1910 FURS P l a n n in g f o r O a k v il l e ' s F u t u r e O A K V I LLE i r The Council and planning staff for the Town of Oakville invite all residents and interested parties to participate in Roundtable discussions on topics related to the planning of Oakville. The Roundtables are an interactive forum for the public to discuss and provide input into several planning-related topics. These topics were identified during the public meetings held recently on OPA 198, the proposed amendments to the official plan for the development of lands north of Dundas Street in Oakville. Plan to attend one or all of the topics that interest you.____________ 446 Brant Street, Burlington 5 2 8 -1 1 7 7 · 6 3 4 -9 2 4 3 C a ll Im m e d ia te ly ...T h is Is A L im ite d T im e O ffe r! 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