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I‘d like to be able to say that the end of year for a teachér is fraught with sadness, as the delicate flowers you have nurtured during the year (and most of whom have turned to weeds,) leave you. t Not so. Rather is it a lifting of several stones from a man who is being "pressed‘‘ to confess. The pressing was an oldâ€" fashioned method in which everâ€"heavier stones were placed on a man‘s chest until he said "uncle", or ‘‘Yeah, I said God didn‘t exist", or ‘"Yup, I know where the jewels are."" Erna VanDale keeps things humming for the Kâ€"W Community Orchestra durâ€" ing its performance in the bandshell during the weekend‘s Waterioo Days. The orchestra provided one of the many musical events in the threeâ€"day long festival of family fun and recreation. _ Not so. On the last day of school a teacher walks out of the shoe factory, which most schools resemble, and is beholden to no man. Except his wife, kids, dog, car, boat, bank manager, garâ€" den. But it‘s better than being beholden to a lot of gobbling young turkeys whose chief aim in life: is to destroy your emotional equilibrium, and a gaggle of administrators whose chief aims in life are discipline, attendance, dress, drugs, and the entire midâ€"Victorian world that is crumbling around them. i e esd 5 & ".fi'i;g; have changed quite a bitâ€"in the twenty years I‘ve been teaching. In my first year, my home form 'g:ve me a present at Christmas and another at the Lend of year. | cb wvls td ivoinnigtneey Pm ts E This went on for some time. They may have thought I was a dull old tool, but we parted with mutual respect and good wishes for a happy summer. There was always a gift: one year a bottle of wine and three golf balls, another year a table lighter that didn‘t work ; another year a pen and pencil set with thermometer that still works. By golly, in those first years, there was a little sadness. Joe had turned from a gorilla into a decent lad, hiding his "etter instincts behind a mop of hair. Bridget had turned from a fourâ€"eyed eager beaver into a braâ€"less sex symbol. I BILL SMILEY KEEPING TIME Ah, shoot, that‘s not true either. They might put an iceâ€" pick in my tires, set a thumbtack on my chair when I wasn‘t looking, write the odd obscenity in their textbooks, two words, with my last name the second one, but they wouldn‘t really do anything obnoxious. & L 72 i And little Michelle doesn‘t really hate my guts, even though she deliberately stabbed herself in the wrist with a pen on the last day of school, came up to my desk, looked me straight in the eye, sprinkled blood all over my desk and pants, and asked, "Are you sure I have to write the final exam?" " Just because lammped Barney three times this g:ar with my arthritic right fist doesn‘t mean that we both believe in corporal punishment. We‘re buddies, and I‘m going to keep an eye on my cat this summer in case it‘s strangled. I‘m kidding, of course. Those kids in my home form look on me as a father. Not exactly as a father confessor, mind you, or a kindly old father. More the type of father whom you put the boots to when he comes home drunk and falls at your eager feet. . _ s e s Nowadays, if my home form gave me a present on the last day, the first thing I would do would be to send it to the local bomb squad. If they cleared it, I would open it with tweezers and a mask, wondering which it contained: dog or cat excreâ€" ment. Parting‘s such sweet sorrow wished them well, unreservedly. In fact, I wouldn‘t be surprised if they give me a present on our last dak Perhaps a cane; possibly a hearing aid. Presented by Robin, an angelicâ€"looking little blonde who kicks Steved‘ust ahead of her, right behind the Imeecars in the middle of the national anthem, and makes him fall forâ€" ward, kicking backward. . _The party is over, and what a party it was! $ * * Waterloo‘s> community services deâ€" partment deserves a hearty round of apâ€" plause for all the effort they put into staging the threeâ€"day festival of fun. Recreation director Tom Litwiller in particular rates a great deal of credit for his efforts. If you needed informaâ€" tion, directions or a parking spot, he was always available to help out. He was a familiar figure throughout the weekend ... you couldn‘t miss him in his bright yellow track suit leading his volunteers and providing all the necessiâ€" ties for a successful community event. The Golden Triangle Marine Moâ€" dellers set up a miniâ€"harbour in Silver Lake where they tested their. ability to pilot radio controlled ships through a series of obstacles. There was always a full crowd on hand to watch their marine maneuvers. Several tables were set up to display the various types of arts and crafts made locally, and in one instance I talked with a girl from Florida who would like to display her wares here again next year. . The Potters Workshop provided resiâ€" dents with the opportunity to try their hand at pottery making. In some instanâ€" ces the amateurs were far from successâ€" ful, but it proved that those who make pottery for a living are not just leftovers from the hippie heyday. It takes both skill and patience. There was something for everyone. There was a midway (although someâ€" what overpriced), several local musical groups entertained and provided a welâ€" come rest period from all the walking that visitors had to do just to take in all the events, and the third annual Waâ€" terloo 10 km Classic saw a record number of entrants run in Sunday‘s hot sunshine. 4 A party to remember It was a typical weekend marked by The more I think of them the more nostalgic I get for the year we‘ve spent together. At least, I am spent. They‘re not. They haven‘t invested anything, so there‘s nothing to spend. On second thought, I‘m not a father figure to them. I‘m a grandfather figure. In the last few weeks of school, before it was decided who would be recommended, and who would have to write the final, I noticed a definite increase in soliciâ€" tude and kindness. If I dropped my book from‘ senile hands, they would pick it up, and instead of throwing it out the window, would hand it to me gravely. l o se ® And they became nicer to each other, probably out of conâ€" sideration for my increasing sensibility. Instead of tripping the girls as theyâ€"went to their seats, the huge boys would pick them up and carry them. i F r-i;si;;a-()'fâ€"rtfifi;vihg a pen like a dart when someone wantâ€" ed to borrow one, they would take off their boot, put the pen in i:hand throw the boot, so the pen wouldn‘t be lost in the scuffle. And speakinfiof scuffles, there have been very few of late. Oh, the other day, there was a little one, when Tami, fiveâ€" feetâ€"minus, grabged Todd, sixâ€"feetâ€"plus, and shoved him out the window, secondâ€"storey. No harm done. He was able to gr:? the sill, and when she stomped on his fin{.e‘:s, manâ€" :f to land on his feet, some distance below, in middle a spruce tree. Maybe it‘s all been worth it. They haven‘t learned much, but I have, and that‘s what education is all about. Three years from now, I‘ll meet them somewhere, on the street, in a pub, in jail. They boys will have lost their 14â€" yearâ€"old ebultience and the girls will be pregnant, and we‘ll smile and love each other. Waterloo Chronicle, Wednesday, June 25, 1980 â€" Page 7 laughing/crying children, candy floss, lost children, yelping dogs, irate parents, soaring kites and sports ... lots of sports! _. > ; * I‘d just like to close by saying how much I envy all the children who rode the ferris wheel and merryâ€"goâ€"round ... I wish I could, but I throw up if I spin around in my chair too fast when the old lunch bell rings! _ I was hardâ€"pressed to find anyone who had anything bad to say about Waâ€" terloo‘s dayâ€"ofâ€"days ... not that I made a point of looking for complaints. It wasn‘t the adults who wanted to ride in a circle. They just wanted to keep a close eye on their children, that‘s all. I ran into a lady at the 10 km race on Sunday who wasn‘t affiliated with any of the participating groups, yet she was cheering on the runners like they were members of her own family and offering words of encouragement to those who dropped out just minutes from the finâ€" ish. She made them all feel like winners. There were those who were upset with some of the prices charged for rides at the midway. Children (more like their parents) were charged an exorbitant amount just to take a few spins on the merryâ€"goâ€"round or the ferris wheel and then, to add insult to injury, parents were charged nearly the full amount just to stand on the merryâ€"goâ€"round to comfort their children who were slightly apprehensive about their first "thrill When I asked her why she was so worked up and enthused, she explained that these people were entertaining her and doing something out of their love of sport and the least she could do was reâ€" spond to their efforts and provide assisâ€" tance where needed.