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The title poses a good question. I would like to address it in the way I see it and how it affects me personally. To me, Open Door is the answer to a prayer. I mean that, literally. Had I known of its existence, I would have applied for acceptance as a student years ago. To me, it is the open door to my future. From here, I can continue on and pursue any The role of Operation Open Door In my grade nine English refresher course at Operation Open Door, I was faced with the topic: ‘"Should Operation Open Door Continue," for a short journal in September 1986. _fFeedback LETTER S mm Someone in the community has been â€" happy smiles and a sense of exciteâ€" waiting for me to write a column about _ ment! my im;ch potato .rd::n Well, ;irst of all. _â€" Other kids let the ball roll between my kids are not y couch potatO@S. _ tpo;p down They rarely watch television, but for swodlft;‘:irhm:sgbt::sb;wfis xled by‘. years enjoyed playing quietly in their _ ciosed their eyes if the ball came near, rooms coloring and listening to music. hit the nbher cltand inttear af the hall All we‘ve heard for the past few months was "I don‘t want to go", ‘"you can‘t make me", or the endless "I hate tâ€"ball". Those comments made me think of my first experience of tâ€"ball as a spectator. The parents were screaming, the coaches were screaming and the kids had no ideas what they were doing. Seemed like fun to me. Anyway, tâ€"ball has started and dragâ€" ging two kids to practice resulted in ... Living in old areas of town, we did not have many children in our neighborâ€" hoods. Our kids amused themselves. To my chagrin and the reason I alluded to them as couch potatoes, they had showed little desire for physical activiâ€" ty. The poor school teachers were almost embarrassed to tell me that my children needed to put forth more effort during gym time. Not playing with peers and running about the neighborhood meant that the main image of physical activity that my kids were subjected to was that of my husband, myself and the other adults in the area. Let‘s face it. A five or six year old cannot keep up and it becomes frustrating and discouraging. However, fearing that this inhibition would prevent them from the joy of trying new activities, I put my foot down and insisted they join a team sport ... tâ€" ball. " & 6 * . ‘.-, F P % â€" * P P & A s f & ; ’ i * K [ i #. 2U 9 * 4 % £." is in $ "6ep i 8# £ 9 i F1 i % 7 \,.&/x f ‘fl 4 ~e .. T9 . 4 a ) Te ~ ~peteeey lyiP Â¥ u. "ame. young peoples‘ magazines. Yes. I‘m not in favor of a total ban, but it should be banned from Sue Wentzell Waterioo area of career or occupation 1 have always dreamed of having, but felt was out of my reach. The grade 12 dipioma, I hope to earn while I am here, is a stepping stone to further education. Without that stepping stone, I would still be standing on the "other side‘"‘ of a "closed door‘"‘. I am so glad that doesn‘t have to happen to me. Thanks to Operation Open Door and its continued operation, others will have the same opportunity. Let‘s keep the door This journal was written two months later on Monday, Oct. 27, 1986. â€" It didn‘t take long for me to realize that here was a golden opportunity to do something that I had always dreamed of doing and that is to get an education. The fact that it is an all adult education facility made it a great deal easier for me to get back into the swing of things again. All it took was a little encouragement and support. (Perhaps a little screamâ€" ing, dragging, icy stares ...) That‘s all it takes for anybody to participate in a physical activity. Further support from the community was evident with a recent tâ€"ball clinic where more than 100 girls aged five to eight learned how to catch, hit and throw. They also, to my disappointment, warmed up by doing straight leg toe touches and full head circles. Two noâ€"nos in body movement. I was however proud to see both my girls keep their knees slightly bent (after a quick look in my direction! ) The clinic, sponsored by Dave Birnâ€" stih] of Sportco of Kitchener, was a great success. My kids love me for sending them to the field, and yes, I too scream and get close to tears when my kids play. The first game was "gut wrenching" to quote my husband. It wasn‘t difficult, to tell which little girl belonged to the parents screaming in ecstasy. The adrenaline flowed, the game was comâ€" pleted, and my girls said, "I wish there was a game in the morning!" Other kids let the ball roll between their legs, held their gloves upside down, stood their ground as the ball rolled by, closed their eyes if the ball came near, hit the rubber stand instead of the ball, struck out and made themselves dizzy swinging around, and threw the bail behind instead of in front! It‘s amazing the pleasure we derive from seeing other children play as poorly as our Yes. I‘m a nonâ€"smoker and tobacco advertising generates new smokers. Secondary smoke is more harmful to your heaith and can increase your chances of cancer. John Barth Kitchener Should the advertising of tobacco My reason for writing this letter is to draw attention to the fact that for every negative input that is displayed, there can always be some positive feedâ€"back. I am referring to the article submitted to the Waterloo Chronicle by a dissatisfied student who attended Operation Open Door school for about the same length of time I had when this original journal was written. â€" I had been away from school a long time and this helped the transition from being a mother of three grown children, and a grandmother of four young granddai thâ€" ters back to being a fulltime school student much easier. I would have to do a lot of research and factâ€"finding before I could honestly say whether this individual has all her facts straight. If she does, then I suggest that this information could have been presentâ€" ed to the Department of Education first, if Have we chosen our models unconâ€" sciously by just going along with the crowd in that part of town in which we So, granted that our selfâ€"image deterâ€" mines our lives, but is this selfâ€"image one we have consciously developed, or have we just soaked it up by osmosis? They pattern their selfâ€"images after the models they see about them, not deliberately, but simply because that‘s where they live, and these are the people with whom they must associate and get along. It was the late Dr. Maxwell Maitz, who said that the greatest psychological discovery of our generation is the discovery of the selfâ€"image â€" its importance being that our selfâ€"image determines what happens to us, through the attitudes we develop from it. You go to any neighborhood in your community â€" from the very affluent â€" to the wellâ€"toâ€"do â€" to the poor, and you will find people living much as their neighbors do. They tailk, act, work, play and conduct themselves in most of their activities as do their neighbors up and down the street on which they live. For instance, it is our attitude that can put us in our cages. Each of us has established limitations beyond which we don‘t care to venture. Many of these limitations are valid; we know what we cannot do well and so we stay out of those areas. But here‘s the catch: Do we really know this, or do we merely believe this to be so because of our restrictive selfâ€" image? Selfâ€"image psychology is interesting because of the way it shows us how we create our own world in our own image. But it goes a lot further than that. Our selfâ€"image depends a great deal on the models we have chosen â€" either conâ€" sciously or unconsciously. No. It‘s discriminating against the product. They should be alâ€" lowed to advertise the same as anyone eise. products be banned? MelJanie Forrest Waterlioo WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1987 â€" PAGE 7 Geoffrey Fellows The difficult part is seeing within ourselves the present selfâ€"image we hold. So the best way to see what you are really like is to examine your environâ€" ment. That‘s the world you have settled for â€" but is it the one you really want? And it will all start with expanding your selfâ€"image. You see, you cannot be anyone but the person you believe yourself to be; but that belief can be changed. It adds significance to the saying: "As ye believe, so shall it be done unto thee." (Mr. Fellows operates the Human Reâ€" source Development Institute, P.O. Box 642, Cambridge, NIR 5W1I, providing effectiveness training to business and industry.) Whichever it was, it was deliberately chosen and then emulated by acting the part of that person until it became so knit with habit of thought, as to become that person, thus creating a new selfâ€" image. The important point here is that we don‘t have to succumb to our present environment. If we think our present environment is too restrictive, or could stand some improvement, we can imâ€" prove upon it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that is what freedom of expression is all about. My opinion is, keep the doors open, improve them by all means, but please, don‘t knock them To my knowledge, there is a waiting list of students who have applied for applicaâ€" tion for admission to Alexandra Open Door school. There is an even greater potential of 20,000 or more in the Kitchenâ€" erâ€"Waterioo area who could benefit from the opportunities this school provides. In the hundreds of stories about the lives of those who have lifted themselves up and out of their original environâ€" ments, almost all of them were inspired by models that had influenced their lives. Sometimes, it was a living person, someone they respected and admired; sometimes, it was someone they read about; and sometimes, it wasn‘t a real person at all, but a mental image of the person they most wanted to become. Iuflg:ned to be raised, or have we deliberately and independently chosen a model that represents more closely the sort of person we would rather be? her goal was to make the facilities and advantages of Open Door greater for all concerned. I am all for improvement in a. _ endeavor, and if this individual‘s op...on will help to facilitate this end, then all the more power to those who see it as such. Yes. Banning it won‘t have any affect on the people already smoking, although it may prevent young people from smoking. Anton Cockburn Kitchener Helen Murchie Kitchener, Ont.