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My days consist of changing dirty bums, cleaning and making bottles (formula not vodka; filling sippy cups, making lunch and breakfast. cleaning that up, than However, sm h a l ' ull situalion whit h T hat said, the board and the public can benefit from open dist tissmn of the trustees' rule and admin“ y responsibilities. Trustees do have a responsibility to work together. lrom the outside looking in, the incident in question rould appear as one trustee being denied the right to admit ate tor a Parent, and that scenario t mild suggest a blatant dismay! for the prim iples of denim van, Running a hauschold and par- enljng children is the hardest job in the world. I So yes. I do deurvcsujen hours of uninterrupted sleep; it's the only "me" time that I get! Yon know as well aiiiioTiil much moms do domesticalty that dads don't even know about. The best interests of a student needed particular consideration and a pmsihilily existed that the board was at risk ot legal anion; the directors, attention to these particular ' irrurnstarwen does not create polit y Yes. that was written by my hus- band, Bob Vrhanac (hands off, he's all mine!) who actually'had the audacity to depict me as his crazy hear-like wife while portraying him. self as the good-natured father who simply made a little mistake. Please! ,, ,7 "'e""V Policy is not created behind closed doors at the board. This one-tima. situation fell within the purview of the director. In his column Mr. Strickland referred to a new policy which prevents staff from meeting with Parents if a trustee is prev sent. Pere, is no such polky. all the hardworking mom- I mies out there, did you read last week's, "soggy Bottom Boys" column? Contrary to the information he found. the role of trustees was not discussed in camera. That discussion is slated for a future public meeting. l m the irrcarncra meeting on Jan, 30, Ci (H ttustm's listened to a delegation describe _ an inddent involving a student and a staff member. The ensuing hoard discussion was legal and. due to corthdentsahry (wh" h It) r Hush-0s those to honours, was entirely t respectful of the lull“ aim" Art Mothers deserve to be ‘well rested' 'd like to respond to Sean Strickland's erroneous Icolumn about "keeping public matters public" in which he discussed "the proper role for school trustees" and his understanding of a recent school board meeting I so wish he had bothered to contact some of the I0 other trustees that were in attendance at the meeting in question. 'Erroneous' column has sown the seeds of political mistrust "Chtherine Fife " " Waterloo resident and u "my would "verurnphty a mm. "mire with the Wttterloo Region thstrirt school I had been further rumplk'ated board. " looking in, the incident m par as one "usin- bring denied P tor a parent and that scenario ant disrewsat for the prim iples Anybody med iuu "dia, this? I am! I have not even mentioned thc "hole anxiety of rrrm but fair disci- pline so that yam children are respectful but happy, and develop positive self-esteem through know- ing how much they are loved. Let's not forget that we also need to bring out their creative side through songs. dancing playdough. colouring. crafts. dress-up and just regular play. I do all of this while making sure that our children develop a lifelong love for learning by reading to them, doing the alphabet and numbers, nursery rhymes. and riddles. the grandéarenl; Gurriiiiui, am! quliqgs with friends. ping up vegetables and gelling ready for dinner, vacuuming, dust- ing, cleaning ioitets, washing clothes. folding them, putting them away (while our two-year-old "helps"; keeping up with phone calls that need to he made. going lo swimming classes. gymnastics, doc- lor's appointments, buying birth- day and anniversary gifts, cards, “dying up toys. crumbs, putting photos into albums, organizing THREE boys to go to for a visit to CAT_HERINE cdm anon ' “4'“ch How does this build confidence FIFE l in public education? How will this support students in our system? A strong and nexihle public education system serves us all, We do need to talk about it-about its complexi- ties. about necessary improvements, about the intimation and imagination that characterize our schools. and about the political struggles inherent in democracy that affect education, T here is no community anywhere in Ontario where pointing fingers and careless analysis will em outage the public Commitment our schools need to thrive or the healthy respect for democratit multiples and traditions at the heart of public ' ........ Customarily, trustees can receive up to l5 calls a week and the concerns raised do not end up in the media when they are negotiated in a ‘ meaningful way. often in coopera- tion with staff. ll should also b; GaGGTici' effective in their advocacy for students, public education. Trustees can have influence on an individual basis, but power rests in their ability to work together. collectively, for all students all of the time. I. _L_.,l " I I _ _ by the actions ofa lone trustee, COMMEN By abandoning his responsibility for factual accuracy, he sows seeds of political mistrust. Despite his empathy, Mr, Strick- land has called into question the boyrs_intettritr That said, the impact of a nega- tive impression, such as that created by Mr. Strickland. can quickly over- shadow the positive initiatives undertaken every day in our schools. So happy St. Valentine's Day my sweet! (You better drop the whole "Let's write a biased article about my lovely wife" routine). Now, that said, and maybe because the scent of St. Valentine's Day is still in the air, I feel that I should mention that Bob is a won- derful husband and father who does a lot with our children and around our house. and I do love the life that we have created together. noted that most trustees are But take heart, ladies, even if your husband is better at 'channel- surfing' than ptcking up his own socks, just be glad that he does nol have a public forum with which to comment on your domestic goings- And furthermore, if he thinks that I should be friendly at 3 am. when I have to change yet another diaper (my hands are literally raw from washing them all the time) because daddy did not do his job properly. then he better run fast. So let me tell you, I am not "well rested" as Bob wrongly assumed. V parents and Tara Warren - Vrbanac l I I l r, mail your seaneseartstrtcuami.rom Cm sorry, but having Janet Gretr absolving her husband doesn't cul it. l ing behind the "no common!" routine mom about his role in the whole son]! silence isn't helping. Gretzkysldestep The entire flap about (ireliky and betting is a little bit too much to bear. Public figures, including Wayne Gretzky and his wife. are allowed to have private lives, but all citizens give up their right to privacy when charged with a criminal act. So far Mr. and M rs Gretzky haven't been charged with anything. The hullahaloo about whether Wayne should resign from the Olympic hockey team is disproportionate to the alleged wrongdoing. The public does, however, have a right IO hum what Wayne knew about the betting activities of his wife. his assistant coach and his general manager. Hockey fans have a right to know because these alleged activities are way in (low In the locker room for comfort .- mm -- ..._,-...,. He may not be governing like he has a majority but he sun- is governing like he wants one. Mr. Harper wants a majority tiO bad that he is willing to gamble that by the next federal election. the political gains achieved by these controversial appoint- ments will offset any political losses. In politics, today's misstep may become tomorrow's wall). Right now " just too early to tell. _'""'" m.” - "WWW“. On election night Mr. Harper was quick to point out he accepted the minority mandate he was given and that he would not govern as though he had a majority. .Ias--.___E, . _-. - _ . _ "F--"" -.- a“... ,.......w. The Conservatives are also underrepresented from the big cities so Mr. Emerson is a great find for the Tories (mind you I'm not too sure how Mr. Emerson is feeling about this right now). Ditto for Michael Fortier. whose connections in the Montreal business community coupled with his new cabinet post will be a sure bet to build the Conservative base in Quebec. ,,_ _._A.,,,, .. . . -- Such a deal would also secure a few I STRICKLAND more Conservative votes in British Columbia, the Maritimes and Northern Ontario, where the extra " duty on softwood has cost thousands of jobs. Mr. Fanerson is also the minister responsible for the 20l0 Vancouver Olympics. and the Conservatives need a high-profile minister handing out all those cheques for infrastructure that the previous federal government committed too. Ribbon Clll< tings and construction projects are good politics. T.” f'-....-, t. . _ If it is true that Mr. limerson has a softwood lumber deal with the Unilcd States locked away somewhere in his desk. it sun- would look good if Mr. Harper was able to get the deal signed with GeorgeW. Bush. Mr. Harper knows what he is doing, and he is trying to position himself and his party for a majority gnu-m- ment. Stephen Harper did not lose his senses: the same man who ran the campaign for prime minister is now calling the shots. and these decisions, although controversial, are quite deliberate and calculated. Why. oh why. thedmadian public asks should we trust of these guys? A good question. A question that I can answer, Pct to say this... This is, after all. the same person who only weeks earlier was talking about accountability and ethics in government and how things were going to be "done differently" in Ottawa if the I Ion- servatives were elected. In fact the ink had not even been put to paper when a nation was left agog with the image of a limousine pulling up to the Governor Generals residence and seeing former Liberal indus, try minister, and soon-to-he Conservative International Trade Minister David Emerson trot up the stairs to join his new col leagues in cabinet. Throw in an uneleeted hackroom Party stal- wart from Quebec and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's honey. moon with the media was suddenly over. lt is hard to imagine why the new prime minister who. after running a tightly scripted. carefully crafted, smooth-as-silk campaign. would muck things up by making contrdversial appointments to his first cabinet. . ' I 'he ink was barely dry on the new prime min in documents at Rideau Hall when all heck loose. Conservatives' misstep may become a waltz Janet Gretzky making a statement can} cul it. Wayne needs to Mop hid. mt" routine and make a “mug slam-- whole sordid affair and "law on Ire, q""'" "ms/com mettts new prime minister's swearing started In hrviik to Isl any annm