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jfcia j scffv ii stauffviuetribune thursday nov 16 2000 v v lumeoribuhe icpi v- ia metroland community newspaper v9heritagemmaikhamontl3p 1m3 p ji telephone ji x 95 25aao 416 7987624 mx 905 294 email newsroomeconsuncom w publisher ian proudfoot general manager alvin brouwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra welter deputy editor debora kelly editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager margaret fleming classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacyallen business manager rob lazurko office manager vivian oneil t15v fxt-v- editorial with their votes york region electors have sent a clear message to their municipal coun cils- r the environment its protection and preservationis an important issue that coun cils would do well to address seriously and quickly take thofnhill for instance where erin shapero a 25yearold environmental activist whose concerns about preserving markhams green space pushed her ahead of seasoned for mer hydro commissioner paul shyatt to earn- the ward seat v inrichmond hill councillor brenda hogg was rewarded for her unwavering stand on stopping development oh the oak ridges moraine- she was elected as a regional councillor by her voters who likely hope shell carry their save the moraine message to the region and far beyond in king township the battle between growth and green space saw a heated race between incumbent mayor margaret black and challenger jane underhill a king council lor whose antidevelopment stance antibig pipe campaign brought lief within 19 votes of blacksvictory arecount is occurring in georgina incumbent rob grossi was ousted by newcomer jeff holec who also expressed concerns about developers and their influence in his community lake simcoeloyers either chose to elect the person who promoted a soft antigrowth cam paign or reject the man they believe opened their cornmunity to undue- rapid growth a recount is also occurring in this tight race where35votes separatedtrie contenders arid h newmarket councillor dave kerwin who has long been an environmental activist was returned tothe fold it should come as no surprise to municipal councils that these people have been given public support for their views yorkregiohs official plan report card- process uncovered a public concern about the regions unbridled growth about the loss of green space and about its importance tothe- quality of life in our communities mayors should be aware of and responsive to the voters message this year die oak ridges moraine isa political issue the exten sion of hwy404 is a political issue the clean ing oflakesimcoe is a political issue arid voters have elected the candidates who have promised to do something about these concerns letters policy- stoufmuelmbuhe- welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number 7 name and address the newspaper reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clarity arid space write letters to the editor- 9 heritage rd-v- r marwni0ntl3plm3 jemsjl letterecoiwuneom premier harris takes third florida vacation in a year ineep m4n letters to the editor educating in canada different than in asian schools says teacher i am writing in response to tom chans let ter theres an enormous difference between educating and teaching printed ontuesday oct31 as head of student services at a very large multicultural secondary school in toronto and a teacher for 25 years i feel most confi dent dispelling many of mr chans percep tions as i read his letter i couldnt help but won der how many languages are spoken in asian schools surely it couldnt match the number of diverse languages of die many immigrant students in our schools in toronto within a class at most toronto schools one would be hard pressed to find a majority of students who would say that english is their first language critical thinking is the key element that teachers strive to convey to their students how difficult is this for a student who may be struggling with english how do they follow the intricacies of the lesson how do they form the correct ques tion how do they write down the correct answer think about the enormous challenge facing the teacher mr chan describes asian schools as per fect with 40 students in a class and teachers keeping perfectorder i can only imagine that the method of teaching was socratic i would suggest to mr chan that class- roorh discipline is extremely easy when you do hot allow any discussion or movement within the classroom socratic teaching has its place but does not work for every student for example many students cannot learn from textbooks alone for them learning only happens when they are actively involved in the process this means active listening requiring them to ask questions and debate points this also helps to develop critical thinking skills i public education addresses the needs of all students and those needs extend far beyond the curriculum many of ouri students are socially- and emotionauywedy teachers are often the onlysupportthat these young people have in addition schoolsare dealingmore and more with issues of violence arid emotional trauma amongst outvoting people making comparisons berweenschool sys tems in different countries is a risky business teachers are dedicatedtotheirstudents ho matter what country f mr chan please dont be so quick to criti- cize the teachers in canada until you have better insight into the challenges we face donnawilson markham stbufrviuetmbume serving the community since 1888 canadian circulations audit board member ontario press council a canadinpublicatton5maaproiuclslejammentll403419 t subscription rates by mall year- 6955 loesdays only stouffville tribune published every tuesday thursday and saturday is one of the metroland printing publishing and distributing udgroup of newspapers which includes the ajairpictering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier barrie advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington post city parent collingwoodwasaga connection east york mirror erin advocatecountry routes etoblcoke guardian flamborough post georgetown independent acton free press kingston this week undsay this week mldlandpenetangulshene mirror milton canadian champion milton shopping news mrssissauga news newmarket- aurora georgina erabanner northumberland news north york mirror oakville beaver oakville shopping news orlllla today oshawawhitbyclaringtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhillvaughan liberal scarborough mirror stoufmlle tribune todays seniors uxbridge tnbune and crty of yorkguardian j phone 95 2942200 fax 905 2941538 classified 180v7433353 distribution 905 2948244 dave teetzel ajf 1 t arts conference goes against the grain thank goodness alk about going against the grain last weekend the york region public school board hosted arts education 2000 a three- day conference intended to promote the value of teaching kidsthe arts the prevailing wisdom is of course teach em teclinology teach era busi- ness teach erh the skills employers a demand an arts degree wont get you anywhere v that wisdom has led to the arts being the first part of the curriculum to be slashed when times get tough in many jurisdictions although not necessarily in this region t of course trends in educatiohcome and go back when i wasin school education was falling under the influence of the flowerpower geriera- tion it would reach the point whereteach- ers hesitated to correct a students spelling for fear of stifling creativity but by the time iwas at thepbst-sec- ondary level i was- being branded ah artsy by irry friend who was taking engineering at tj of t and ail his yellow construction helmet wearing buddies today my friends antiartsy attitude is the mainstream and its easy to see why for one thing my antiartsy friend makes a lot more money than i do probablythere are students in high school with an aptitudefor technology who will be earning a lot more than ine in a couple of years- but have you ever been stuck at a party with someone whose entire life revolves around ram and gigabytes v thats when you realize the informa- tion age is useless if nobody has any thing interesting to say so im encouraged to see the art and music and drama teachers fighting- back they spent the weekend at unionville high school developing whit they hope will be national policies- on farts education j its important to develop well-found- ed young people who can relate to one another and to the world aroundthem who are creative enough to provide interesting content for all the dotcoms and creative enough to adapt when their tech training becomes obsolete about a year after they graduate the power should shift frorrtttie techies to the storytellers from the sci- entists to the artists evansqlombii executive editor of shift magazinejtoid the forum cvhv obviously id second that but i wouldnt want to seemependulurn swing sofar back matschbolbecdrnes the kind of extended fingerpamting session that characterized my earlyedu- cation ti arts and sciences shbulbmbexan eitheror proposala good integrates both obviously r- v a