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rr 6 stouffville suntribune thursday sept 25 2003 opinion publisher ian pr0udf00t telephone 905-640-2612- fax 9056408778 email jmasonymgcom website wwwyorkregioncom editorial smaller classes good promise parents want their children to start school with lots of attention from smiling teachers with patience to devote to their freshfaced eager students parents and educators know firsthand how crowded schools have become due in part to york regions explosive growth new schools approved five years ago are already reaching capacity if letters to this newspaper are any indication class size is certainly among their top concerns indeed the debate on whether or not smaller classes during those first impressionable years make a difference in academic performance has become a focal point of the provincial election campaign at the heart of the issue is a liberal promise to cap class sizes at 20 students from junior kindergarten to grade 3 to alleviate learning problems in higher grades but while parents complain of large classes some studies indicate its not the size of the classroom but the amount of funding that increases performance for instance the organization for economic cooperation and develop ment released test results showing canadian teenagers outperformed us students despite the fact classes here are the largest in the western world but liberal leader daltpn mcguinty said despite the study capping primary class sizes is me stogie most important plank in his party platform v he promises to hire 5400 teachers funding the plan by cancelling premier ernie eves private school tax credit mr mcguinty admits achieving the target will be a challenge and more schools would likely have to be built some people such as greg gribbpri director of york regions organization for quality learning arent buying the plan- he calls the liberal plan an education myth mr mcguinty has been sucked into the education black hole of smoke and mirrors we disagree the liberals are on the right track according to the national education association which after 14 years of study found students who enjoyed small pri mary classes of 20 or fewer students excelled when they hit high school out performing students from larger classes bbc news online shows the number 1 reason parents enrol their children in private schools is because class sizes in the public school system are too big bottom line is smaller classes lead to more individual attention which in turn leads to personal fulfilment letters to the editor thanks to all for supporting stouffville wigs for kids event onbehalfofmewigsfprkidsandthecanadiah cancer society donnie wants to thank all those who supported him to raising 23151 j along with raising money for pediatric research donnie donated his locks to help make wigs for b3ds andrea stevenson also donated her hair special thanks to the stouffville royal canadian legion for providing a facility for the event which took place sept 7 and to the granches nevada fund for a generous donation also thanks to patrons and management at the earl of whitchurch arid the other office jake goddard and deborah lee for getting donnie organized colleen joharisen took on the responsi bility of shaving donnies locks donnie hopes to make this an annual event anyone interested to donating hair for next year should log on to wwwwigsforkidsorg or call the canadian cancer society at 9052945925 the hair must be at least 10 inches long with no perming or colouring debbie leckie stouffville public servants valuable since 1995 ontario society has been engen dered with anxiety bitterness distrust and divi sion at almost every level and between every fee- tion one of the most glaring examples is the rift the stouffville suntribune welcomes your letters all submissions must be less than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number name and addressthe stouffville suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for darity and space l4a7z5email jmasonymgcom between those serving the private trust of this province and those serving the public trust the corporate worker sees the civil worker as an overpaid burden on the public purse those who serve the public trust view the business world as greed oriented organizationally top heavy indifferent to human need and human misery what this division has cost ontario is difficult to quantify what it has cost to loss to morale and motivation in both sectors is incalculable what mystifies me is we would never accept the division of our society on the basis of race or faith but we seem quite prepared to indulge to an equally destructive division the consequences of which are profound this is not a war itis a partnership those who serve the private trust of this province generate the wealth that makes the life that we live here possi- ble they deserve ourrespect what we need is government that restores bal ance understariding and respect between the divided sectors of our society given their record of divide discredit and dis mantle i cannot see the ontario conservatives achieving much in thisareaj rod mcdonald markham fstouflville suntribune a metroland community newspaper 34gvkave phone 9056402612 fax9056408778 aasjified18007433353 distribution 9052948244 website wwwyorkregioncom email jmasonyrngcom membenontario community newspapers association canadian community newspapers association ontario press council editor in chief debora kelly editor jimmason reporters joan ransberryhannelorevolpe retail sales manager steve kane sales representative susan berry production manager pamnkfiols- officemanager vmanottel business manager v robert lazurko advertising director retail sales flyers nicole hetdier advertising director classified real estate events management gordpablucd managing director real estate mikerogerson director of production johnfuthey distribution manager barrybladc sales manager new business development distribution dawna andrews general manager york region printing bobdean director marketing promotions debraweller shows manager stacey allen classified manager ann campbell off the top with jim mason how do we keep that home town feel why why was roy halladay tossed from mondays jays game why do jean chretien and mel lastman do the things they do and why should why be the hottest municipal election issue on your agenda wwtchurchstouffville why what you say why do we live here east of the 404 and north of certain suburbia thats what thats the why its not the price of homes which are comparable if not higher than those to many other gta communities the go train and bus service is nice but you can live south and west of here and receive fullfledged municipal tran sit something riot even discussed here drive yourself like most commuters you can live closer to 400 series highways to other towns and cities facilities yes the poollibrary com- plex is wonderful and the hockey rinks and schools more than adequate but at last look stouffville didnt have a shop ping mall cinema hospital or theatre so why do we live here to the closest small town to toronto as my old golf partner the late eddie luther of cfrb traffic fame would pronounce proudly why live to a place visitors from the likes of pickering mississauga and newmarket call hooterville mayberry andslowville for those very reasons neighbours theres a feel to our town you cant des cribe to a home builders brochure despite small ripples of development over the last half of the 20th century it remains friendly and warm most of the time but heres the nib voters subdivisions of brick and mortar will roll over our farm land to waves larger than weve seen here can we keep that indescribable home town feel or will it be lost forever as the population figure at the town entrance shoots up like a thermometer to july its too late to halt the developers if that was ever possible the planning was done in the 1990s at poorly attended ses sions hosted by the town it obviously wasnt sexy or specific enough for most residents to attend those meetings at latchamhall now we have to deal with it and the nagging question why do you live here what can be- done to preserve this lifestyle candidates electorate anyone jim mason is editor oj the suntribune and a 20year resident of whitchurch- stouffville