Ad - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 21, 2001 Ss - ESTABLISHED APRIL 27, 1988 PUBLISHER: ROD LINK ADDRESS: 3210 Clinton Street Terrace, B.C. * V8G 5R2 TELEPHONE: (250) 638-7283 « FAX: (250) 638-8432 EMAIL: standard@kermode.net Those tests THERE’S NO greater joy in the world than the ability to read, It is the absolute foundation for re- creation, learning and employment. It can free the mind yet train it at the same time. And it puts people on an equal footing. Having said that, the good news for this school district is that the latest round of tests for Grades 4,7 and 10 students shows no change from last year, At least we’re not slipping. The bad news is that 30 per cent of those stu- dents still failed to meet test expectations, which is above the provincial average. It goes without saying that this is simply not good enough. There are plenty of people out there who will | Say tests don’t prove much. They’ll say students learn at different rates. They'll say the content and intent of the tests may not reflect reality, They'll say a student’s ability to Jearn hinges on their so- cio-economic situation and the interest level taken by parents. They'll say a teacher cannot be expec- ted to take complete responsibility for a student’s progress. These are valid points. The prospect of taking a a class of 30 Grade 4 students, for example, and moving all of them down an educational path so that each will come out with the same set of skills is daunting, if not terrifying. Consider that the Grade 4 reading test contained the word “conquistador,” the Spanish word for conqueror, used in the context of Spain’s domination of Cen- : tral and South America. That’s a tough word ; even for secondary school students. Still, these tests point out a glaring deficiency. We're not talking about final medical exams for those who will then go out to save lives or aircraft mechanics who must haye skills to keep planes in the air where the margin of error is ‘slim to non- ‘ existent. These tests are meant to reflect the most basic building block — the ability to read and to understand a sentence and paragraph. To its credit, the school district has identified li- teracy as an area for improvement. And it has begun the laborious task, with teachers, of mak- ing that improvement happen. The challenge is to do this with the current con- tract dispute between the teachers and the provin- cial government. The outstanding issues are money: and working conditions. That latter issue revolves around what teachers say they need to do their job and what the school districts, acting as agents for the provincial government as it is. the one who pays the bills, say they need to man- age the schools. There is no way the teachers can win for the province can always legislate them back to work if their strike action escalates, The result will be thousands of embittered teachers, not a good starting point to solve the problem of why John- - ny can’t read, And teaching Johnny is what this is supposed to be all about in the first place. ee PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Rod Link ADVERTISING MANAGER: Brian Lindenbach PRODUCTION MANAGER: Edouard Credgeur NEWS: Jeff Nagel 2001 WINNER NEWS/SPORTS Sarah Zimmerman oe eeeeee NEWS/COMMUNITY: Jennifer Lang COMPETITION FRONT OFFICE: Darlene Keeping & Carol McKay CIRCULATION SUPERVISOR: Terti Gordon ADVERTISING CONSULTANTS: ; Mark Beaupre & Stacy Swetlikoff TELEMARKETER: Stacy Swetlikoff DARKROOM/COMPOSING: Susan Credgeur AD ASSISTANT: Sandra Stefanik SUBSCRIPTION RATES BY MAIL: $55,15(+$3.86 GST) per year; Seniors $48.85 (4+$3.42 GST); Out of Province $61.98 (+$4.34 GST) Outside of Canada (6 months} $152.34 (+$10.66 GST) .- > MEMBEROF B.C. AND YUKON COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION, * CANADIAN COMMUNITY wo ASSOCIATION " B.C, PRESS COUNCIL ‘ epresscounclt.org) Sening the Terrace and Thomhill era. Published on Wednesday of each weak al az40 Clinton Sireet, Terrace, Briish Columbia, ¥8G SA. Stories, photographs, illustrations, designs and typastytas In the Temace Standard are the proparty cf the copyiont holders, Including Cariboo Press (1869) Ltd., its litustration fapro services and advertising agencies, Reproduction in whole or in part, without wiltten permission, is specifically prohibited. Authorizéd as second-class mall pending the Post Office Department, for payment of postage fn cash. ‘Special thanks to all our contributors and correspondents ‘for thelr time and tatents the definition of shameful. tion, it surely will. ment, expressed his extreme single handicapped person. cial Forensic Psychiatric Insti- stitutions for the mentally out over the last 20 years, It was felt, and rightly so, they had come a long way such institutions once were. Some were integrated into BEGINNING IN January 2002 Thornhill Primary and Thorn- hill Elementary Schools will individual Grade 3 and 4 stu- dents for one hour a week to ience for the kids. teachers. Kids from this program they make better life choices. Brothers or Sisters, these parent families. principals. Mind you, what I'm refer- ting to hasn’t happened yet, but if the vigour with which a certain. cabinet minister is dropping hints is any indica- Gordon Hogg, Minister of Children and Family Develop- displeasure at a public cabinet meeting last week, when he heard that it costs more than $430,000 a year to care for a Hogg said the person he re- fers to comes from the provin- tute. He actually comes from. | Woodlands and Glendale, in- handicapped that were phased that institutions were mind and soul-destroying, even though since the places of horror that the community, either to live with their families or alone. initiate a pilot program where volunteer adults will mentor make school a happier exper- This program has been at work in both Canadian and American schools since. 1983, Through it kids gain self-es- teem, self confidence, and so- cial skills to better connect with other students and their focus better on their studies, stay in school tonger, and fewer drop out, Beyond school, Unlike kids looking for Big children can come ‘from two- They are recommended for the program by teachers and They don't need academic FROM THE CAPITAL. HUBERT BEYER Others would live in group homes with an atmosphere closest to that of a real home. Hogg definitely didn’t like the price tag of caring for this person. Nor did he like the number of people under such care, which he put at 200. In fact it is 30. Nobody ever said doing the tight thing comes cheap. A colleague of mine pointed out . “that we ‘spend $125, 000, a, year ., to care. for our. ‘elderly. in ex-.. tended-care hospitals. We also think nothing of spending a million dallars te save the life of one child. Economically, it makes no sense, but I would not wish to live in a society that places any Jess value on human life. One wonders what ceiling Hogg would place on the care of a human being who cannat care for himself. [If $430,000 a THROUGH BIFOCALS, CLAUDETTE SANDECKI tuloring; they need the indi- vidual attention of a caring grownup. The hour will be taken up with activities suited to the. child’s interests — cards, puz- zles, a board, game or a gym exercise, any activity that will make school a fun place for them to come to. Volunteers, in addition to being 19 or older, must be of How $07 LOBEL, WHEN THEY Miss THEIR FREIND . 7HE7 ACK UP THIS LITTLE PLASTIC Box... year is too much, how much is right in his opinion ~ $200,000, $100,000? What price a life lived with the maximum dign- ity possible under the circum- stances? I don’t mind tightening my belt, if it is necessary for the good of all British Columbians. I am prepared to cut Premier Gordon Campbell considerable slack, as he tries to revive an economy that has been badly trashed by circumstances many of which are beyond his control. I may not like the fact that he intends to cut spending by up to 30 per cent and lay off thousands of public servants, but at least I can understand it. And while I believe that the tax cuts were foolish and will not bring the desired results, I admit that many experts be- lieve otherwise. So [f can live with the tax cuts and stand to be surprised. What, I cannot, understand | Te Perey are callous, statements, by cas. ‘binet ministers that,, given the’ cut and thrust of this govern- ment’s policies and actions, cannot help but set off alarm bells. It is reminiscent of the days when Bill Vander Zalm, then Minister of Human Re- sources, proposed to equip welfare recipients with sha- vels. Nor is Hogg’s record on such matters reassuring. In a discussion paper last month, good character, pass an RCMP security check (paid for by Big Brothers), and above all, be dependable. These students need dependable adults who keep promises and appoint- ments. Mentors will recelve sev- eral hours of training in groups Or one-on-one, usually at the office of Big Brothers. [f ne- cessary, though, the training can be given in the adult's home. On-going support will be provided for adults throughout the program. Mentors will be taught ways to improve their communica- tion skills with children and other volunteers, and rules re- garding personal child safety, for example, though a spontan- cous side-to-side hug as a sign of affectlon or encouragement. may be acceptabie, touchy- feely is a no-no. One focus of the training is how to handle a child’s disclo- sure of some personal or fami-_ ly history, such as child abuse SOMEWHERE UP IN THE AIR... Take him behind the woodshed VICTORIA - If the rollback of the minimum wage for a “training period” to $6 was a questionable way to put bring the province’s fiscal problems under control, and the tax re- duction a highly questionable one, what the government may have in store for other seg- ments of the population would, in my dictionary, come under the ministry advocated contri- butions from families, individ- uals and corporations. Heaven help us or rather heaven help those dependent on Hogg’s ministry far help. Perhaps major corporations can chip in and, in return, ask those helped by their contributions to carry advertising signs on their backs whenever they venture into the open. Handicapped people are society's most vulnerable. A caring sociely, one that places the highest value on human life, one that | consider worth living in, does not subject them to a boltom-line, return-on-in- vestment policy. I am willing to give the pre- mier the benefit of the doubt aud assume that Hoge didn’t speak on his or the govern- ment,s behalf, in which case it behooves him to reign in his minister. At the outset, Campbell sent _ letters, to all cabinet ministers, _Slearly, | aullining, thar’ “HE exe "pects ' "them’ ta live ip "to! the “highest standards. Hogg*s ac- tions and statements appear to me to fall short of those stan- dards. The premier needs to take Hogg behind the woodshed and explain his erroneous way to him in no uncertain terms. Beyer can be reached at: E-mail: hubert@coolcom.com; Tel (250). 381-6900; Web hitp:/fwww.hubertbeyer.com You can helo a child today of sexual exploitation. Prospective mentors will be interviewed by Lois from Big Brothers; since all interaction with the child takes place in school, no visit will be made to evaluate the mentor’s home as in the ease of Big Brothers. The school venue relieves the adult of much responsibil- ity. Each child and mentor will spend one hour per week toge- ther, scheduled regularly throughout the school year. though a ten-month commit- ment is preferable, aduits who can give no more that six months will be welcomed. Classroom hours can be scheduled to fit the mentor’s availability. if Coast Mountain’s pilot project succeeds, it will ex: pand to other district schools | next September. Already Big Brothers has-re-, gistered a few sign-ups. For more information, phone ‘Lois at 250-635-4232, |