A6 Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 10, 1990

A chance to see the
future being formed.

The echoes from Barry Sullivan’s 1988 Royal Commission on
Education continue to reverberate through the halls of learning
and the mazes of bureaucracy. This coming Sunday and Monday
the general public in Terrace will have its first opportunity to
take a formal part in the process-since the commission hearings
themselves were held here. a

Those who attend the Sunday event will be presented with the
Ministry of Education’s response to Sullivan’s recommendations
in curriculum, a draft plan for what students will be learning in
public schools and how they will be learning it starting in
September of this year. The changes proposed in ‘‘Year 2000; A
Curriculum and Assessment Framework for the Future” are
radical and sweeping. The local public meeting on this important
of ideas is booked for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14. It is being held in the
Caledonia school lecture theater, an unfortunate indication that
the local school district expects a low turnout.

Monday will be a district-wide non-instructional day for
teachers, administrators and trustees to mull over the material.

_ The public is also being invited to participate in this day-long
workshop at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre.

The most obvious outcome of the Royal Commission in local
schools is the ungraded primary program currently underway as a
pilot project at Thornhill Primary School. In allowing children to
progress in studies at individual rates, creating a less formal |
learning atmosphere and encouraging students to learn from one
another as well as from teachers and school materials, the new
program has been received by parents and observers with at-
titudes ranging from reserved approval to outright suspicion and
hostility. This change is only the tip of Sullivan’s educational
iceberg, however. ;

As communications expert Neil Postman put it recently, ““How
can we help our students organize information? How can we help
to sort the relevant from the irrelevant? How can we help them
to make better use of information? How can we keep them from
being driven insane by information?” Sullivan's answer, in terms
of curriculum, is to teach them how to think and to reason in the

context of their own experiences from their earliest contact with
the public schools. ‘‘Year 2000” proposes a departure from using
the 13-year public school curriculum primarily as a practice field
for the minority of students who go on to post-secondary studies.
It proposes to correct the situation noted by Sullivan, that. there
‘is an ‘‘apparent failure... to offer a non-university preparation
program that is valuable in its own right and not simply a
second-best alternative.”

It has become a challenge to establish a program of studies
that can survive 13 months, never mind 13 years, without grow-
ing obsolete or irrelevant. ‘‘Year 2000” is the response to that
challenge. This Sunday and Monday are the final opportunities

for the public to be involved in the process: the Ministry of
Education intends for it to become policy in March.

—

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The view from
Victoria —

by John Plfer

VICTORIA — Has the opera-
tion of government literally
lurched to a standstill while the
province awaits the premier’s .
decision on whether or not to
step aside?

The answer is Yes.

With a legislative session due
in March, and a Budget shortly
thereafter, those who work in
government and those of us
who observe and comment on
it should have our hands full

- dealing with other matters,

right?

Right... Buz, it is all but im- —
possible to devote any time or
attention to those issues while
watching the “will he, won’t
he?’ game being played by
Premier Bill Vander Zalm and
the Social Credit Party.

After all, the political fallout
from whichever decision he
makes will affect everything
governmental.

Rather than repeat my
reasoning and prediction that
The Zalm will ‘‘do the right
thing” and resign, !’ll merely
offer some intriguing quotes
from learned authors relating
to personality.

You be the judge of whether
or not the descriptions relate to
any of the players in the.
political games of British Col-
umbia. The sources of the
quotes are listed at the end...
and they may surprise you!

1. ‘*The most important
feature... is his monumental ir-
responsibility. He knows what
the ethical rules are — at least’.
he can repeat them, parrotlike,
but they are void of meaning to
him. No one wears the mask of
normality in so convincing a
fashion. He is strikingly cool

wb wk eget eae

and sure of himself in situa- .
tions whether others would.
tremble with sweat and fear.
He retains a superhuman com-
posure.”

2. “If a fancy or whim
passes through his mind, it
becomes quickly converted to
action. Possible negative con-
sequences of his acts do not
concern him. Rather, he has
the need for stimulation and
acts recklessly, thoughtlessly
taking risks, sometimes harm-
ing others, and not thinking
about future consequences.”’

3. ‘*Superficially, (he) excels
in social situations. On the
other hand, those who become
better acquainted are soon
aware of him immaturity (and)
superficiality. He becomes a
true disappointment to those
who were charmed to expect
more, to those who began to
believe in him, to those who
continue to see his potential, to

those who still hope for him.”’

4, “When confronted with
his misconduct (he) has enough
false sincerity and apparent
remorse that he renews hope
and trust among his accusers.
However, after several repeti-
tions, his convincing show is
finally recognized for what it is
— a show.”

5, “His initial charm and
verbal ability distract attention
from his deviant and unfeeling
behaviors.’’

Matching the quote to the
source: .

1. Paul J, Stern, ‘“The Ab- ©
normal Person andf His
World’’.

2. David J. Rimm and John
W. Somerville, ‘Abnormal

Psychology’. SS

3, Richard M. Suinn, “Fund-
amentals of Behavior Patholo-

gy” (Definition: sociopath/psy-
. chopathic personality).

4. Suinn again.

§. Rimm and Somerville.

And who says reading isn’t
an enlightening pastime?!

To provide some insight into
what our premier may be con-
sidering, herewith a couple of
quotes from Quotations from
Chairman Zalm, the little red
book published in 1988 that
parodied Mao Tse Tung.

On leadership: ‘‘Should we
attempt to influence the morals
of the province? The answer is
Yes. If we don’t have com-
mitted leaders, we don’t have
political leaders; we have a
bunch of wimps.”? (Vancouver
Sun, April 16, 1988).

On the fickleness of the elec- ©

torate: ““They’ll come back.
The people haven’t changed. I
haven’t changed.’’ (Sun, June
20, 1987).

Parting Thought: With the
news last week that the
premier’s dogsbody, chauffeur,
majordomo Bill Kay was leav-
ing his master’s service, it was
hardly surprising that it was
viewed as a certain signal that
Mr. Vander Zalm will resign.
Resisting a temptation to talk.
about rats leaving sinking
ships, etc., I would note only
that Bill Kay apparently ap-.
plied for the job six months or

sO ago. ,
That mieans either that he

was fed up and wanted out, or
the premier’s decision to quit.
was taken at least that long
ago.

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