Page 4, The Herald, Tuesday, February 10, 1981

A
TERHACE-ALELMA

” General Ollice, 635-6357 Published by
“Circulation. 635-6357 Sterling Publishers

~ Publisher — Garry Husak
* Editar — Pete Nadeau

CLASS. ADS.. TERRACE . 635.4000
CIRCULATION . TERRACE -635-6357
“Published every weekday at 3010 Kalum Street,

Terrace. B.C. Authorized as second class mail.
“Registration number 1201. Pastage paid: incash, return
postage guaranteed.

NOTICE OCFCOPYRIGHT '!
- The Herald retains lull, complete and sole copyright in
any advertisement produced and.or any editorial or
“photographic content published in the Herald.
Reproduction is not permitted without the written

\ Permission of the Publisher. y,

daily herald

HON, I GOT ELECTED
SHOP STEWARD f

| ree Tove No 0 ONE
.' «RAN Y AGAINST ME...

A. response to stand on SEX education .

Sir:

In response to Jean E.
Clarke's letter dated
January 26, 1980;

Dear Ms. Clarke,

.1 would like to
:eongratulate you on taking
-enough time out to read the
draft of the proposed sex
seducation program and
_ Ydoing your best to make

“your feelings known. I am
“impressed by the fact that
¥you stand so firmly behind
“what you believe,

_ However, 1 would like to
“pose a number of questions
ithat entered my mind as I
‘read your letter:

‘: 1. You mentioned that
‘according to a certain
‘doctor, the number of
deenagers requesting
abortions was increasing.
‘Why is this so? Are
‘abortions easier to get?
2=9. Were these teenagers
‘really unaware of birth

‘control methods as the |

idoctor suggests or did they
thave the “it won't happen
‘to me” attitude?

* 3. You state that there
cwill be "...many hours of
Snstruction and discussion
"Jed by the teacher.” Please
‘don’t forget that over a
Scourse of five years, there

#a'-bound --to be. an- ace .-.

cumulation of many hours
@Finstruction. Also, do you
‘think that teachers’ ac-
fually have the time to
‘teach another subject?
ie “] have never met one
s€Biose parents who didn’t
‘ite and didn’t try to teach
their children.” To put it
. bluntly, I have never met
tne parent who will admit
to not caring and not trying
ft) ‘teach their children.
«Not many people like to
admit that they have
weaknesses or that they
have neglected to do
something they should

el
*

+ Sir:
“To whom -it may coa-
gem:

*.1 wish to express my
goncerns about = the
froposed Sex Education
Program that is to be

plemented on a full scale
in our school district.

i ]-am the parent of eight
Honderful children, all but
fhree are now out of high
shiool. Whether or not that
takes me qualified to
Speak on the subject is I’m
gure a matter of debate. I
éan sey It certainly has
Been a learning experience
#2 my part, My wife and I
Koth being orphans in our

Wenage years, we married ©

Gite young. Neither one of
wh remember any sex
education classes except on
4: church related basis
(iever in a mixed class).
Because of this getting to
Imow each other in the
‘fhtimate way the Good
Lord intended was a
féscinating, thrilling
sacred experience. One we
cherish and, want our
children to enjoy,

dan by nature is an
ipquisitive, searching
being. He is also a creation
oF a loving Heavenly

Féiher, placed here for an
icit purpose. We came

fe to fill the measure of
G@F creation, our splritual
cygation, so that we might

have done.)

5. “There are many
parents who would teach
their children about sex if.
they did not realize it was
being taught in school.” I
hope that this point is based
on fact - surveys,
questionnaires and the like
-and not just a strongly-felt
opinion?

6. ‘There have been

other societies who felt this —
. way; that the institution
could do a better job than‘

the home. The Nazis felt
that way. So do the
Communists.” These are
very strong statements.

Would you please reveal
your sources of  in-

formation? By the way, |

you are not trying to in-

‘ sinuale something about

our society and our school
board, are you?

9. a) “*...we will continue
to exercise our option in
keeping our children out of
the program.”’ You said it
yourself, we have a choice
in the matter .of sex
education.
shoved down our throats as
you have implied.

_b) “If we do not hear
from you, we will assume
that despite our difficulty

effectively, you would like
us to involve your child in a

sex-education program as,

we see fit.”” This solution
assumes that you have the
parents permission to
proceed with the program
when in fact all you have is
the absence of a reply that
states that the matter is
being taken care of at
home. | think that you
should have the parent's

written consent before you.

subject their child to the

program.

I've raised these

. questions because | feel

prepare ourselves to fill
our eternal destiny.
Families are forever.
Families are the ‘fun-
damental unit of heaven,
earth and the hereafter. We
did not evolve into the need
of families nor will we ever
evolve out of the need of the
family unit.

Sexual need, purpose and,

fulfillment are a planned” :

part and living function of

the family as Godintended .

it to be. God created

spiritually and physically —

the first man and woman
on this earth and instituted
the firat marriage upon it.
That eterna) marriage (he
didn’t say “‘until death do
you part’) was the
beginning of the first
family unit on this mortal
earth,

It is my understanding
frum conversing with
school personnel that to
teach religion or
“sspiritual’’ things in a
Classroom is not allowed.
Yet in asking about the

. showing of a film on

abortion, f am told it “must
show the pro and the cons"
to the students, | have read
the draft of the Sex
Educalion Draft. It tells
only the factual cons of the
problem.

School as [ understand it
is a preparation of students
to live in an'adult world.

It’s not being -

in dealing. with this subject -

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR

there's more to this issue

than what you have led

your readers to belleve.

This does not mean that I
disagree with everything
that you’ve said In fact I
agree with the following

points that you’ve made.

1. “There is no evidence
to prove that it will reduce

the number. of teenage .

pregnancies and abor-
tions.”

2"... a) it emphasizes
contraception...”.
add that “By the strictest
application of existing
legislation, dectora who
provide contraceptives
could be charged with
contributing to delinquency
or aiding and abetting
sexual relations with a girl
under 14.” (Bishop, Carol

& Hailwood, . Ed,°

Chatelaine, Kid's Rights,
May, 1980.) What about
laws for boys?

3. “When it comes to sex,

people’ 's morals afd values
differ greatly.
are human. They have
their own views and

feelings; however, theyare — .
- coach a team, give & talk

expected to leach this
subject impersonally and
objectively.” "It is not fair
to the teachers.”

4...
best handled at home.’
“Our teenagers need
parents who demonstrate

love and concern...”. To —
me this means that parents °

are themselves examples
of love and concern and
that they model these

* qualities. It may seem a

Love, s€%,
emotions and human
relationships are fun-
damental to living in an
adult world. Albeit

sometimes money seems to

be the only denominator we
adults think is valid. Life
without spiritual feelings
and understanding is like a
ear that burns oil.’ Sooner
or later the engine will
blow up from lack of oil ata

‘qrucial time. “To deny a .

student the basic teachings
of spirituality and the
sacredness of ‘the fun-
damentals of human
relationships is absolutely
baseless,

“But whose standards
are you'going to teach?" is

nothing but 2 copout. If we

adulta, be we Christian,
Jew or otherwise (and I
realize that otherwise
covers # terribly wide
spectrum) cannot come to
a standard of thought and
feelings about the most
sacred of human relations
then we deserve the
monumental problem

1 do not have space or
time to detail the facts of
the draft that I have read. I
will make the comment
that much of the facts is
and can be beneficial to
any growing boy or girl in
today's world. It could
have been in mine.

Preaented as it has the

T might ©

Teachers .

sex education is

feelings,

1
bit idealistic, especially in
light of the high divorce
rates, which are certainly
not caused by parents who
demonstrate love and

’ eoncern..

«... the traditional rate of
the school (is) to com-
plement and strengthen the
teaching cf the home.”

‘Unfortunately, this is not

as prevalent in public
schools as it used to be.

Why? 1 would venture to
say, that the answer to this
is that a small minority of
parents take a very deep
interest in what goes on in

school. Before you set a-

party out to lynch me for
that last statement, ask
yourselves these
questions:

1) When did I volunteer
to take over duty at recess
or at lunch?

2) Did I ever offer my
services az an aid to the
teacher ‘or ‘the school?
(Teachers could use a
helping hand once in a
while’)

3} Have, I offered to

on my past experiences, or
teach other extra-curicular
activities?

4) Did I ever offer to go
on a field trip or to stay
behind and look after the
straglers that stayed
behind?

- 5) When was the last time

I helped my child with
homework other than
asking him-her “Did you
do your homework?”

potential to be presented;
only a cold, calloused
understanding of the
Iuman body and its func-
tions will result. A subject
80 meaningful is our lives,
taught without basic

_ Spiritual feelings will only

create a vacuum in the
minds of most students
(due to their lack of proper
teaching at home) and will
cause embarrassment,
unnecessary peer pressure
- provocative situations for
those who come fram
homes who teach spiritual
values.

A full fledged Sex
Education program taught
in the public school system
rniust be taught on the basis
of sound principle: not just
basic fact. Fact and truth
are not synonymous, That I
have good intentions in ny
spelling is a fact, but that it
is truthiul is not always so,
Why is it such a crime te
teach a child that God is
responsible for their
creation. That parents
have a sacred charge to be
true to each other and to
their offspring, That God
endowed us with a human
body to clothe our splrits
and instilled in each one
two basic feelings. One that
weare of divine origin, that
we are unique and have
great potential. The second
that as we grow and

“questions.
* thereare many other ways

These are only -a few
I'm sure that

to get involved with your

‘child and ‘his-her school. «

There are a few schools

around that uphold the |
‘traditional role. This type

of schoo! will cost you more
financially, not to mention
the time you are strongly
encouraged to spend in
constant
ticipation in school affairs. -
This is particularly true of

religious private schools, *

which is not, in the least,.a
negative thing. ‘
As a future tedcher, I

believe that at this point in”

time, I will be responsible
for the teaching of reading,
the operations of

mathematics and even the _

biological reproduction
system of the human body.
But, I willnot, and1 repeat,
1 will -not be totally
responsible for teaching
morals or values of sex,
socially acceptable
behavior and or student
self respect or esteem,

However Lam willing to be
partially responsible if and
only if the school’s
philoeophy and the parents’

_ belie{s on such maiters are

the same as or similar to,

my own,

Ms. Clarke, 1 agree with
you whole heartedly that it
is the parents’ respon-
sibility and duty to teach
their children about sex.
But as you stated,
“,.parents are falling
down on the job". The
solution becomes clear.
Pick up the parents!
Educate them. Teach
them what. they want or.
need to know. Perhaps it's
aly a matter of getting
parents over their own
anxieties aboul sex so that
they will feel comfortable

develop we are preparing
ourselves for parenthood.
Any child that has seen the
fruite ‘of infidelity,
adultery, incest or any
oher form of gross im-
morality are painful ‘ways
of the consequence of the
violation of living prin-
ciples.

Educators say “How can
spiritual principles be
taught without the teachers
teaching their own biased

opinions,” Exactly, the ~

teacher who teaches the
facts without basic
spiritual principles 1s
teaching the student that
be or she has nome. Not
intenHonally mind you but
the vold or vacuum Is
there. Any child ever born
on this earth has been born
‘with the spirit of Christ in
its bosom and knows right
from wrong. That is until
we adults warp their minds
with all the Godless facts
the intellectuals have come
to belleve are the gaver-.
ning forces of mankind.

_Sex education can and

should be taught as part of -

shealth class. Taught in tts
proper context and under

‘proper conditions, The

context of that sex
education should be sanc-
tioned by the voice of the

.responsible parents of that
- gommunity in which It is

taught. Yes I said

parent | par- .

eecagh io dlsctuss this topic
with their children. This

. solution is not the easiest to

implement, How - many
parents would accept such

* g solution? (Which means

admitting to themselves
that they ‘need help or

_ encouragement, and thet it’

will take some time and
effort to do this.) It’s
peobably ensier, as you
have suggested, for
parents to“... abdicate this
responsibility to the
tchool.”” and if not the
school, someone else. =.
Rather than having
someone else taking the
responsibility, the school -
board had decided to
assume the role of' the
parent in this matter. In
doing this, the school board
has accepted the undue
Tesponsibility of telling
other peoples’ children how
they got here and how it
could have been prevented.
Pretty aad. But there is
one positive aspect of a sex
education program in the
schools. It is the fact that
young people would not
have the lame excuse of not
being aware of birth
control methods or of using ©
a ba leg m L
tits avelr it °F ei
possibly stant i
I would definitely like to

‘see this proposed sex

education program put
away, to be used only if it is
the last possible solution to
the problem of sex
education. Parents need to
become good examples for
their children so that they
may become desirable —
examples of future
generations. Let’s go back —
to the drawing board and

give parents a chance to-

accept and deal with their
own responsibilities. °
IdioStella

x

. A learning experience for parents

responsible parents. Yes
and I feel a “responsible”
teacher should teach sex
education. I do not believe
a homosexual, a lesbian,
nor a live in, free love,
common Jaw relationship -

’ qualifies any man or

woman to teach the facts of
life — basic or spiritual —
to any student in a public
school system.

Hf [ you feel basically as [
do, feel free to cut this out
of the paper and co-sign
your name with mine
dither as individuals or a
group and mail it to School
District 88, care of Frank
Hamilton, 9211 Kenney,
Terrace, B.C,

The scriptures speak of
the sins of the parents
being visited upon the
heads of the children “even
up to the third and fourth
generations.” If we do not
Hand up and be counted
now we may never see a
third or fourth generation.
The social standards of
today are the end result of
my generation failing to
teach the post
generations the sanctity of
human life and expression,
Money and material
possessions became our
Gods, hence the hippie -
rebellion of the sixties and
the moral vacuum of the
seventies,

Cameron L. Brown

sees I DASN?T eRe % :
“I WANTED IT
cITHER.

4 TALKING _

POLITICS |

This space offers your provincial and federal
elected officials a place to say their plece.
Columns are ‘selected on the basis of
relevance, not party preference and are ihe
opinions of the author not the editor or this
newspaper.

educational

et

“np
i

By BILL BENNETT -

The announcement of the Sevelopment of

the Northeast Coal reserves constitutes what
Is one of the most significant events ever
undertaken In British Columbia.

The federal as wel! as the provincial -

government will participate with Canadian
_and Japanese companies in a $2.5 billion
‘project almed at Initia! coal deliveries to
‘Japan from the northeast in Jate 1983.

The contracts will mean sales in excess of
$500 milllon worth of coal a year for the
Province, with Initial sales of 7.7 million
tons. The major portion -- 6.7 millon tons --
wlll be metallurgical
remainder thermal coal. :

Some very hard bargaining had to be done,
as British Columbla faces stiff competition
from a number of countries who also want to
sell coal. Australla In particular has been
highly aggressive when If comes to coal
sales.

The: Australians now sel! about 40 million
tons of coal a year to the Japanese -- British
Calumbla at the moment sells only 10 miilion
tons -- and the Australlans plan to Increase
‘that amount to 200 mililon fons by. the year.

2000; Agiwell- the United: States, which hablou
‘thé world’s largest coal reserves, is-expected?

to begin aggressive marketing of Its coal,
But our Japanese custorners are not just
Interested In signing. contracts. What they
look for more than anything else Is security
of supply, & very important consideration in

a country which has to import almost all of —

its energy requirements. And on that basis
the Japanese signed contracts for British

Columbia coal at a premium well above what _

the Australians dre selling thelr coal for. .
Now the coal deal is a good deal for British

Columbia.

_ The coal prospects are only one com.

ponent. Another very-Important component

. Of ovr government's strategy for the future.

economic development of our Province, will.

bring vast opportunities to British Columbia.
The coal pact is the key to,unitocking the

"vast treasure house of resources that the

northeast Is, a region that epcompasses. 25
per cent of the land area of the Province.
It will give us transportation links and

access that will enable us to bring out the

minerals, the timber, the grain, the natural:
gas and other resources, which, until they
can be moved to the markets of the world,
will not feed or house, or clothe our people,
but remaln only a dream. That dream will
now become a reallty.

New towns will grow. Jobs will be created
and so will wealth. British Columbians. will

bulld their homes. and ratse thelr farnilies .

there. And the benefits will flow to every
corner of the Province In the form of.

economic benefits and wealth to help”
maintain and improve our health services,

our programs for senior citizens, our
Institutlons, our human
resources programs and others. .
Not Just British Columbians, but all

Canada will benefit fram more jobs, more -
wealth, more éafnings of foreign exchange. .
* The coal pact will provide that second port: . -

on the Pacific Ocean that has been dreamed
~ of and falked about-in this country for years
but until! now has remained only a dream.:

Not only wil} the products and resources of
British Columbia be carried to the markets
of the world, but so will the grain from the
prairies, the potash from Saskatchewan and

other products and goods produced by

' Canadians.
The economic Impact of the development
will eclipse all previaus resource develop-

war - | ments In this Province. In fact, It will result

in the largest export contract ever
negotiated in Canada.

It, is an affirmation of our faith in the -

economic future of this Province and of our
‘government's determination to provide our
citizens with the opportunity to bulld the

fullest life possible for themselves and thelr
familles.

coal with the ©

note en)