Wednesday, June 27, 2012 - The Morning Star A9
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Letters
EDITOR: GLENN MITCHELL
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PHONE: 550-7920
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E-MAIL: letters@vernonmorningstar.com
Anatomy of a bad decision
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he new B.C. Education Plan announced in 2011 proposes a system that will be more flexible, dynamic and adaptable to better prepare students for real life. It is a forward-thinking plan containing many elements of Sir Ken Robinson’s groundbreaking approach to understanding creativity in education and in business. This evolution in education recognizes that small rural schools such as Ashton Creek Elementary are pivotal to the success of the new learning paradigm. Small schools provide an environment that allows greater flexibility to students and teachers in how, when and where the learning takes place. On April 10, Diane Minaker, Ashton Creek Elementary PAC president, met with Education Minister George Abbott to show him that his new education model is alive and well at Ashton Creek Elementary and has been for some time. Abbott was impressed and very supportive. Later that day, all but one of the North OkanaganShuswap School District trustees voted in favour of closing Ashton Creek Elementary. Why did trustees make such a bad decision? They all received the
same information package that was presented to the Education Minister but Chris Coers was the only trustee that realized the benefits of keeping Ashton Creek Elementary open. The remaining trustees did not comprehend that the values of the educational model at Ashton Creek are supportable and sustainable The school district had already decided to close Ashton Creek as a knee-jerk reaction to declining enrolment in September 2011. The trustees merely facilitated the final step in School Closure Bylaw 1-2012. When the board met in January, the trustees received a report prepared by secretary-treasurer Sterling Olson that showed the school board could realize a net saving of
EI AND OMNIBUS Colin Mayes, I just read your piece in The Morning Star regarding ei. Some of the changes I actually agree with and fully support. However, I completely disagree with the omnibus aspect of this bill. It's a flagrant abuse of power to package all the unrelated changes you want to make into one bill and then ram it through parliament. If you were in opposition and the party in power tried this I know you would oppose it. Stephen Harper in the past, in opposition, spoke against omnibus legislation. It appears his behaviour is hypocritical. I have a question about ei. Since it is funded 100 per cent by employees and employers why all the big fuss? Perhaps they should be the ones making the rules. I also completely disagree with the environmental protections that this bill does away with.
$237,099 by closing Ashton Creek. Eventually all them were making the appropriate remarks to the media about multi-grade classroom concerns, low enrolment and necessary cost savings. Once the report was out, it wasn’t difficult to sway public opinion. Was the school district operating at a deficit because of low enrolment at Ashton Creek? No, of course not. Anyone can check out the district financial statements. A net revenue of $2.2 million in 2011 is not even close to being in dire straits. What about the required structural maintenance and repairs required at Ashton Creek? There’s a $1.6 million annual facility grant for that. What about the low enrolment? There’s a grant for that too
How can you justify these changes? Short-term financial gains and increasing corporate profits do not justify potential destruction of the environment and acceleration of climate change. With this omnibus bill you have lost my vote in the next election. But I'll keep writing you letters in the hope that one day you will listen to the large number of your constituents who don't agree with your views. Doug Miller DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION I've been in the beautiful Okanagan for a few years now and love everything it has to offer except for one big thing, bad drivers. It's from the seniors oblivious to other traffic around them, to 'N' drivers who think the roadways are their personal race track, to businesspeople yapping/texting on their cell phones, to the people who pretend not to see you when they pull
350,000 CLIENTS. $80 BILLION IN ASSETS. 1030 ADVISORS.
and it is going to increase – particularly at small, rural schools. As for the actual costs of running the school, these numbers don’t exist. Costs are not recorded or measured by individual schools. They are allocated based on average salaries, average maintenance average expenditures, etc. for all of the schools in the district. The estimated costs and projected cost savings in the January report cannot be verified or validated. One thing is for certain, the “small additional cost of busing” cited in the report will balloon with increasing enrolment as there are many families in the Mabel Lake corridor that will have school-aged children over the next five years. Educational bureaucracy is steeped in the conventional old school philosophy of “linearity, conformity and standardization (Ken Robinson)" and as yet there are few benchmarks to assess the value and benefits of a free-flowing educational plan. So when will the new paradigm in learning interface with old school bureaucracy and who will connect the dots? Where will it happen? Not at Ashton Creek Elementary apparently. Barbara Craven
out on to a busy street from a side street hoping you will slow down and not hit them, to drivers who are in a hurry and tailgate and do illegal lane changes only to get one car length ahead for all their dangerous driving, and to the slow drivers who take up the passing lane doing 50 kilometres an hour on the highway just to peeve off everyone. There are also the drivers who approach the roundabouts and don't stop at all, and the list goes on. I've seen way too many bad accidents and deaths due to these bad drivers and for what? Slow down and be courteous to other drivers and remember when you are behind the wheel/ handle bars ensure you are utilizing it as a mode of transportation and not a vehicular weapon that can change not only your life but others in a fraction of second. Driving is a privilege not a right. Shawn Cardinal
THANK YOU Ten years ago, Carole advertised in The Morning Star for singles 50 and over to get in touch for coffee. From this, Single Friends 50+ was started. Carole has worked diligently in organizing a monthly activities list. A lot of otherwise lonely people have made friends and look forward to the weekly meetings. Carole, we owe you a debt of gratitude for your perseverance and hard work and help in many ways. Hazel Simpson
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