NEWS phato Mike Waketiela EIGHTY-TWO members of Queen's University Bands were in Horseshoe Bay Friday night at a barbecue thrown in their honor. The bands, including Highland dancers and cheerleaders, are on a Western Canadian tour to promote the university’s 150th anniversary. YOu THINK GODFREY'S HAVING PLASTIC SURGERY? 7 The FIRST step is g id ot fe 0 ¢ ly 191 Tesbyne Media Serecen, Ine FOR CRYING CUT LOUD, HERS /GIVE HIM A LITTLE PRAISE. .” SON, THATS. A GOOD CATCH... BUT Yo) CAN DO EGetren ss & faS DILLON BB wow! GET A LoAD KN OF THESIZE OF 4 tHis ONE, Mom DIGGIN’ FoR WORMS, MoM g ME AN’ PATRICK ARE Gon’ FiSGHIN’ LATER— 11991 Trbune Mecia Services, Inc Ait Fughis Reserved LOGUSTS ARE FLYING INSECTS | THAT GATHER IN SWARMS AND EAT ALL THE GREEN PLANT LIFE WHERE THEY LAND, IN 1398S MASSIVE DESTRUCTION WAS CAUSED TO THE CROPS OF (GROCCO BY A SWARM WHICH WAS 125 MULES LONG AND TEN MILES WIPE! MB THE FIRST KNOWN ROLLER SKATES WERE WORN 8&7 A MAN AT A MASKED BALL IN 1760 WHO f SMASHED ITO A MIRROR AND WAS BADLY INJURED! VEILS ARE USUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH WOMEN 8UT AMONGST THE TUAREG PEOPLE O® THE SANARA PESERT {7 1S THE MEN WHO Z KEEP THEIR FACES COVERED 8UT NOT THE WOMEN! This week's question: PNE attraction? call The good What's your favorite 980-KIDS ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAALEA teachers don’t need apples EVERY LABOR Day, anxiety strikes in the hearts of stu- dents everywhere. The most important variable in the progress of education is the quality of teachers; therefore, my anxiety starts here. { strongly beiieve that the most interesting subject can be made dull. Likewise, the most mundane can be made exciting. It is the educator’s highest purpose to teach to those who do not want to learn, How do the good teachers do this? Good teachers throw themselves into their subject, both intellectually and spiritually. The good teacher spends Jong un-paid hours playing high-schocl detective: digging up sources, preparing lectures, reading vigor- ously, calculating progress. This is done after 3 p.m., and all for the purpose of opening doors to new horizons. Government shows its apprecia- tion for educators by paying them litle money. Investing in our future doesn’t seem to be a priori- ty in government. Has it ever been? Parents often criticize teachers for mismanagement of the classroom. Some even blame them for poor marks. Some parents should stop and think of how difficult it may be to control 30 teenagers for eight straight hours. Even students are quick to criti- cize. Many say that science teach- ers simply couldn’t meet the de- mands placed on rea! research scientists. The English teacher is a writer that couldn’t get anything published. The gym teacher wouldn’t stand a chance in pro- fessional sports. Teachers are too often labelled as failures, instead of professional educators committed to an ideal, which is expressed in District 44’s motto: Every Learner A Promise. It is this type of thinking that has created a vacuum of effective education, by discouraging good teachers. Teachers are often tossed aside when we think of respectable pro- fessions. I've even heard a couple of teachers admit it. My high-school counsellor, for example, didn’t have the marks to make it into law school, so he settled for the trivial task of guiding children. ! once had a frustrated English teacher, who finally realized (after three years) thal education was getting in the way of her real dream: writing novels. These individuals were certainly not committed to the ideal, and it showed. i found, however, that these were only a few bad apples in the ripe tree of knowledge. Like my high-school principal would so often say, “‘it’s just that 5% that ruin it for the rest of us.”” I, on the other hand, remain optimistic. | would like to believe that most teachers have always wanted to become teachers. They truly respect their profession, regardless of the garbage that so many of us throw on them. dedication, shown dy my _ best teachers. Why, then, am [ anxious at the beginning of every school year? It is not me that I am anxious for. The truth is, % worry for the teachers. I never felt this way when I was in high school. Every year I hoped I'd get the slackers — the teachers who’d leave me alone and mind their own business. This was a contradiction. Good teachers that cared would never leave me alonc. They were min- ding their business. Learn to spot the good teachers. They are a suffering breed. Al- though endangered, they can be saved. Make their lives a littie eas- ier, by putting yourself in their position. Teachers are only as good as their students. Leave the apple at home; good teachers don’t want them. Instead, bring your understanding, your openness, and your respect. By Rod Solar WARN ME NEXT TIME YOU'RE ae A DO THAT