26 - Sunday, August 14, 1994 - North Shore News Old school vs. new school Eleanor THE VINTAGE YEARS WHO’LL WEN? What will happen? Will changes really be made on one side or the other? What follows here will be, for a lot of people, a contra- diction, a denial you could say, of basic tenets. Because, you see, Iam an old school teacher, and therefore expect- ed to defend the spare-the-rod methods into which I was born and with which i grew up. They turned out not to be so hot, but then the adjustments that were made also failed to produce the perfect student. And we've just had word that the government’s Year 2000 project, which would ensure all children emerged perfectly adjusted to life and confident of their place, has now been scrapped. So the wheel turns, and the battle between the shakers and the sticks-in-the-mud is once more joined. Whether it’s skirts on women ihat are too short, hair on men thai is too long, music that is described’ as raucous junk, or the current ’ public school system, the “fer and agin” is endless. If you’re as old as I am, you have lively recollections of the first time you saw anyone do the Charleston on a public dance floor, a woman smoking on the street, or your high school teacher coming out of a blind pig. It was a little jolt, a frisson, as though a door had briefly swung open on the grown-up world. It was upsetting to the perceived formula. More often these days, the jolts come from the other direction: it’s the grown-ups, Or At Night... Or By Computer! The Open Learning Agency offers a wide ninge of post the parents who are rocked by a reference or an admission that reveals a child’s cock- eyed comprehension of his world. And they immediately blame the schools fer not preparing him or her to take proper hold of life. They then demand “tougher discipline, more homework, and a healthy sense of competition.” That last sentence is a direct quote from a story ina Vancouver daily about the Burnaby school district, where yet another campaign for back-to-basics education is being fomented. ‘Last week, or whenever, it was Surrey. They all, these desperate parents, demand more arith- metic, more reading and writ- ing and bigger assignments to be done after school hours. Often, they tack on the need for uniforms to cinch it. If they can just get these 66 These desperate parents demand raore arithmetic, more’ reading and writing and bigger assign- ments to be done after school hours. 99 kids tied to their books instead of running loose, and neutral- ize them sartorially so that they have to stick with the. other uniforms, then they fig- ure they can breathe a sigh of relief. The kid is being chan- neled into a life of success. The Surrey list also includ- ed the teaching of manners. These parents ali have to be fairly young; children in the grammar school would make them surely no older than their early forties. How did they get so rigid at that age? The answer is, they aren’t rigid, they're scared. They’re frightened by what they see and read about chil- dren who steal cars and rifle small shops and knife each other, and they’re afraid some- one’s going to ask them what “they themselves are contribut- ing to their child’s education in the arts of life? And the answer has to be, secondary courses and a variety of ways to study. Your coures may include Knowledye Network relevision broadcasts, telephone futon, evening classroom tutorials of computer conferencing, Most courses are transferable to other B.C. colleges and universities. What Yeu Study Is Your Business. Adnunistrauve Studies, Arts, Business, Dental Assistiny, History, Nuee Retresher, Political Science, Psychology, Spanish, Science, Social English, Fine Act, French, Service Worker and Sectology. “T haven't got the time. That’s what school’s for. They're sup- posed to teach them the rules.” Dad works like a dog from morning till night, to furnish all the equipment children need these days, to keep a roof over them in a good neigh- bourhood, and to pay his golf dues. That’s why he’s flaked out in front of the TV all evening. Mom’s got her job, and she loves her freedom and the extra money which she simply can’t imagine life without. And they both think that with all they do for Junior, the videos, the “in” clothes, the memberships and the generous pocket-money, what more can they do? Ah. There’s the rub. They can spend time, They can show interest. They can learn what their child’s hopes and dreams are. They can talk about their own growing up and what they read and take the child to the library and inaugurate a brand new rela- tionship. A relationship that is distin- guished by shared communi- cation and trust and openness. And one that wil] wake par- ents like these up to what schools really are offering these days, which is the whole world. Their children are on the doorstep of absolute wonders, and both child and parent can make the leap together. Each needs to know the other’s ready, and they both need to be on the same track. Everybody learns in the end. The Ultimate Solution {fo : North Shore’s Water Problem 12 gallons of purified water | Pgs ltd woe pe 5 year limited warranty Expires August 31/94 NORTHERN SPRING be Water Company Sé 925-4655 How You Study Is Our Business. For more information call 1-BO0-663-971 1 In the Lower mainland call 431-3300 OPEN LEARNING AGENCY Choices In Education Now. 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