40 — Sunday, September 30, 1990 ~ North Shore News

WELL, SAY, it’s practical- ly expected of us old codgers, isn’t it? A little carping? | mean, what’s the use of all these birthdays if we can’t exploit them once in a while?

There isn’t one of us who doesn’t deplore some aspect of the way children are being brought up, or the degradation of the English language, or the decline in moral standards, or the shocking brevity of beach wear, or the ap- paliing use of stimulants of vary-

. ing degrees of danger. And

' ensconced on our lofty pinnacle of

' accumulated years we air our sev- eral dissatisfactions to each other.

Sometimes we spill over. Like now. We expect to be labelled old hat and out of touch, that's OK. We just think that that’s a good old hat, stitl worth wearing some days. instruction,

We've been exposed lately to a Inspirational my foot.

Eleanor Godley

E - :

THE VINTAGE YEARS

i kindergarten. ' I don’t have to say any more, t you've read it all just as I have.

: degree of militancy of the parent ‘ Protesters. When we carpers went -_ . ’ to school, the principal in his of- fice was never questioned. Like- wise the minister of education. Jnviolable. What he said, went. ® . We are therefore aghast. next cold morning. That

Frances Bula, in the Vancouver parent power 53 years ago. Sun’s special weekly supplement, tevealed a startling breadth and depth to this intransigent parental , , revolution. It astonished me to read her descriptions of Manoeuvres devised and end-runs undertaken. Squadrons are being Positioned to roust incumbent : schoolboard members. Masses of sy : money are marshalled to seek : legal advice. And all of it so that : some little kids can be put in the : care of schoolteachers while Mum and Dad work their fingers to the

bone to maintain the set-up.

Bang. She left. And left my sacrosanct

hours. The mural was used

daycare is

or centres?

child, observing

; The only really aggressive of the time together can be spent ’ parent I ever had to confront as a : rookie schoolteacher scared me so

. thoroughly 1 knuckled under on the spot. And she, too, was going headlong at the education ministry, though I was her trembl-

. ing flesh-and-blood target.

It was my first school, | was 19 years old, in charge of 14 - children, well, 13 children and one . young man, in the bush. Six of Ve : these children came from one

family, and it was their mother

. who crashed open the door of my little log schoolhouse on an after- noon early in my first month on the job. She was a red-headed virago whose kids, nearly half the school’s population, surely tipped the balance of power in that situa-

~ tion,

The burden of her refrain was short and sweet. Cut out all this crap about cave-men. One of her kids was in Grade 5 — actually, one of her kids was in almost every grade in the school, but

. Grade 5, according to the shining

new revolutionary curriculum in

- which my training had abounded,

/ was to start the year on a rather romantic preview of the evolution

{ , we of man. We had had some chats,

‘ Emily and 1, about apes and caves and tree travel, and we had started a mural together.

Murals were new in 1937. big und new, and we did them for almost ¢ yihing except arithmetic. Emity had had some

little pleasure, | thought, in sket- ching with me this rendition of the past. } was still full of the inspira- tional spirit of my Normal Schoo!

‘ very persistent school thing here Her terrifying mum blazed in on the North Shore and other the doorway, letting me know

ay places. A huge brouhaha has boil- very clearly that she and her fami- ed up over the decision of the ly had been brought up on the

‘ Education Ministry to control the words of the Bible and as all good . entry of youngsters to Anglicans should, they believed

that was the word of God and meant exactly what it said. God made man and woman and there ‘ What is stunning about it is the was to be no more heretical nonsense corrupting her children.

riculum in shreds. I shook for

Start the oil-drum stove on the

But with the current difficulty, why hasn’t someone jumped into the obvious breech to fill the big need? Daycare is scarce, therefore valuable, therefore people are dying to have some, so why not set up a daycare centre,

One can be with one’s own the progress through the crucial years, happily contented with her/his peers, and fill a general need at the same time. It doesn't require all that space or all that equipment, a lot

Pemberton Plaza (next to Save-On-Foods) Open 7 days a week

984-3434

9 locations to serve you in the lower mainland

LIFESTYLES

Sometimes old hat Is still worth wearing

out-of-doors, desperate parents would probably be happy to do- nate materials and pay handsome- ly for the privilege.

Give up the complicating city job, change the chiid’s life, enrich your own, Carp number one,

Number two carp is being jostl- ed for positions by three, four, five, and on and on, but we've chosen television programming. it’s most vicious aspect, and this is not just affecting vulnerable unsophisticated kids, is the visible viciousness it thrives on.

Even if we watch nothing but news programs, we are assaulted so regularly by violent scenes we become numbed to the impact.

How else could one account for children watching the murder of another child and not running shrieking from that place? They had watched murder before, enacted on the television, in the name of entertainment, it wasn’t real.

We've for weeks watched masked men paralyze two com- munities, masked men with weapons accompanied by women and small children. We've scen rocks thrown at heads .and win- dows smashed, arsenals convened, but then, this is just an extension of the pictures we see constantly of murderous exchanges in South Africa and in Palestine and in Ireland, where children carry arms and lie in ambush.

We're increasingly optimistic about the philosophy of world reform. Surely some of that can be applied to the disease of TV. Such a tool it is, one can see the whole world, alt the mighty lead- ers, all the pitiful suffering and all the careless wealth. It should be leading us to understanding.

Instead it’ shows us repeated horror and subverts our best weapons of compassion and ordi- nary kindness and _ selflessness. That’s entertainment.

Note: There was an error in the postal code for the Jack Bell Foundation in the September 23 Vintage Years column. It should read V6G IT9.

Also, there is no charge for the Living Will, but donations are most acceptable.

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Wed y

"GOOD NEWS!

VINA VIETNAMESE CUISINE is reopening on Friday, October 12

Sam, Pierre, Sean, Don, Paul and the rest of the Vina Staffwishto fj

invite all their past patrons back to Vina West Van for the dining experience that has been a fine tradition of the North Shore

: VIETNAMESE CUISINE

2508 Marine Drive West Vancouver

® 926-6001

|

NORTH SHORE FAMILY SERVICES SOCIETY

EDUCATION PROGRAM

Fall 1990 988-5281

-- PARENTING

PARENTING THE S$ MONTH TO 2 YEAR OLD Fee’ $36.00/Singie; $60.00/Couple. Fso1 Nov. 6-Dec. 11 Highlands Comm. Sch 6 Tuesdays 3150 Colwood Dr. gg Tuesdays 7:30-9:30 North Vancouver 7.00-9 30 North Vancouver

PARENTS OF TOTS & PRE-SCHOOLERS COUPLES COMMUNIC-=="DN - LEVEL I Fee: $36.00/Single. $60.00/Couple FSO6 Fee: $68. 00/Count= FS75 Oct. 3-Nov. 14 Westover Comm. Sch. Oct. 9-Nov. + NSFESS. 6 Wednesdays 3467 Duvat Rd = Tuesdays 303-126 E. 15th St.

730-9 30 North Vancouver 7:30-9:30 North Vancouver PARENTS OF SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN FORMING FRIENDSHIPS Fee: $46.00/Single, $65.00/Couple Fs10 Fee: $36 00 FS87

LEARNING TO LOVE YOURSELF Fs7:

Fee: $3000 Oct 16-Nov. 6 Boundary Comm. Sch. 750 E. 26th St.

Oct. 17-Nov. 28 Soundary Comm. Sch. Oct. 10.Nov. 21 Carson Graham Sec. Sch. 6 Wednesdays 750 East 26tn St. g Wednesdays 2145 Jones Ave. 7°'30-9:30 North Vancouver 7:30-9'30 North Vancouver ALSO Sso9 CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Oct. 4-Nov. & Lions Bay Elem Fee: $15.00 F

6 Thursdays 250 Bayview Oct. 17-Oct 24 NSF.SS. 7:30-9 30 Lions Bay 2 Wednesdays 303-126th E. 15th St. PARENTS OF TEENS - HOPING FOR HARMONY 7:20-9:30 Norih Vancouver Fee: $46.00/Single; $65.00/Coupie Fs20

Sept. 25-Oct. 30 Carsan Graham Sec. Sch. 6 Tuesgays 2145 Jones Ave. 7:30-9:30 West Vancouver

SIBLINGS WITHOUT RIVALRY Fee: $30.00/Singie: $50 00/Coupie

TRAITS OF HEALTHY FAMILIES FS38 Fee: $9.00 Fss4

Oct. 4-Oct. 25 Highlands Comm. Sch Nov, 5 Carson Graham Sec. Sch. 4 Thursdays 3150 Colwood Drive + Monday 2145 Jones Ave. 7:30-9:30 North Vancouver 7:30-9:30 Narth Vancouver

UNDERSTANDING EATING DISORDERS Fee: $9.00 Fs79 Oct. 10 Carson Graham Sec. Sch.

1 Wednesda: 2145 Jones Ave. Fee: $36.00 GRIEVING & LOSS Fs40— 7.30-9:30 ¥ “erth Vancouver Oct tiNoe. 15 NSFSS PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME Fsso . . ; V.S.F.S. ee: $5. 8 Thursdays Ste. A wee Giyce Ave. Nov. 7 Carson Graham Sec. Sch. SEPARATING AND MOVING FORWARD _— Wednesday 2345 Jones Ave. Fee $30.00 FS45 7.30-9:30 orth Vancouver Nov. 7-Nov. 28 NSFSS. - oo. gg.ggd MORE HOT FLASHES F583 4 Wednesdays 303-326 E. 15th St ce: $9. 700830 North Vancouver Nov. 14 , Carson Granam Sec Sch NAVIGATING LIFE'S CHANGES 1 Wednesgay Norty es ave Fee: $26.00 FS47 7309.30) Ag G Youn auo en eer Nov. 6-Nov. 27 Carson Graham Sec. Sch. , VELCOMING You Fse4 9 juesdays grag yones Ave t Nee a * Carson Granam Sec. Sch. 730-930 North Vancouver 1 Wednesoay 2145 Jones Ave. 7:30-9:30 North Vancouver

NIGHT SCHOOL IN.A DAY.

BECOMING STRESS SMART oo

Fee $30 FSs2 Oct. 13-Nov. 8 NSFE.SS POSITIVE DISCIPLINE WORKSHOP 5 Thursdays 303-126 E. 15th St Fee: $28.00 FS33 730-9 30 North Vancouver Oct. 27 Lucas Centre MARRIAGE PREPARATION 1 Saturday 2132 Hamilton Ave. Fee. $68 00/Coupte FSS: 9:00-4:00 North Vancouver Oct. 15:Nov. 19 NSF.SS HEALING THE INNER CHILD - LEVEL II 6 Mondays 303-126 E. 15th St Fee: $28.00 FS71 7 30-9.30 North Vancouver Nov. 3 Lucas Centre WOMEN WHO LOVE TOO MUCH - 5 1 Saturday 2132 Hamitton Ave Fee. $36 00 FS61 = 9:00-4:00 North Vancouver Oct G-Nov. 13 Sutheriand Sec. Sch COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY - LEVEL I 6 Tuesdays 1860 Sutherland Ave Fee. $28.00 FS74 7.30-9 30 North Vancouver Oct. 27 Lucas Center WOMEN AND THE BLUES 1 Saturday 2132 Hamilton Ave. Fee $2700 FS63—-9. 00-400 North Vancouver

Oct. 9.-Oct. 30 Carson Graham Sec. Sch BUILDING YOUR CHILD'S SELF ESTEEM

1 Tuesdays 2145 Jones Ave. Fee $28 60 FS78

7:30-9:30 North Vancouver — Qct. 30 Carson Graham Sec Sch ASSERTIVENESS TRAINING - LEVEL | 1 Saturday 2145 Jones Ave

Fee $30 00 FSS7 9.00.4 00 North Vancouver

Oct 2-Ocs. 23 Carson Graham Sec. Sch

4 Tuesdays, 2145 Jones Ave

7 00-9:30 North Vancouver

HEALING THE INNER CHILD - LEVEL f (New Section)

Fee $2500 NS fee Jet 43 § ‘ Saturday 303-126 € 15th St

900-4 00 Narth Vancouver

FAMILY DROP-IN PROGRAM

Our agency runs Family Drop-in Centres where parents and children under five can meet with supervised play for the children, time tor sociahz- ing and quest speakers for the parents The centres provide a welcome break trom day-to-day routine and operate at six locations across the North Shore. Phone 988-5281 for information

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER PLEASE CALL 988-5281 NORTH SHORE FAMILY SERVICES 303 - 126 East 15th Street, N. Van. V7L 2P9