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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday June 6, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: The Oakville Beaver is a division of IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCHOR Circ. Manager Ford had a better idea Ford of Canada officials and employees had good reason to celebrate Tuesday morning. While the cheers were being shouted for the official launch of the 2009 Ford Flex at the Oakville Assembly Complex, autoworkers in Oshawa were reeling from the news GM would be closing the truck plant. In Oakville, Ford is preparing to hire 500 workers to run a third shift to meet the demand for the Ford Flex crossover vehicle. In Oshawa, the plant closure will result in the permanent loss of 2,000 jobs. What a difference a little foresight makes. Whoever decided years ago at Ford that Oakville should stop building the popular F-series pickup trucks at its truck plant and convert the assembly plant into a high-tech flexible manufacturing plant should be given a big fat bonus. They earned it. If that move hadn't been made, instead of celebrating Tuesday morning, Ford workers may have been facing the same bleak future of their colleagues at the Oshawa GM plant. Skyrocketing gasoline prices have plummeted sales of large SUVs and pickup trucks south of the border, and forced GM to close the plants producing vehicles no one wants anymore. Fortunately, thanks to a $1 billion investment by Ford, and $100 million each from the federal and Ontario governments in 2004, the Oakville Assembly Complex is primed to face the challenges of a changing auto market. Ironically, when the federal and provincial governments should have been congratulating themselves over investing in Ford's future, they were taking heat for loaning GM millions of dollars without obtaining solid guarantees the plant remains open. While the fate of the Ford Flex and the two other crossover lines produced at the complex, the Edge and the MKX, remains in the hand of consumers, it would seem that the flexible manufacturing capabilities of the Oakville Assembly Plant have put it on solid ground. As a result, autoworkers in Oakville have something to cheer about for now and, hopefully, in the future. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR As a parent and school council chair of E.J. James Public School, we are deeply saddened by the politics that is being played out in Ward 3 and the impact it will have on our children's education. The discussion, and decision, regarding school accommodation should focus on what is most important: quality, age-appropriate education. Consider the advantages of a JK-6, dual track 7-8 school model. Middle schools bring students together from neighbouring schools broadening Keep the middle school model in southeast Oakville a child's sense of community. They make new friends and reconnect with kids who they may have played a sport or activity with, but went to a different school. In the case of E.J. James we have the added advantage of the French immersion students joining us, enhancing the richness and diversity of our environment. Teachers in a middle school environment have chosen to work with young adolescents. This is important as a teacher's attitude toward students has a significant impact on their ability to address the emotional, physical and academic changes the students are experiencing. Specialist teachers such as music, art, gym, guidance, science are attracted to a middle school environment because of the depth of program opportunities it provides. Maintaining a middle school in our ward allows us to attract and retain teachers who enjoy this age group. Middle school allows our kids to set new goals as they leave behind the younger grades. Entering a school with kids of similar age and size allows the kids BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com to start fresh and to learn about adapting to new environments. This can only better prepare them for high school. In a JK-8 model, teacher resources are spread out trying to meet the diverse needs of the students. The needs of a five, seven or nine year old are dramatically different than a 12-14 year old. In a time of limited school budgets focusing resources on the age appropriate needs of the students is a significant advantage. In a middle school environment extracurricular programming focuses on the age of the students providing school sport teams, grade teams and different academic and social clubs. Our ward has the opportunity to maintain and enhance a school model that provides age-appropriate schools for our children. We do not have to go to the great expense of building it or take money needed by the growth communities. Forty parents, administrators, staff and teachers from this community worked tirelessly on PARC and actively sought community input. We came to consensus on the benefits for our community of a school model that was JK-6, dual track Grade 7-8 and then high school. Consensus on other issues could not be reached because school location was the prevailing issue. Let's focus on what matters: quality, age-appropriate education. We encourage you to value the middle school experience and to convey your support of the JK-6 dual track 7/8 model. JANET HASLETT-THEALL Pud The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.