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In 198081 the Province spent $58.80 on job creation per unemployed youth. This year the ratio fell to $45.28 per youth, a 23 per cent decrease. In essence, available funding for youth programs has dropped by almost a quarter during exactly the period when young people are most in need of help. & The situation is not likely to improve in the summer of 1983. With youth unâ€" employment expected to be near 25 per cent, it would seem logical for the government to devote extra resources to combatting the problem. Indications are that this will not occur. Funding for one of JOBS FOR YOUTH Teachers of the Waterloo County Separate School Board have had the finest in professional development over the years. Speakers from both within the board and throughout the province have shared their expertise on many topics related to the Board‘s areas of concern. When the Language Arts Guide was published four years ago, the Board and the language consultants initiated an onâ€"going series of workshops designed to familiarize the teachers with the conâ€" tents of this impressive curriculum guide. Similar meetings have been held in the past to acquaint teachers with the Family Life Program, Intermediate guidelines from the Ministry and so on â€" very worthwhile exercises and all board initiated. The Chronicle welâ€" comes letters to the ediâ€" tor. Writers must identify themselves through their name, address and teleâ€" ne number. We reâ€" &e the right to edit. Teacher input into professional develâ€" opment has been through the Profesâ€" sional Development Committee, a comâ€" mittee of Waterloo Unit, Ontario English Catholic Teachers‘ Association (OECTA). This committee has had two functions; it assists in funding teachers to attend conferences and it arranges afterâ€"school workshops. Last year, another task was awarded to the P.D. Committee. OECTA was allowed to organize and fund half of one of the Ministry allotted P.A. days. The four speakers, Pam Ahrens, Barbara Chisholm, Michele Landsberg and Steâ€" phen Lewis, who addressed the topic "Education in the 80‘s", were very well received by teachers and parents. OECTA, having proven its ability to run a timely and successful professional activity, then received approval from the Waterloo County Separate School Board for a projected two year theme "Special Children Need Special Teachâ€" Bill 82, with its mandate for education for all exceptional students, has been high on the list of staff room conversaâ€" tion topics since it became law in 1981. Many teachers, principals and adminisâ€" trators were deeply involved in creating the Board‘s implementation plan and all teachers. both as individuals and as groups, had a chance to react and influence the contents of the final document which was submitted to the Ministry of Education in May 1982. Teachers‘ concerns didn‘t end there LETTERS POLICY WATERLOO UNIT School views ONTARIO ENGLISH CATHOLIC TEACHERS‘ ASSOCIATION HERB EPP Waterloo Unit, OECTA wish to take this opportunity to publicly express appreciation to its members, the Waterâ€" loo County Separate School Board and the Board Administration for their support and encouragement for "I Believe In Me"" â€" February 11, 1983! Mary Wilton, Teacherâ€"Librarian, Waterloo Unit, OECTA It was particularly important to select a keynote speaker who could sum up the day‘s diverse morning workshops. Faâ€" ther Bernie Hayes, C.R., a noted author, teacher, spiritual director, and former principal of St. Jerome‘s High School, directed his address "I Believe In Me" to the nature of true self love as a necessary basis for personal health and growth, for effective functioning as a teacher and for building our relationship with God in faith and prayer. He concluded his presentation with a Euâ€" charist Celebration involving the nearly 900 teachers, parents, students, clergy and administrators who attended the day‘s events. Over 50 teachers were involved in facilitating the day, covering the many necessary details for such a large gathering to run smoothly. Parents and the general public were encouraged to attend both the workshops and the liâ€" turgy. Response to the workshops, the plenaâ€" ry address and the facilitators themâ€" selves was overwhelmingly positive. Many helpful suggestions for speakers and organization were submitted and will be very useful for the Planning Committee in the future. a) accepting attitudes towards adolesâ€" cents and children with special needs â€" handicapped or gifted â€" b) reconciling Catholic Christian faith with the changing professional role as teachers and Thirteen speakers, from all areas of local and provincial educational fields, gave a variety of workshops â€" ranging from group discussions to multimedia presentations. Board Professional Development inâ€"serâ€" vice is dealing extensively with the many aspects of the Bill 82 Implementaâ€" tion Plan. School staffs welcome this valuable input but realize they need to be personally prepared to be sensitive to the needs of any exceptional pupils who either are now or will be enrolled in their classes and under their care. It was out of this feeling, that the theme of ‘*Special Children Need Special Teachers" arose. The first year â€" 1983 â€" addressed the development of Sensitiviâ€" ty and acceptance on the part of the teachers and the second year â€" 1984 â€" will be directed to curricular goals. With this theme in mind, the planning committee looked for facilitators who could address the areas of: c) developing an awarepess of the necessity to break barri:s and build relationships within educational comâ€" munities. the three major summer programs has already been announced. Experience ‘83 will receive $12 million, exactly the same amount as in 1982. By the government‘s own estimate, 300 fewer jobs will be created this year than last ... the Experiâ€" ence program has suffered a stunning decline in support during recent ycars. From peak support of $19.5 million and 13,610 in 1979â€"83, the program has lost 38.5 per cent of its funding and 37.5 per cent of its job creation capacity. Yet in the summer of 1979 the youth unemployment rate was 11.7 per cent, less than half what it will be this year. Student Aid Queen‘s Park Report the village of Wellington in Prince Edward County (Highway 33) on Lake Ontario, is hosting a Homecoming weekâ€" end from July 29 to Aug. 1, 1983. Friends and past residents are invited to celebrate LETTERS am Wellington Homecoming There is considerable concern that young people might have to suspend or terminate postâ€"secondary education, lackâ€" ing sufficient earnings. The maximum OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Proâ€" gram) grant assistance increased this year from $1,100 to $1,150 per term, a 4.5 per cent increase which meant that students received less money in real terms than in the previous year, given the average inflation rate over 1982 of 10.8 per cent. At the same time the minimum contribution from summer earnings was increased 16.7 per cent, from $60 to $70 per week. Manpower Training and Apprenticeship In fact, I wasn‘t working at all. In the bureaucratic maze of computer cards, Torms to fill out, lines to stand in, boards to scour, I guess, looking back, 1 was trendy before my time. Not too many readers of this newspaâ€" per realize or remember that in May of that year it was deemed necessary to cut back drastically on staff here at the Chronicle, a trend that nationâ€"wide has caught on like wildfire in the past 24 months. It was, without question, the worst summer of my life. 1978. 1 remember it well. Too well. No, there were no broken romances (no romances period, come to think of it). The golf game was working pretty well, and I wasn‘t overworked. I was a victim of the numbers game. I like to think my layoff had nothing to do with my performance; the news itself was disillusioning enough â€" just as it has been for thousands and thousands of honest, hardâ€"working people in Waterloo Region the past couple of years. Fortunately, looking back, my unâ€" derlying faith in the work ethic and my devotion to it helped carry me through that devastating summer to a better time, when my services were once again required. For the summer of 1978, 1 was unemâ€" ployed. â€" But that doesn‘t erase the memory of four months I never want to reâ€"live. And there are scores of unemployed out there right now who are never going to get that second opportunity to prove their worth, regardless of the justificaâ€" tion for such a move. For them, as it momentarily was for me, it is time to grab hold of the capsized raft, attempt to establish some sense of stability, and then, guided by a hope and a prayer, sail off in a new direction. We have come to know only too well unemployment is a beast no longer choosey of the prisoners it takes, the havoc it wreaks, the breakdowns it precipitates in our society. Pray that you never experience the accompanying loss of selfâ€"esteem, the lack of direction, any direction, the constant selfâ€"doubts, the erosion of conâ€" fidence. I am not one molded for the knockâ€"at everyâ€"door, phone, phone, phone, can I justâ€"dropâ€"byâ€"toâ€"seeâ€"youâ€"anyway _ camâ€" paign that stands an almost essential undertaking for those without employ. I take great pride in my work, prefer to let it do my talking for me, and was caught totally unprepared for the utterly depressing song and dance job search routine. ‘ATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1983 â€" PAGE 7 RICK CAMPBELL â€" Silver lining A dreadfully disturbing local report last week indicated that as much as 65 per cent of the unemployed work force in this area hope that no one offers them jobs, and that in some cases, unemâ€" ployed go to great lengths to avoid being hired. But I sang. And I danced with the help of supportive family and friends, conâ€" tacts I could muster, hell, nerve I could muster, and the motivation inspired by the knowledge that dammit, 1 wasn‘t just good enough for some people, I was good enough for a lot of people. As with all traumas in life, there was no better experience than being there. Since that summer of 1978, I have had little problem tuning in to the cause and concern of the unemployed. Their preâ€" dicament is wellâ€"known to me, especialâ€" ly in an era that sees a lunchâ€"pail bookended by a leather attache case on one side and a tearâ€"stained diploma on the other in the breadlines. Of course there will always be the loquacious louts hanging around the draught rooms of the nations boasting of their idle Life of Riley, and how they can make more money on pogey than they can working. We always hear of them. How ironic that you have to have experienced that helpless gnawing feelâ€" ing, to know what work really is. Hang in there, people. You must believe that someday, your day will come. A summer when the big event of the day was heading out to the corner to pick up the morning paper. A summer when it was next to impossible to get a foursome together for a round of golf. Seems no one else could get off work. A summer when I attended my <high school‘s 25th anniversary reâ€"union, and listened to how swell teaching was, or law school, or the dental practice just opened. A summer when I felt guilty about going for a beer with the boys, wondering if that four bucks couldn‘t be better spent. A summer when my dignity was strained to the limit, but survived, and of course, is now all the stronger for it. â€" What we never hear about are the hundred unemployed for every one of them busting their butt from dawn til dusk to get a fresh start. And then going home at night to rescue their pride and brace for another sunrise, hoping against hope it brings the prayedâ€"for silver lining. If that is the gospel truth, then please, lead me to the wailing wall. What did all that get me? Some nice smiles, a few regretful handshakes, volumes of unanswered, unreturned resumes. And a long, hot summer. in both the 120th birthday of the Village, and the 60th birthday of Wellington Consolidated School (now C.M.L. Snider School) . Mrs. Aleta Ogilvy Chairperson Homecoming ‘83 Box 232 While well over half a million Ontarians are unable to find work, certain skilled labour positions go unfilled or must be filled by imported labor. The Ontario Manpower Commission estimates that by 1986 there may be a shortage of as many as 45,000 skilled workers in Ontario. It is clear that manpower training and apprenâ€" ticeship programs have not received the support they deserve. Such programs should be increased to take advantage of the opportunities to retrain idle workers and unemployed graduates. Coâ€"operative, sharedâ€"cost programs with private indusâ€" try and labour should be the major directions pursued. I did. And in time, it did too Wellington, Ontario KOK 3L0