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,7,,,, N, W , l " wroutuxi cuttomcu: - Wednesday. lune 2. 20m - 9 l i l l . C OM M EN T l mamâ€"WW ‘ y . MWâ€"‘*â€"mr â€""â€"‘ vâ€"â€" "â€"â€"-â€"1 l l -. i y . LEI l ERS 10 THE CHRONICLE 1 The value ' Thirdly. many very successful I am in favour of a discussion on ‘ Mayoral candidate cities and regions. like Boston and the pros and cons of our current against merger Silicon Valley for example. are made system. the missed opportunities ’ With Kitchener up of many small municipalities and problem areas. 0 eac ers which cooperate together while Then. let's deal them. would like to make my position maintaining their distinct personal» ,. We do not need to merge with Ion the merger issue very clear we? W d R . )3] d , Ritalin? to mafiw:le?°? a bell” 've heard it said. “Teaching is the profession that teaches all because there was confusion in h "I ate 0° eghion. w‘d "if g0 p at? :5 NEWS. an dp all Ithe other professions." Teaching has been on my mind the Chronicle’s editorial of May 26. I We on SEEMS. “if ap Clo a h- n. 3) stu res an :2]; es 3" recently. as lune has arrived and another school year begins 1 am not in favour ofamalgamar ration. an I ere I; a so me y not ‘ mugilCIp mergers 3:?“ Noun on to wind down for my oldest daughter, Mason. tion. The evidence is clear and conâ€" gig to phrevenlthus for“ confirming my 08 at wwwjan y. ogspot That's why i picked up, with great interest, a new book titled 1 sistent that mergers do not work. dgvlltdw ‘5 pa et en more an Me .com Signed, Your Student: Celebrities Praise the Teachers Who Made Firstly. taxes go up, not dorm, ‘ . . , Them Who Theyare Today. ‘ when municipalitiesvmerge. from “3132;113:191: we are different Waterloo 0011;231:323; Author Holly Holbert, in an effort to encourage her teacher because wages and senn'ce levels We hav different olicies and ma r [candidate husband. wrote to numerous celebrities asking them to share tend to rise to the higher level ofthe h e wh . p ‘ h ya a memories of their most influential teachers. The result is a pre~merger cities. approac es e: l‘ comesbi?‘,e powerful collection of heartwarming, inspiring tributes to Secondly. big government typi- pnnr 031ml?" rd film” bl“, to teachers who transformed the lives of more than sixty notable cally means less responsive govern» inancr “a“? Sb'p' [01 pu .‘C d Cartoon said men and women â€"â€" from such renowned actors as Iim merit and more red tape. Engagemeéit, 3‘“ Ian p “rags“ Belushi and Gillian Anderson. to singers like Roseanne Cash Politicians ha\'e larger wards and ”$518"; an 0 dell? opgent th m it all and Dionne Warwick. to Olympic gold medalists and astro» become less accessible and less “1:53;" an rou ou e nauts. accountable to local needs. 1‘ . . . , . . . , The introduction will resonate with any teacher who icks ‘ Meaningful public input and 0‘." tax rate l." Waterloo ‘5 10““ The Chronicles V'emem car- up this book. as Holbert writes of her husband: “The firstpyear engagement become more difficult A“ it?“ gets :10“ in a merger. d 10%” fromdMayrdZG. 2010' was worth ofteaching is legendary for its difiicul- â€"â€" . to achieve. d" if?“ ave many costs an a I 13”?“ hwo 5' . ‘ ) ry. Bruce always says that in his first \ l llhl l A little friendly competition ”a. \lant‘ages. 'h , h b ‘ ,0. .u" .3]: catfir‘nment ‘5 neccs year of teaching. he learned every- ~ \ ‘~ l \l . between the threfjcities in the Iemsfth: [#5323 r1222: 50p”: ‘ sary. as It 58] It ' thing he didn't want to ever do again." \I{ I \ Region does won ers to keep our . . . , While readin about the numerous local governments accountable and than“) WI“ bisogietl that make a Banging/tugboat educators who gedicated their lives to i keep c0sts down. mtrgtrwort 1“ merino helping students flourish, I found myself reflecting on the teachers who * made an indelible impact on my life ‘ ‘ D ' th C B. d Lad through the power of positive rein- i ‘ ~ ~ ‘ ocumentmg e razy 11' y haematitamiua M. (amt ~ l . ‘ Young. Mr. (Ron) Westman. and Mr. . . ou know in order to stay together. as my wife bone ofthat 15 really loopy. (lohn) Wright (as a child it hardly . ‘ i and l have for 33 years. you need to be able to ”El bakes a 5:3! (31081 Of pagerrécc to Snap pictures i occurred to me that these authorities , “ l ~ a reciate the little ersonali ' iiirks we all 0 if Si CSPOCi y umming I 5. fi res actually had first names}. have, pp p t) q She has camped out for several hours on our g“Through their belief in me â€"~ in . MARSHALL ‘ . With that in mind, t do believe she may have deck. camera at the ready. eyes focused on the feed- spite of my underachiever status ‘ WARD E gone IOOPY er in case one ofthOse elusive creatures comes by. for most of my early school life â€" they ' V ’ ' ‘ l The first piece of evidence was a sud- And she has taken some great piC- gave me a sense of selfconfidence that l have never lost. 1 still den interest in the operation of our cam- ) . . ‘ tures. i see them around’today. usually at the grocery store. and they era l ll ( l . l )l The loopiness comes when she greet me with a handshake and awarm smile, 1 : Keep in mind for most of her life her In)” RKI.‘ decldm to talk to one of our girls about Now the father of two girls. with my oldest having a blast in l‘ primary way for photographing our life ‘ the birds. Grade 2 and my youngest soon to begin junior kindergarten, l was to hand me the camera. M; [think they like birds. am certain that teaching children is one of the most compli- ‘ . This is why it appears in all our photo ff? Who doesn‘t? cared professions in the world. l 5 albums that she is a single mother ; . And ‘0 their credit. they are usually While obsening the classroom environment. l‘m aware that lam nowhere to be found. £9 pretty good about feigning interest in . teaching demands a mix of enthusiasm. dedication. knowl» ‘ liven the advent of digital photogra/ '3 w ”11‘me a Mille- edge. authority and a desire to make a difference in children's l phy. which made everything easier, did/ i " t . Then their eyes start to glaze over lives, in the chapter Tell Us a Story in llolbert's book. lrish ‘ l m bring her around, - and they begin to tease their mother. author Patrick Taylor concurs. "Teaching Is an undervalued "i don't have anythingto take plCttlms l ”I But nothing can stop her when profession and yet almost everyone owes a great deal to at l of " she would say, blissfully unaware of " , ”My Bird lady IS in in” flight You will least one, and often many. nfthcir teachers” l the backbanded insult she had just tleliv» . listen! You will love the birds! As i reflect with appreciation for some ofthe brilliant (cache cred She doesn't cotton much to smart- ers We had over the years. i wonder: How do you identify that hm .,l| (hanged . m-(«auw of l BRMN . mouth remarks. those teachers who can positively and profoundly affect stur l [llt' birds . BOURKE "Sure. honey, the birds are pretty. dents' lives? ‘ She has llt‘tllll‘ik‘ at lll 7 .i craly bird but they‘re "(it much ofa meal." l'm certain it has little to do with where they work or how \ lady. \ ' That will get you a steely glam, the - many years they've had on the job. The answer, i think, is that . She loves almost .ill birds, except for a certain 1““ 0f WhK‘h you probably saw from your OWN great teachers have something special within them â€" some species which is most art timely descritwtl as “Stu mother when you said something madViSablC. thing that compels them to do what's best for their students. pid Birds " i do admiri- her passion though. and I know this They realize education is about more than reciting facts and Stupid birds, generally. are not very colorful or [Mll'fl‘la’ ll'VPl ofloopiness l5 short lived. fiKUR’S. ll" about guiding a (‘hlld'fi intellectual. moral and PCP . cutt- ' It will. no doubt, be eclipsed in November when sonal growth They expect all students can and will achieve in ()r they make .i mess of the feeder itlltl keep the tht‘ first grandchild appears. their classroom. and they don't give up on the underachievers. non-stupid birds away Dedicated. compassionate, and hard-working teachers like lately, her mission in lllt‘ has been to take pic Mr. Young. Mr. Westman, and Mr. Wright didn't give up on me. . l titres of the various birds who come to our feeders ‘“ and for that lam forever grateful. I (only the ”Unrslllpld oncsi Brian Bourke. a member ofthp 105.3 K001. FM It‘s all part of her plan to t rcatc a lovely, multir momingcrew. ”I" he WW “PM!“ l picture frame of her feathered friends hinurWhnl/m.mm, Mamba]! Ward Lt a visual arm! and independenlfilmmaker Email is welcome at marshalL qudOhotmai'me. i i i, 7Â¥7 _ _ _’â€"â€"â€"â€"_â€"â€"#‘