iAIhIIy Fie lsWhoâ,t.mi1 U ae2 One-sided article unfaiur to students To thi.editor Re: "Sinclair Wasted? Experiment" I read the Feb. 15 article about Sinclair and how it "angers some parents and that the consider this year as wasted." Z lease! The article was -tetally one-sided and unfair te the students and te the advantages that Sinclair is offering. Students and parents'should bo infinitely proud of a sehool that is second te, none in ail of Ontario, maybe even ail cf Canada, ini their vision for the future and offering our students advanced technologI, not te mention the latest in equipment available in family stucies labs, tech labs, computer labo, CM) labs, exercise equipment and videoaudio equipment. As for the "Wednesday" crisis -- it seems te, make a lot more sense te, teach through interest and fun instead of »headpounding,< ropetitive exercises. I didn't read anything about how our children's day starts ealier and ends later than the other schools, se that class time is net being lest. Right from the begimiing the Wednesday prograni's premise was te enabe students te take some interesting diversion classes but it was eur students' and parents responsibility te include integrated studies. As for study choices, these give our students some reaIliEfe sdills. I can't sew, se if .my. daughter takes a casas making boxer shorts, its a life skill that I amn unable te give. It teaches how te, follow .a- pattern and a set of instructions, how te lime up seains, thread machines, thread bobbins and ultiniately sew. To the. .cltOe. I amn writing about The Free Presi; front page article Feb. 15 that was ever se articulatély entitled 'Sinclair experiment angers seme parents.' I arn a Grade il student at Sinclair Secondary School whe bas first-hand ex . ence of what our school js trul like, unlike these disgruntle Grade 9 parents. Students of Sinclair are net the guinea pigs of an experiment but thie products of the future. The systems that have bcm institutionalized in Sinclair will pave the way for the high school ef temorrow. The article gave a very vague, unacceptable description of the directed study prograr. n. comparisen te traditional high schols, Sinclair only offers 25 minutes less of curriculum in four~ days than ether high schools offer in five. Those minutes add up, but consider the many psitive aspects of the Wdnesda activities. If a student takes only four of the 16 direcVred study classes that relate te, their regular classes in a month, they surpass the traditionally scheduled high schoels. Before assessing the quality of educatien at Sinclair, take inte account the vast reseurces available at Sinclair in comparisen te those dinosaur high schoels across Durhiam. If a student wants te, use a 486 stte-of-the-art PC with a CD ROM that's equipped with ahmeut every essential Windows r .rm it je practically in their FZp.Ifthat student doesn't know BAesides,- these boxer shorts are one of the "ini" thinga te wear. I think students' self-worth and pride in making something for themselves is botter than geing te Wa]mart and buying this item. As for the board ganies that were criticized, it wasn't mentioned that they were totailly in French. The id have te speak only French while playing, ail reading of instructions and rules are in French and these games are unfamiliar te the student so constant attention te the matter. must be given -- in French. Practical everyday use cf our second language will be botter maintained using fun methods than having a teacher saying the vocabulary and the students repeating it over and over. Ail the students are involved in integrated project groups. They know their ~e and when projects are due. It is their responsibility te get their groups tegether and use the Wednesday time te finish their computer lab or put the finishing touches on their projects. Theyghavecte tak the responsibility te, organize and comploe these projects. They are ne longer in elementary schol where teachers 'lead' students through a project; they are in training for college/university where teachers hand eut assignrnehts with littie te ne instruction and expect the task te bo completed. As for the "assembly which criticized"' the students" for their school reputation, I understand the staff at Sinclair- were remindiin thée students of their responsibillty te incorporate the 'Tun" Wednesday classes with some academic and remedial classes. My Grade 9 student advises us on Fridays as te her plans for Wednesday classes, and although how te use that computer or its progranis, there are at least two computer classes offered in eaèh session on Wednesday. The article aise mentions the irrelevance of certain Wednesday activities such as New Mother Goose or basket-weaving. Those courses have academic relevance. The basket-weaving clas focuses on native folk art and it is related te, a college level course. The New Mther Goose lass cencentrates on nursry rhymes' association, with social justice and feminism and it is related te, a university level course. Before coming te, Sincélair, I spent* twe years at Anderson CVI. After one semester at Sinclair, my academic average has shot up almeet 10 per centi.1lwve a much more positive attitude tewarda education, teachers and- school and I arn increasingly involved with extra-curricular activities. I am net saying that- the directed study prograim has transformed the entiré student bod, but Wednesdays provide students with choice education and greater interaction -With teachers and the school's reseurces. The article obviously did net stte ail the facts or opinions pertaining te the directed study prograni, se I urge the reporter te corne te our school te get the whole story. The next time The Free Press feels it's necessary te write an article that portrays negative attitudes teward Sinclair, ensure that it doesn't corne eut as ignorant as this witless attempt. Romi S. Raina Diagnmted student she has participated in sewing, cooking and basket-weaving, she still takes the required computer labo, rernedial French and resource time. Report carda came home recently -- she sema te be maintaining the sanie level of excellence in her grades. 1 think kId are more apt to stay in echeol if they find it interesting;, they are more' apt te learn if school is fun. As the saying gees, ail work and no play .. If you are seriously considering transferring your student out of Sinclair because of the To the editoe. 1Thank you. It is about time semeeonè steod up and took a look at the absolute foolishness that 18 geing on at Sinclair. I am a Grade il student there and can truly say that Wednesdays are, and have been for some time now, a joke. My parents have phened and complained as well, and se, have ail of my friends9 parents, but they were.. ail met with, the response that.hardly anyone was complaining.. This 18 the sert of thing that would happen if the goverrnment madle some sert of awful mistake. lt's alrnost becoming seme sert of cover-up. What lias happened here i8 they thought this Wednesday "directed-,study" deal was goinq to revolutionize education. he students would love it, the parents would love it, the whole community weuld just love Sinclair, pride of the Durhiam Region. Unfortunately for them, none of these things happened'. 1The" students thoght of Wednesdays as ajokeandalot of themn didn't go. As a result the parents began te, question the educational value of the prograni that teaches kida how te make balloon animais (when a friend of mine asked for more study hall To the. editor: I amn a Grade 9 French immersion student at Sinclair Secondary School. I was outraged by the article in the Feb. 15 issue of The Free Press pertaini«ng te, our Wednesday directed studies. SThe information was false and extremely misleading regarding the subject inatter of the cheices offered. It's true there are a variety of leisure choices such as basket-weaving, but there is ase- a large selection 'of acade mic sessions. And they are net al remedial or review, most sessions are far from it. Berne of the academnic courses Not enough hours To the. editor In response te the current controversy over Sinclair Secondary School's special1 Wednesday program, two points need te, be made clear. First, many parents of Sinclair students do net object te, the Wednesday efferings of "power point, ping pong" and other interesting and useful'selections; they are Uine as long as they are offered in an extra-curricular setting and don't interfere with the number of instructional heurs reuired in each subject. And, that is the second point. They do interfere! The Mfiistry of Education mandates "at least 110 heurs" of iristruction in ail credit courses, including ail French immersion subjects in which 10 full credits are required for a bilingual diploma. Simple arithmetic will tell you that Sinclair's four-day teaching week dees net deliver the 110 heurs required by the Ministry of Education. With ail due respect te prnci*pal Kay Ean either mefr the Wednesdyprogram, add heurs te the other dava_ or begin Saturday merning classes, but do semething te guarantee our children the education we knew they need te be prepared for the future. Louige Unehan whitlw Wednesday po*am wthout taking into conieation the advantages-offered at this sehool, be prepared to take the responsi- bility for doing a large disservice to your child's education. 147nn0 MoCrackeu Whit13y time, she was teld that Wednesdays were net for homework). We were> called inte an assembly and teld by Mrs. Kay Egan te go home and talk up eur Wednesday prograni, te make it sound geout te, essentially, try te gyot the parents off of their backs. hen we were teld that if we didn't go that we would bo "dealt with' (suspended). The school han. become se worried about its image that it is embarrassed te back down from this "experiment." They are se werried about looldng good te the cemmunity, they have forgotten about giving s tudents. their education. I mean, should I really have te risk my own educatien, have my heurs a.tretched te the minimum, be forced te, go watch c B atman' and then be teld te go home and tell my- parents how much the Wednesday program is helping me te learn just se that Kay Egan can tiy te look good adthe school saves face?, I do net, believe this is what education is'. -I blieve this- is a waste of Ùmy time -and "the Wednesday prograni should end. Let's get back te real school se that I can get my education. Nool Nice offered -in onie re cent week included ' What happened te. the Dinosaurs?,' 'Profile of the Bronte Family,' 'Journalism: Editing, Proefreading -and Layout,' 'Course selection seminars' and ' Career Speakers.' These -are. just a few. On Feb. 15, I wen toéa downtewn VWhitby -restaurant whose- owners were from Quebec and France. I learned, te order properly as well as converse with my peers! in French,, many* of whom were in -the core French progra n rd therefore learned a great deal from the, excursion. I ais tooka computer course that introduced me te' different features I otherwise would neyer have had a chance te, learn about. Parents and community members should nôt be se quick te, judge the' content. or- the importance of our Wednesday sessions. Many students find it helps te break up the week and give us experiences demied te, students- from other schools. Wednesdays have aise effered sessions that cemplement subjects or courses we, may already be taking. In the long run, I feel Wednesdays will have offered us epportunities and experience that will be memorable as well as educational. I hope, the people who object te this prograrn will stop looking at it as a sca£ry experiment. and- start accepting it as a different way of learning. Please, take a clouer look bofore making quick, closed-minded decisiens. AdwienneFinlay Wednesdaysa joke Not guinea pigs Different, flot scary,