Don鈥檛 blame the teacher for student behaviour
DEAR EDITOR:
Re: Penticton teacher faces disciplinary action (by Keith Lacey):
I would like to support Miko McGrady in his quest to have a disruptive student removed from his classroom.
It is not the right of one student to supersede the rights of 29 other students to an optimum learning environment. Also, the teachersa国际传媒 job is to teach and not to babysit.
I would like to remind everyone that it is not a teacher's comments that reflect on the parenting skills of bringing up that student but the behaviour of that student which should reflect on the parents.
If it were my child that was being disruptive in class, I would not be blaming the teacher but having a serious talk with my child and explaining the consequences of that behaviour, such as removing privileges.
I'm surprised that apparently no one sees that supporting bad behaviour is not doing the child any good but actually encouraging the continuance of that bad behaviour.
Everyone should take ownership of their responsibility and I definitely support Miko McGrady and I am disappointed that he had to endure disciplinary action in this case. That was poorly done.
E.M. Smith, Penticton
Disruptive students put teachers in no-win position
DEAR EDITOR:
Re: Penticton teacher faces disciplinary action by Keith Lacey:
I don鈥檛 know any of the people involved in this article from July 31, including Mr. McGrady. However reading this article I couldn鈥檛 help but feel compassion for him and all other teachers who care enough to try and guide children in the right direction.
What is wrong with a little discipline? A little follow up? A little communication with the parents to tune them in as to how their child is behaving in school?
I believe our teachers are being placed in some untenable situations, with very high expectations and hands tied behind their back.
Anyway, Mr. McGrady, take heart, not all of us reading that article agreed with the discipline dished out in your direction.
Cheryl Watkins, Penticton
There is no traffic enforcement to be found in Penticton
DEAR EDITOR:聽
You might remember the Keystone Kops like situation with the early 1960s TV series 鈥淐ar54, Where Are You鈥?
You could ask the same about where has traffic enforcement disappeared to in Penticton?
If you placed a traffic officer on 12-hour duty along Skaha Lake Road, you would be able to collect enough in traffic violations to pay their salary plus those of additional officers.
You would also garner praise from nearby residents.
A good portion of motorists, especially the imbecility of those driving motorcycles, think and treat the section of Skaha Lake Drive between Green
Avenue and the Channel Parkway as their own private race track, especially when rounding the curve just past Yorkton Avenue.
Another street needing attention is Wiltsie Boulevard, up past Wiltsie school.
Stop placing 鈥渢raffic calming鈥 where it is not needed and focus on where it is dearly needed in the worst way.
Peoplesa国际传媒 safety and sanity is at stake.
Paul Crossley, Penticton
Don鈥檛 fault global warming, deal with it
DEAR EDITOR:
Some additional thoughts on the many and diverse comments offered recently on this page regarding our wildfire season, climate change, politics and energy.
The usual subjects in the environmental movement have as usual described the Jasper National Park fire to be the result of the emissions of hydrocarbon oil and gas energy applications.
An interesting article from the Edmonton Journal of July 26 entitled 鈥淕reen forest policy turned Jasper into a tinderbox鈥 reveals some damning truths about federal Parks Canada's 鈥済reen鈥 policy 鈥 a policy of protecting the forest in all of the Rocky Mountain national parks to maintain a "natural" or "pristine" state.
Itsa国际传媒 a policy that is contrary to natural phenomenon and sound scientific forest management.
While I could care less about whatever comes out of Toronto's Globe and Mail there was a rational article published Aug. 1 entitled "The lesson of the Jasper wildfire is spend less on fighting climate change, more on adaption to its effects."聽
Given the premise, in that our government since the 2014 British/US/NATO coup in Ukraine has spent over $12 billion in waging an unprovoked and unwarranted proxy war against Russia, here then is the skinny from some facts readily found on social media.聽
Our federal and provincial governments with those monies cold have easily procured, manned and maintained over 100 CL415 water bombers to secure Canadian citizens safety and our nation's biosphere form wild fires these last 10 years and still have a boatload of money left over - say to maintain our agriculture industry here n our fruitful Okanagan valley.聽
Presently, our province and this country's political leadership has woefully lacked a vision for the wellbeing and dignified future for our province's and our country's destiny in a productive and peaceful world.聽
The new definition of peace is development. Energy is Life. The new definition of energy is nuclear. The so-called "Green New Deal" and the NDP's energy policies are insane.聽
Surveying the political landscape, the only policy that I can see that reflects reality with a vision to a promising future is offered from John Rustad and the Conservative Party of sa国际传媒聽
Brian Gray, Summerland
Something must be done to help growers
DEAR EDITOR:
The provincial government is setting up a website and phone line providing contact information for companies offering packing and cold storage.
Really? Thatsa国际传媒 it? This is essentially doing nothing.
The impact of doing nothing is going to be felt by every person in sa国际传媒 (and beyond) who buys sa国际传媒 fruit.
At a time when food prices are already increasing at an unprecedented rate and unsustain-able by many people, BC Tree Fruits going out of business is bad for everyone.
The NDP government needs to do more. I don鈥檛 have the answer but maybe setting up a coalition among the orchardists and the Ministry of Agriculture to at least run the storage facility in the short timer. And then work hard to come up with a workable solution that will be good for the orchardists and consumers alike.
I.M. McLaws, Victoria
Memories of tough times with an apple orchard
DEAR EDITOR:
I grew up in the 1960s on an apple farm in the Creston Valley. BC Tree Fruits ran a cooperative there for many decades.
My dad had a 20-acre orchard of mainly Macintosh apples. I remember my parents waiting and waiting for payment after the apples had been processed and sold by BC Tree Fruits.
The wait would go into late spring when dad needed to buy fertilizer and sprays. When the cheques finally came in, mom would cry and say 鈥渨e鈥檙e in the red again.鈥
I know my dad grew high quality apples 鈥 I helped pick them for years.
I talked to my mom who is almost 90. She said they usually got paid two to four cents a pound from BC Tree Fruits.
Four cents a pound was like winning the lottery, and bills could be paid. In the end my parents both had to work second jobs to keep the farm.
I see that BC Tree Fruits has not paid many Okanagan farmers for last yearsa国际传媒 apple crop and this yearsa国际传媒 cherry crop. This needs to looked into by the province.
Brian Masuch, Victoria
