09.08.2010 09:17 AM

Open letter to Premier McGuinty

Dear Mr. McGuinty:

My youngest son, who is eight, is profoundly displeased with the educational system as it relates to him. He has therefore petitioned me – perhaps 100 times, if not more – to ask you the following:

“Daddy, have you asked Premier McGuinty if I can be home-schooled, yet?”

I look forward to receiving the answer to this question at your earliest opportunity. In the meantime, please accept our best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Etc.

19 Comments

  1. CQ says:

    I dislike ever commenting as regards children, but a healthy kid shouldn’t prefer being home schooled after only one day in September. There must be something more. For instance, perhaps he innocently feels an immediate misplacement as ‘the singular salt in a pepper jar’.
    A lot of classroom / school yard news reports I’ve seen from the Toronto & suburbs area – besides desks clustered & facing each other instead of straight ahead towards the teacher and blackboard – have a noticeable racial imbalance one way or the other or the other etc.

    • Scott Tribe says:

      Wow, you’re really jumping to conclusions there over 1 request, don’t you think?

    • I gotta laugh!

      I have never seen a student get upset because the desks are clustered in groups. Yes, they do get upset if they can sit beside a friend with whom they will talk constantly.

      As for the racial imbalance, I’m not sure how one can racially balance a class given a set group of students. I guess a teacher would have to follow a pattern: white, black, East Asian, South Asian, white, black, East Asian, South Asian. Sorry, miscellaneous, you will have to sit alone in the corner.

  2. Cam says:

    Yes, homeschooling may be a good thing for some kids although I’m not sure it’s for every parent.

    Current Events would be interesting in the Kinsella school room if they discuss, and I’m sure they would, things like:

    http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE6812QQ20100908

    Tories see poll lead evaporate
    Wed Sep 8, 2010 11:47am EDT

    OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Conservative government has seen its lead over the Liberals evaporate following recent controversies and the two parties are now statistically deadlocked, according to a public opinion poll released on Wednesday.

    The Conservatives, who have only a minority of seats in Parliament and need support from at least one other party to stay in power, fell to 33.3 percent support from 35.6 percent, according to the poll by Nanos Research.

    Pollster Nik Nanos said that the change in the numbers was due mainly to “self inflicted damage” by the Conservatives and that neither party would likely chance an early election when Parliament returns from its summer break on September 20.

  3. Scott says:

    God, I hate Harper. Just seeing him with his little glasses…sorry, can’t control myself!

  4. allegra fortissima says:

    Tell him he’ll miss some fun.

    http://youtu.be/1y1nvlr40i0

    Actually, a lot of fun:)

  5. Cath says:

    Sometimes school the way we know it isn’t for all children. I would trust the judgment of you and your wife over that offered from either side of the “to homeschool or not to homeschool debate”. I see all kinds of efforts being made across the province by school boards to work cooperatively with homeschooling parents and students that neither challenges the decision of the parents or that of the public system.

    I don’t see anything wrong with listening to a child that likes being at home more than being at school….and learning from that.

    Have you ever thought Warren that you and your wife are much more interesting teachers for your son than what’s being offered him in a classroom? I would be totally pumped as a parent, a bit worried but listening very closely to your child.

    I have confidence in parents.

  6. DAVID says:

    Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff must imagine his planned townhall meetings — dubbed ‘Open Mike” townhalls — is the quickest way for his party to position itself to form government in a forthcoming election.

    Unfortunately, what Ignatieff is leaving behind him in Ottawa — a new house leader and a new deputy leader — should only remind Canadians why they voted the Liberal party out of office in the first place.

    Ralph Goodale will be assuming the role of deputy leader, serving as Liberal leader in Ignatieff’s place. Even better for the governing Conservatives is the prospect of David McGuinty as Liberal house leader.

    ?I?m going to continue getting out there and meeting Canadians all through the fall in our ?Open mike? town hall meetings,” Ignatieff explained. “That?s why I need Ralph?s steady hand in Ottawa.”

    For his own part, Goodale looks forward to the challenge.

    “It’s a key responsibility that I am anxious to deliver well for Mr Ignatieff,” Goodale announced. “He needs to have confidence that everything is being managed in the House and on the Parliamentary front so he can do that critical job of gaining face action with Canadian voters. I am very pleased and anxious to tackle the challenge.”

    Of course, what Canadians shouldn’t have forgotten is that it was Goodale’s “steady hand” in the Department of Finance that declined to investigate the leak of a decision regarding Income Trust taxation that ultimately led to the ouster of the Paul Martin government when the RCMP intervened to investigate.

    To this very day, Goodale decries the timing of the investigation — announced in the midst of the 2005/06 election. If Goodale had investigated when he had the opportunity, instead of simply refusing, the timing wouldn’t have been an issue.

    For the Conservatives, the appointment of David McGuinty as House Leader is even better: in the public mind it will push the federal Liberals even closer to the provincial Liberals (led by McGuinty’s brother), whose government continues to sink deeper and deeper into scandal.

    If that weren’t enough, McGuinty will also remind Canadians of the disingenuity of Liberal overtures on climate change: while he was the Liberal environment critic, McGuinty earned a reputation for renting gas-gazzling, carbon-spewing Cadillacs.

    Not only will David McGuinty associate the federal Grits even closer with their troubled provincial counterparts, but he will remind Canadians of the Liberal failure on their own climate change policies — perhaps better described as a complete disregard of their own climate change policies.

    Unfortunately, Canadians often have a short memory about such things. It will be up to the Conservatives to remind Canadians about these two individuals and their ugly records, both in and out of government.

  7. Scott says:

    We’re going to relive the last half of the 90’s.

    Liberals will take power federally.

    Conservatives will take power in Ontario.

    For good or for bad, that’s how it will likely be.

  8. allegra fortissima says:

    I really like this article on home schooling – makes a lot of sense to me as a parent…

    http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1346

  9. Cher says:

    We are Montessori homeschooling.
    Short (very) version…
    Our son started JK and was severely bullied – found in the school parking lot about to cross a busy road (no supervision in sight, as admitted by the school) – stopped speaking – said he no longer wanted to learn new things etc etc etc… Was removed from school. Spent 5 long months trying to speak with principle and board – who after one meeting fully agreed his interests would be better served at home with us.

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