A Thought or Two
Lowering the flag on Parliament's Peace Hill has become a contentious issue here in Canada. At the moment, the flag is lowered on four days: the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women; Workers' Mourning Day; Police and Peace Officers National Memorial Day; and Vimy Ridge Day. The question of whether or not to lower it whenever a Canadian soldier is killed overseas has become the big problem. Now a panel of "experts" has recommended new restrictions on the lowering of the flag, saying that November 11, and days in honour of deceased politicians should be the only time it is lowered.
I'm with Don Cherry on this one. During last night's Coach's Corner on HNIC, he said if it's made the law, fine, it's made the law to ignore the passing of soldiers. But, said he, "Don't you dare lower it in honour of some politician." The man is right. If we can not even manage to lower the flag in honour of a soldier who makes the supreme sacrifice, let's not take the practice from the sublime to the ridiculous by lowering it for some politician who kicks the bucket, safe and sound here on home soil. The women who died on December 6; those who have died on the job; and slain officers of the law are all deserving of the nation's respect, and it should be shown in a very public way, on the Peace Tower. If that's too much to ask, then limit the lowering to November 11. Period.
The current brouhaha over homework assigned to students would be a joke, if it weren't such a serious part of a very big societal problem. Get real, people. Those adults who want to succeed are only going to do so by working hard. There is no free ride in life. You know it, and I know it.
WTF? What's the problem with expecting kids to learn a little self-discipline; a little acquaintance with the idea of expending effort to reach a goal? We're doing today's kids no favour by mollycoddling them to the ridiculous extent that so many advocate. The reality that's going to smack them in the face when they leave the super-sheltered childhoods they are being pampered through is going to result in more than one breakdown; more than one individual who won't be able to understand why their boss won't give them a big raise for "trying" when they always got great marks handed to them for doing fuck-all at school.
Been there, done that one - from both ends of the spectrum. As a parent, I raised my own kids to understand the concept of work and putting forth their best, determined effort. As a teacher, I encountered parents who wanted their kids to learn the same, as well as far too many parents who expected me to give their snot-nosed brats an "A" simply for being. As a teacher, it was my experience that the kids (and parents) who complained the most about the schoolwork were generally the ones who expected to get the most return for the least amount of effort. Deadlines for assignments, and penalties for missing those deadlines are the reality of the world; as is the basic equation of a crappy effort equaling a crappy return. Let the kids learn a little about reality while they're still kids. It won't hurt them. In fact, it might just help them.
Continuing along the lines of young people who think the world exists solely for them - a 15-year-old thug who tried to crash an Oakville house party on March 29 is the one responsible for another 15-year-old being in a coma that has lasted a week now. He is still in the coma as of today. Who knows what the outcome will be? The big thing for me in this whole situation is that the violent-minded creep that put the lad into the hospital has been charged with aggravated assault and breach of a bail condition. Obviously, we are not talking here about some quiet type who has never been in trouble before; a kid who lost it and struck out in anger, perhaps for the first time. We are, perhaps, talking about a young hood who has not been put in touch with the reality that the world really is NOT his own personal oyster. Maybe he's had one too many "A's" given to him at school for doing basically nothing more than sitting his ass down at the school each day he deigns to attend. Maybe he can't quite understand why he didn't get exactly what he wanted, exactly when he wanted it, just like he'd always done before. Maybe the kid in the coma will end up paying part of the price tag for our society's increasing failure to demand of youth more than just looking for a free ride from day-to-day.
I'm with Don Cherry on this one. During last night's Coach's Corner on HNIC, he said if it's made the law, fine, it's made the law to ignore the passing of soldiers. But, said he, "Don't you dare lower it in honour of some politician." The man is right. If we can not even manage to lower the flag in honour of a soldier who makes the supreme sacrifice, let's not take the practice from the sublime to the ridiculous by lowering it for some politician who kicks the bucket, safe and sound here on home soil. The women who died on December 6; those who have died on the job; and slain officers of the law are all deserving of the nation's respect, and it should be shown in a very public way, on the Peace Tower. If that's too much to ask, then limit the lowering to November 11. Period.
The current brouhaha over homework assigned to students would be a joke, if it weren't such a serious part of a very big societal problem. Get real, people. Those adults who want to succeed are only going to do so by working hard. There is no free ride in life. You know it, and I know it.
WTF? What's the problem with expecting kids to learn a little self-discipline; a little acquaintance with the idea of expending effort to reach a goal? We're doing today's kids no favour by mollycoddling them to the ridiculous extent that so many advocate. The reality that's going to smack them in the face when they leave the super-sheltered childhoods they are being pampered through is going to result in more than one breakdown; more than one individual who won't be able to understand why their boss won't give them a big raise for "trying" when they always got great marks handed to them for doing fuck-all at school.
Been there, done that one - from both ends of the spectrum. As a parent, I raised my own kids to understand the concept of work and putting forth their best, determined effort. As a teacher, I encountered parents who wanted their kids to learn the same, as well as far too many parents who expected me to give their snot-nosed brats an "A" simply for being. As a teacher, it was my experience that the kids (and parents) who complained the most about the schoolwork were generally the ones who expected to get the most return for the least amount of effort. Deadlines for assignments, and penalties for missing those deadlines are the reality of the world; as is the basic equation of a crappy effort equaling a crappy return. Let the kids learn a little about reality while they're still kids. It won't hurt them. In fact, it might just help them.
Continuing along the lines of young people who think the world exists solely for them - a 15-year-old thug who tried to crash an Oakville house party on March 29 is the one responsible for another 15-year-old being in a coma that has lasted a week now. He is still in the coma as of today. Who knows what the outcome will be? The big thing for me in this whole situation is that the violent-minded creep that put the lad into the hospital has been charged with aggravated assault and breach of a bail condition. Obviously, we are not talking here about some quiet type who has never been in trouble before; a kid who lost it and struck out in anger, perhaps for the first time. We are, perhaps, talking about a young hood who has not been put in touch with the reality that the world really is NOT his own personal oyster. Maybe he's had one too many "A's" given to him at school for doing basically nothing more than sitting his ass down at the school each day he deigns to attend. Maybe he can't quite understand why he didn't get exactly what he wanted, exactly when he wanted it, just like he'd always done before. Maybe the kid in the coma will end up paying part of the price tag for our society's increasing failure to demand of youth more than just looking for a free ride from day-to-day.
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