Andre’s Corner

Well I use to be strongly opposed to public dollars going to private

schools, but the most expensive thing to have is a closed mind.

After talking to some students, and reading letters in the editorial.

I realize a lot of public schools just don’t care; some just move students

up whether they’re ready or not, some don’t do anything about students

who skip, their text books are 30 years old. No point in squandering money

on schools that are ineffective: schools who put kids through the system
when they can’t spell or read or do math at the level they should be able.
 Why is it so hard to get rid of bad teachers, or incompetent teachers? 
Why can’t teachers fail students who deserve it.
This is the trouble in giving the public system a monopoly, and job security to the teachers union.  Nobody else is guaranteed a job and neither should public teachers be; if they want to keep their job the should produce results

like everyone else. Give the parents education vouchers so the schools that
produce the results get the funding even if they are private schools. Maybe
then school boards will be more efficient and will be fiscally responsible.

  A system where funding is attached to the students

instead of going directly to the school would give them incentive to

do the job or they lose students funding and close.   We are not doing kids a favour in the long term, unless we only keep the best teachers and forget the rest.

Schools, especially secondary schools need to prepare students for

the real world and punish students that skip; participation in on any

school teams, or clubs need to be contingent on attendence and

effort in the classroom. If our tax dollars goes to a private school

that’s fine by me as long as they get results and accept all of God’s

children.  Maybe a private school can do a better job for the same

cost.  Maybe an end to a monopoly for the public system is the push

they need to restructure, put more funding into the classroom and keep

only the best teachers, and principals.  Perhaps funding should also

be tied to the success of the school, how many graduate and how many

grads are able to pass standardize exit test. One thing I have learned

from chatting with students are some of our schools just don’t care if

students skip, or know the material they’re suppose to know. Like in

the movie teachers they just move the kids up to get them through the

system.  In the long run they doing a diservice! Something is rotten

when public schools have a monopoly to public funding.

I use to be a staunch defender of all public healthcare system, not that I  am against

profitable corporation I just don’t feel a hospitals should be maximizing the bottom line

of life, and wellness, not the financial bottomline.  So when the government of Alberta

started allowing overnight clinics I was concerned even though I don’t live in Alberta;

what provinces would follow suite if the federal government doesn’t step in. What is an

overnight clinic, but a private hospital by another name.  After seeing a documentary on

healthcare systems in Europe that use a combination of private, and public owned hospitals

I have a new perspective I am not against private hospitals as long as people are not turned

away just cause they are unable to pay. The government pays whether you go to a public

facility or private one if you waited too long to get your surgery.  In fact a lot of these mainland

Europe countries that use combined private public hospital system not only have short,

or no wait times for needed surgery some of them spend less per capital on healthcare

that Canada.  Although I don’t want to see use adapt an American style private healthcare

where families go into bankrupcty from one accident, or illness;  that is not good for the

economy; our premiers and their health ministers can learn something from European

public and private healthcare.  The wrongness in the what the Campbell government in

British Columbia is they shut down hospitals left right and centre some of them in one

hospital communities.  Other hospitals were downgraded to care centres. This would

be okay if they campaigned in 2001 that they would have to close some hospitals, but

they did not. They promised that they to protect healthcare; they said they would not

close hospitals, or tear up contracts, but they broke both promises.

  Had they said they would close some hospitals than they would have

some moral right in that they’d be keeping their promises albeit  negative promises.

It was unethical to close hospitals in single community hospitals without first having

something planned in fill their place.  Furthermore, if someone can get knee or hip
replacement sooner at a private day clinic instead of waiting a couple of years
at a hospital and they it doesn’t cost them out of pocket so be it.  It may be cheaper
than the alternative of waiting 2 years plus another 2 years recovering from that
surgery all the while being on disability instead of working.