PUBLISHED COLUMNS

It seems it now is a dirty word for some Ontario school boards, too, as they have placed limits on the amount of homework students can be assigned. Some have even gone so far as to ban homework altogether in the early grades.

While I can see the merits of reducing the homework burden at the elementary level, I think we do our high school students a disservice if we lessen the expectation of their workload outside the classroom.

If anything, in today’s competitive global economy we need to raise the bar higher. Telling students to study more and socialize less may be easier said than done. Believe me I know, but we owe it to our young people to keep trying and not give up.

When I was in elementary school I was a pretty conscientious student who spent many a night doing at least an hour worth of homework.

In Grade 5, I can remember watching with envy from my bedroom window as my school friend Terry was playing and hanging out with other kids in the neighbourhood. I, however, stayed committed to my studies and eventually was rewarded for it.

I won the academic award for my elementary school and was accepted — along with everyone else who passed Grade 8 — to our local high school.

Like many elementary school friends who enter high school together, Terry and I started hanging out with different crowds and pursuing different interests. Mine was getting out more and having fun. I still wanted to get decent grades, but having a social life was certainly a much greater priority.

Playing sports let me hang with the jock crowd and my social calendar was kept busy enough to keep my head out of the books.

During my grad year, high school was a blast and I had the confident swagger seniors get when they think they have life by the tail. Sure enough, I was in for a wake up call.

For me, it happened around 3 a.m. at an all-night graduation event being held at Canada’s Wonderland.

There I met up with my old elementary school chum Terry and we caught up with each other while he drank his new favourite beverage, coffee. I told Terry how I was having so much fun this past year and I asked how his final year had gone.

He sighed, and seemed relieved it was over. Turns out he had been doing at least two hours of homework a night in his final year and even more prepping for his exams, hence the coffee.

He was heading off to Queen’s University to take biology and chemistry. I on the other hand was still waiting to hear back from my top school selection.

When I left him that night, I knew I had not pushed myself to anywhere close to my potential. Unlike elementary school, my high school marks mattered.

I ended up not getting into the top-tier university of my choice and there were no graduation awards or scholarships for my half- hearted effort.

Luckily, I got that wake-up call early enough to make changes and eventually was able to get on the right track.

From there, I soon realized that the years of university and post-graduation were the real party.

Nothing in high school came close to the fun times and lasting memories of those years. Independence and disposable income really are a fantastic combination!

Your greatest years of socializing and utter freedom shouldn’t be in high school — too much of your life lies ahead of you to be looking in the rear-view mirror.

It is true that not every student is bound for university or college, but all students can push themselves to reach their potential whatever that may be.

The stakes are even higher today in our competitive global economy.

Students today are not only competing with the kid sitting beside them for post-secondary spots, but also with students all around the world.

The safety net of low-skilled jobs that are held by some of the parents of today’s students are now heading elsewhere and even if a high school grad can find one, it soon won’t pay anywhere close to what their parents received.

So if you are in high school and sacrificing your social life as you study long hours or master your trade for our skills-based economy, don’t worry, your party is up around the bend.

But if you’re a student without a marketable skill, doing little work, but having an absolute blast, well enjoy, but your party may soon be over.

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Tax Season – Again

by admin on Feb.27, 2011, under GUELPH, POLITICS, PUBLISHED COLUMNS

Since it is tax time again though I would post this published column that ran back in April of 2008.

April 05, 2008

GREGORY CAWSEY

As I did my federal taxes this past week, I was happy to see a modest decline in my taxes this past year.

The ‘Harper hundred’ given every month for each of my boys under six has helped — even though it is taxable — and the fitness credit was of some benefit.

Of course this little tax relief at the federal level is more than eaten at the local level, which has been the case for sometime now no matter what party is in office.

Lately, my federal taxes continue to go down, the provincial taxes stay the same and my municipal taxes keep going up. No wonder my issue is with the level of government that keeps taking more of my money.

Now let me say I’m not one of these ultra right- wing zealots who scream every time a local politician spends more of their money. I am well aware of the downloading of services that the municipality now needs to pay for. I also believe in some income redistribution to meet city goals for the greater good.

But with that also comes the expectation that I want to see my elected officials being cognizant that they have to spend within their means.

I’m not sure if that has been the case here locally, but that’s the great thing about living here in Guelph. I don’t need to feel guilty if I’m not doing enough for the environment or contributing enough to community-based social services. All I have to do is remind myself that I pay Guelph property taxes and reflect on how much I have given and will continue to give.

Debating the merits of where our property tax dollar goes however, is not my current focus of concern.

What bugs me is the new rationalization for the annual property tax increase — that it has to be raised to keep up with inflation.

I heard this from the mayor of Toronto, David Miller, who wrongly indicated there would be no property tax increases in that city, only a cost of living increase.

I have heard that same argument given here, but the last time I checked, the annual cost of living has been running much lower than annual property tax increases.

What makes things worse is that every time they reassess my property it goes up in value, so I am getting hammered on both ends of this calculation.

I’m sure my situation isn’t unique. In fact, I haven’t heard of anyone who has had their home reassessed at a lower price.

So if the tax pie keeps getting bigger each year, why the annual tax hikes at a greater rate than inflation?

Some say it’s needed to pay for all of the city’s growth, but growth if managed properly should pay for itself.

So the only possible conclusions that can be drawn are that our local politicians have managed our city’s rapid growth poorly or they are unable to say no when it comes to increased spending.

My guess is that it has been a combination of the two.

But before we look to criticize our local government, we do need to look in the mirror.

Voter turnout and media attention is greatest for a federal election and lowest for municipal. Yet, the issues that will affect us most in our day-to -day lives are decided at our local city hall. If we don’t take our local politics more seriously and urge each other to get involved, then the branch of government that is growing in importance and taxing us more and more suffers.

Whether it is on Parliament Hill or your local city hall — the best thing and the worst thing about democracy is that people get what they deserve.

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