A ‘conversation from “The Report Card” on the February Olympic break . . . Vancouver Sun blogs
Dawn Steele said:
Two weeks off school because of traffic??!! Sheesh! How about getting out of the cars instead and finding a more earth-friendly way to commute to your job – every day!
This vote does not seem to put the interests and needs of students first – very disappointing! How many students are going to be able to afford tickets to even one event? And what do they do for the rest of the two weeks? What about students facing big exams? What about students with special needs?
And I see this as a recipe for trouble – 20,000 youths roaming around the city unsupervised all day at a time when we’ll have all sorts of demonstrators and people looking to cause trouble, plus an enormous security presence with personnel on hairtrigger alert! What are they thinking!?
October 3, 2008 3:01 PM
Anne Guthrie Warman said:
Sheesh?? Now there’s a coherent, articulate response. Perhaps our ubiquitous ‘professional parent’ blogger should do her research before asking such rhetorically cliched questions as “What were they thinking?” 40, to 50,000 (projected numbers) more people in this city will mean that traffic corridors for everyone will be a nightmare. Many teachers are, for the record ‘out of their cars’ and onto public transit which will equally be stretched to and beyond capacity for everyone. However, given teacher salaries, many cannot and do not live in Vancouver and have a lengthy commute every day. This of course ,is to say nothing of the thousands of parents in this city who insist on driving their children to school, a journey of often fewer than 10 blocks. Teachers also voted overwhelmingly that child care and community centre activities be provided and that the VBE Olympics Coordinating Committee look at ways of providng access to events for students.
October 5, 2008 12:00 PM
Dawn Steele said:
Sheesh! How about a “coherent, articulate” answer to the serious questions raised instead of attacking me and trying to dodge accountability for your decision by blaming other parents’ driving habits?
October 5, 2008 1:18 PM
Anne Guthrie Warman said:
I answered the question around our thinking . But it’s not the answer you want to hear . Quel surprise. And for the record it is the Vancouver Board of Education who have raised these concerns and asked our members for input on this possible closure.