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Page 12 February 1984 Cassiar Courier

In and Around S.D.87

PUBLIC EDUCATION NEEDS GOALS A Retired Teacher’s view

Considering the lack of public support and the lack of

clarity about what the public wants education to accomp-

lish, the public school system has done a magnificent job. By Frank Snowsell

The fundamental problem with education today is that no one has really decided what the goals of education are.

When | was a student and for the first half of my 40 years as a teacher, the goal of education was simple. It was to make pupils literate: “‘the three Rs’ plus a bit of his- tory, geography, civics, sciences—all fundamentally aca- demic.

Grade 8 or age 15, whichever came first, was school leaving. Even earlier than that, if the child ‘failed’ or was, for any other reason, seen to be incompatible with the school system, out he or she went. There was no concept that education was a “‘right’’ and that all children were at least entitled to remain within the school walls until age 18 or Grade 12, whichever took the longer.

Democratic society demanded that since taxpayers ‘supported the schools, all children of taxpayers were en- titled to be exposed to the benefits of education to the limits of their abilities. Society required better educated citizens.

There were economic reasons—other than increased earnings—for the retention of pupils in school. While in school the youngsters were not out in the labor market competing for the unskilled jobs that were continually growing fewer.

Since youngsters of limited academic ability and interests were retained in schools, varied courses to meet their varied needs were, of necessity, introduced: music, art, and many of the so-called “‘frills’’ of today were essen- tials if the youngsters were to spend their senior school years profitably.

In addition, industrial arts were introduced because the employers no longer hired apprentices in the hope that the school could serve the need of industry for train- ed workers. Another reason, for school administrators, was to provide opportunity for boys and girls not academ- ically oriented.

Home and family ties were weakened and parents, having left undone things that in the past they would have done, expected the teachers to undertake many of the re-.

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sponsibilities of the home. Home economics, courses with such names as Effective Living (Effective Loving to some cynics) were introduced and counsellors and guidance courses took a large share of school timetables and time.

Society discovered other problems, such as those as- sociated with safe driving, alcoholism, drugs and sex, and immediately the school was expected to teach the young- sters to deal with these. Many—perhaps even the majority —of parents, having shelved their responsibilities, blamed the teachers for every weakness and inadequacy of their children.

The school was expected to teach sobriety in a society where alcoholism was and is an ever growing prob- lem, yet alcohol sales are a major source of government revenue and liquor advertisements a major source of rev- enue for all forms of news media.

Youngsters are supposed to learn responsible driving habits in school when, on TV, in ads for motor vehicles or in such programs as ‘Dukes of Hazzard’’, one never sees a car driven “‘defensively’’.

Schools are expected to teach respect for authority and the law. Police in such popular programs as the “Dukes’’ are not only incompetent, they are absolute morons.

In his poem, “‘Birds of Killingworth”, Longfellow ex- pressed the teachers’ just complaint:

How can | teach your children gentleness And mercy for the weak and reverence, When by your every action and your speech, You contradict the very things | teach?

While continually demanding more and more of the teachers and the education system, society and parents did not increase support, either financially or morally, to the schools. Society made impossible demands of the teachers and schools and then criticized and condemned teachers for falling short of achieving these demands. Par- ents, many of whom could not themselves earn the res- pect or obedience of their children, openly: criticized teachers for also failing in this regard. Society condemned the educators for failing to win the students’ respect, when society itself openly criticized both the system and the individuals involved.

Every aspect of our society other than education has modernized and made use of the best of modern technol- ogy. The schools have lagged behind. Teachers are still us- ing blackboards, and educational TV is not even in its in-

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fancy. Even movie projectors, overhead projectors and duplicators are not fully available. Where every office ina business has its own photocopying machine, a school is fortunate if it has one for 500 students. Television—which is the greatest force for education in our society today—is used to sell products and, often, to inculcate manners, ac- tions, and habits that are generally recognized as anti- social.

Considering the lack of public support—financial and moral—and the lack of clarity on just what the public can and should expect of schools and, in fact, on what society wants the education system to accomplish, our public schools have done a magnificent job. Our youngsters to- day have a much wider and deeper knowledge of the world than even the best educated person had in the past. The youngsters live in the space-computer age and modern technology has for them no more surprises than the intro- duction of the automobile had for my generation. What is miraculous to us is commonplace to them. They use a computer the way we used a monkey wrench. Their vision, inadequate though it may be, is world wide. We are still bound by our parochial traditions.

Is it any wonder that many of our youngsters reject our social values and our society? Young people graduate from high school or university and are too often faced with a world that rejects and cold shoulders them. When they apply for work they are faced with demands that they have “‘two years experience a minimum,” “‘must pro- vide own tools”, etc.

The society that condemns their use of drugs and alcohol and abuse of sex, itself uses drugs, and in the media owned and operated by adults, uses every skilful means of selling the very things society condemns.

Teachers and administrators are themselves in part to blame for the problems they face. They have meekly al- lowed society to steadily increase their responsibilities without making any significant protest. They have failed to determine what demands society could realistically make of the education system. They have continued to endure inadequate facilities and equipment. From both students and parents they have been forced to accept crit- icism and even abuse, and they have often been too meek to protest.

Critics of the education system—including ministers of education—have limited knowledge or understanding of the process of education. Governments and trustees speak of our children as our most valuable resource, yet almost always in times of restraint slash education budgets first.

Thousands of books and millions of words have been

Continued on Page 16"

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Thoughts on Food

THE COOKING OF THE CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

Sailing into the 2,600 mile chain of islands that stretches from Florida to Venezuela to enclose the Caribbean, Columbus thought he had found the Garden of Eden.

“Always the land of the same beauty” he wrote, “and. the fields very green and full of an infinity of fruits, as red as scarlet, and everywhere there was the perfume of flowers and the singing of birds, very sweet.’’ Once discovered, nothing that lovely could remain unspoiled. As the pawns of various great powers for nearly five centuries, the Islands have become a political patchwork, but their beauty and fruitfulness endure, and the cli- mate nourishes their rich tropical crops and also draws an ever-growing crop of sun seekers.

ESCOVITCH (Jamaica) (Pickled Fish) Serves 4—6

med. onions, peeled and cut crosswise into

paper thin slices

large carrots peeled and cut into paper thin

Slices

med. green peppers, seeded and cut into

strips 2” x 4” wide

med. size bay leaves crushed

tsp. crushed hot red pepper

tbsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

cup white wine vinegar

tbsp. olive oil

cups cold water

lbs. skinned and filleted red snapper

BMSEN NH NH A

Combine onions, carrots, green peppers, bay leaves, red pepper, salt and a few grindings of black pepper:in a 3 — 4 quart enameled or stain- less steel saucepan. Pour in the vinegar, 2 table- spoons of the olive oil and the water, and bring to a-boil over high heat. Reduce to low heat, cover tightly and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, but not falling apart. Mean- while, pour the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil in- to a 10 — 12 inch skillet and heat over moderate heat until a light brown haze forms above it. Add a few fillets of the fish at a time and. cook them . for 2 or 3 minutes on each side or until brown. As they brown, transfer the fillets to a large shallow heatproof serving dish. Pour the hot vinegar mix- ture over the fish, arranging the vegetables evenly and attractively on top. Serve Escovitch immedi- ately or cool to room temperature. Cover tightly gng refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

DEEP FRIED SHRIMP WITH ANCHOVY STUFFING (Dominican Republic)

BATTER:

1 cup flour

1 egg yolk

l cup flat beer

I tsp. salt j 2 tbspns. melted butter

1 -egg white

Pour I cup flour into a deep bowl. Add egg yolk,

beer and salt. Stir together and gradually pour in the melted butter. Continue to stir until the bat- ter is smooth. Do not overmix. Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. Then beat the egg white until stiff and fold into the batter.

STUFFING:

4 tbsps. butter, softened

4 _ tbsps. anchovy paste

2 tbsps. finely chopped onions

2 tbsps. strained fresh lime juice fresh ground black pepper

1 cup white soft bread crumbs

In a mixing bowl cream butter. Beat in anchovy paste, onion, lime juice and a few grindings of black pepper. When mixture is smooth, stir in bread crumbs. Refrigerate the stuffing for at least 20 minutes.

SHRIMP: 2 Ibs. large raw shrimp (12 — 15 per pound)

1 cup flour Vegetable oil for deep frying

PEO OR Te ee eee sew eee ee ee ees

The recipes in this article, as ellis as Hii others, were prepared by the Cafeteria for a recent “Car- ibbean ”’ party in Cassiar.

Shell the shrimp, make an incision about 4%” deep down their backs with a small sharp knife and lift out the intestinal vein with the point of the knife. Be careful not to cut too deeply or the shrimp may split in half.

Fill the deep fryer or large saucepan with veget- able oil to a depth of 3” and heat the oil toa temprature of 350°

With your fingers, force about 1 tspn. of the an- chovy stuffing into the cavity of each shrimp and press the openings together to enclose the stuffing Dip the shrimp in the remaining cup of flour and lightly shake off the excess. Immerse shrimp in batter and immediately drop the shrimp into the hot oil. Deep fry them for 6 or 7 minutes, turning them occasionally until golden on all sides. As they brown, transfer them to paper towels to drain. Serve at once.

BAKED EDAM CHEESE WITH.SHRIMP STUFFING (Curacao) Serves 6 — 8 1 4 1b. Edam Cheese (Round) % Ib. raw shrimp 1 tbsp. softened butter plus 2 tbsp. butter 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 cup finely chopped onion I med. size ripe tomato, peeled, seeded and finely chopped % tsp. ground hot red pepper ¥% tsp. salt freshly ground black pepper % cup soft white bread crumbs 6 pimento stuffed olives, finely chopped 1 tbsp. finely chopped sweet gherkin 2 tbsp. seedless raisins I egg well beaten

Peel the cheese and cut a one inch thick slice off

the top. With a spoon scoop out the centre of the

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Cassiar Courier February 1984 Page 13

By John Shepherd

qs leaving a boatlike shell about %” thick. Hollow the slice from the top in a similar fashion to make a lid for the shell.

Place the lid and shell in a large bowl. Pour in enough cold water to cover them by at least an inch and let them soak for one hour. Meanwhile, grate enough of the scooped out cheese to make 2 cups and set it aside. Shell the shrimp, devein them by making a shallow incision down their backs with a small, sharp knife, and lifting out their intestinal veins with the point of the knife. If the shrimp are small, leave them whole. If they are large, cut them into ¥% inch long pieces.

Remove the cheese shell and lid from the water and invert them on paper towels to drain.

Preheat oven to 350° With a pastry brush spread the tablespoon of softened butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a round baking dish at least 5°’ deep and just large enough to hold the cheese compactly (if the dish is too shallow or too large, the cheese will collapse and spread when it is baked).

In a heavy 8 to 10 inch skillet, melt the remaining 2 tbsps. of butter in the vegetable oil over moder- ate heat. Drop in the onions and stirring frequent- ly, cook for about 5 minutes, until they are soft and transparent, but not brown. Add the tomato, red pepper, salt and a few grindings of black pep- per and Still stirring, cook briskly until most of the liquid in the pan has evaporated and the mix- ture is thick enough to hold its shape almost sol-

idly. With a rubber spatula, transfer the entire

contents of the skillet to a deep bowl. Add the shrimp, grated cheese, bread crumbs, olives, gher- Kins and raisins and toss together gently, but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning, then stir in the beaten egg. Spoon the shrimp mixture into the cheese shell. Place the shell in the prepared dish and top it with the cheese lid.

Bake uncovered on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes or-until the top is bubbly and delicately browned. Serve at once directly from the baking dish. .

MANGO MOUSSE (. Barbados) 5 medium ripe. mangoes 1/3 cup strained lime juice 2 egg whites a pinch of salt 1/3 cup sugar % . cup heavy cream

With a small knife peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the large flat stone inside each fruit. Cut the flesh of 2 of the mangoes into 4” dice and set aside. Chop the 3 remaining man- goes fine and puree them through a food mill set over a bowl. Then stir in the lime juice.

In a large bowl, using a whisk or a rotary or elec- tric beater, beat the egg whites with the salt un- til they are frothy. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue beating until the egg whites are stiff enough to stand. In a separate bowl beat the cream Stiff enough to form peaks. With a rubber spatula fold the egg whites into the cream. Stir about I cup of the mixture into the mango puree, then pour the puree over the remaining cream and fold them together gently, but thor- oughly. Carefully fold in the diced mango. Spoon the mousse into individual dishes or a large serving bowl. Refrigerate for at least 3 hrs. before serving.

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