| EvilTree |
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/n...f5-6019e5a8a447
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Co-op program called death sentence
Dalson Chen, Windsor Star
Published: Thursday, April 06, 2006
The local public school board's newest co-op program helps the Canadian military recruit high school students, says a concerned citizens' group.
"We don't look at this program as an opportunity -- we look at it as a death sentence," said Marilyn Eves of the anti-war group Women in Black. "It's not the school board's role to be procuring for the military."
Eves made the comments at a Wednesday meeting of the Greater Essex County District School Board, where trustees were presented for the first time with a new co-op program in partnership with the armed Forces.
Teacher consultant Peg Rooney said National Defence representative Cpl. Jason Olson visited all 15 of the board's secondary schools in March and informed students about the one-semester paid military co-op that begins in February 2007.
Olson said the program allows students to explore such career fields as infantry, armoured soldier, weapons technician, vehicle technician, mobile support equipment operator, supply technician, resource clerk, cook and musician.
"It's basically another opportunity for our students," Rooney said. "We provide the information to the students. They're allowed to make their own decisions.... We are not recruiting members for the reserves."
Rooney said Olson makes annual visits to high schools regardless of the co-op program.
But Eves, a retired teacher, warned the partnership will leave the board with blood on its hands. "What is the future for these kids?" she said. "They're going overseas to fight and some of them are going to die."
Eves said students will be lured to the program by its promise of pay, medical and dental coverage, and four credits toward their diplomas. "It's a huge enticement. It's an obvious bribe."
Pat Noonan, a retired teacher, said times have changed for the Canadian military and pointed to operations in Afghanistan.
Noonan said she's nervous about the career plans that the program brings to students. "We're putting them at risk," said Noonan, 75. "We're in dangerous waters."
Women in Black member Claire McAllister, 62, asked if the military co-op runs contrary to the school board's goal of teaching students peaceful resolution methods.
But director of education Mary Jean Gallagher argued that the program doesn't contradict the board's values, and has existed for years in other school boards. "There's fairly solid interest in this community in the military, so why wouldn't we offer that opportunity?"
Gallagher noted that the program's capacity is no more than 25 students, and students who enrol in any co-op program are free to make career choices outside their co-op field once the program ends.
"This program is career exploration.... They find out about the world of work," Gallagher said. "As enticing as it might sound, it comes with responsibilities and commitments."
Grade 11 Sandwich Secondary student Brittany Fleming said she decided to attend the meeting because of how strongly she disagrees with the program.
"It's too disciplined, too scary," said Fleming about the military. "They beat it into you so you don't know what you think anymore. You're not a person anymore. You're just a machine."
Fleming said she doesn't know what kind of response the program had at her high school, but she's sure there are students who will be drawn to it. "People who want basic things like money and health care will end up going for it. And I'm worried that it will happen to my friends."
© The Windsor Star 2006
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Ignorance is a stupidity of its own in this case.
And a nice rebuttal...
| quote: | Regarding "Co-op program called death sentence", April 6th, A1-A5;
It was with great surprise and sadness that today I bore witness to a former "educator" and a current "student" proudly displaying their ignorance of today's Canadian Forces (CF) and the individuals that make up this last of the Great Canadian Institutions in the pages of the Star. As a past member of one of Windsor's Primary Reserve units, I hardly know where to begin in refuting the malicious, ill-informed, and scare-mongering propaganda quoted by numerous individuals in the story.
Firstly, Marilyn Eves' assertion that students taking the opportunity to serve in a local Reserve unit for one co-op semester would be "...going overseas to fight and some of them are going to die." is a fallacy. One co-op semester is barely enough time to become basically trained as a member of the CF, let alone be trained up to the standards demanded of soldiers going overseas to serve on operational tours, particularly in Afghanistan.
Secondly, no Reserve soldier has been compelled to serve overseas since the Order in Council of 1 September 1939, under General Order 135. If a Reserve soldier so chooses, he or she may serve their entire time in the Reserves in Canada. Many of today's Reservists, however, do make a choice to volunteer to serve on overseas operational tours, as well as in domestic operations. Many of your fellow Windsor/Essex citizens have served (or are presently serving) the common good in Cyprus, the Golan, Bosnia, and most recently in Afghanistan / South West Asia, to name just a few of the more well-reported areas of Canadian involvement.
To address Ms. Flemings unfounded comment about how “[T]hey beat it into you so you don't know what you think anymore. You're not a person anymore. You're just a machine." Ms Fleming, let me assure you that nothing was "beat" into me the entire four years I served as a Reservist, nor am I an unthinking machine. I am a university graduate and a registered nurse currently employed at a Windsor hospital. Surprised? Perhaps you would be even more surprised to learn that my regiment was filled with not only high school students, but also college and university students. I also served with paramedics, police officers, IT professionals, financial planners, and another surprise, teachers! This is not to mention those troops who worked in the automotive/manufacturing sector, in the casino, as contractors, and in all kinds of blue collar jobs that keep Windsor moving. In short, the citizen soldiers who serve as reservists are the people who make up the fabric of your community, and choose to make soldiering a second calling. No matter how many times you watch Platoon or Full Metal Jacket, you will not understand the reality of today's Canadian soldier, until you bother to talk to one. It seems that your current teachers have failed you, and not instilled in you the importance of researching and understanding topics that you would speak out about publicly.
Serving Reservists do not have the luxury of speaking out of turn about anything publicly, since they know they represent not only their Regiment but also the Army and Canada at large. Your freedom of speech, no matter how misinformed it may be, has been bought and paid for with the blood, sweat, and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers.
This brings me to my final point. Mrs. Eves, there was a time in this country when things like duty, honor, and sacrifice actually meant something. Men like Major Frederick Tilston, a member of The Essex Scottish Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his courage, gallant conduct, and grim determination, showed that Canadians are good people.
We are good world citizens who recognize that sometimes evil and senseless violence must be dealt with through the application of determined, disciplined, and measured violence. We as a society entrust that ability, and that responsibility, to the Canadian Forces. In doing so, we teach the young men and women who join up to serve that they are worthwhile citizens who can accomplish great goals and overcome great obstacles. They do this by learning and using teamwork, confidence, discipline, honesty, and fortitude. From day one, service members are taught the dangers of their chosen profession.
Today, no Canadian service member goes overseas without volunteering, either by joining the Regular Force, or by joining the Reserves and volunteering a second time to go overseas. I do not think it is too much to ask to not talk down to students who would chose service as a way of life, or depict them publicly as stupid little automatons that have no idea what is being asked of them if they choose to serve. I know I would rather have my tax dollars go towards producing good citizens contributing positively to Canadian and world society than towards funding a public education system than brainwash students into believing that today’s Canadian soldier, sailor, and aircrew are unable to think and act only a cogs in some Stalinist genocide machine.
As a final thought I offer this: "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." -Samuel Adams
Brett Watson |
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