Comments on The Burd Report: Another one quits

"to have a gang of five tends to disenfran...

2010-05-03T12:34:34.529-04:00
"to have a gang of five tends to disenfranchise the rest of the population whose opinions and values based on their life experiences are not represented on a council that lacks diversity."

Of course the population is free to vote for whom they wish and also to run for election. Let's not forget that the majority of voters who utilized their franchise voted for the council they have. It was they who did the disenfranchising.

If teachers want respect then they can earn it. It...

2010-05-03T12:31:13.691-04:00
If teachers want respect then they can earn it. It's not a given. I experienced tens of teachers during my high school years in Cobourg and I can say that only three exhibited any competency.

I had a principal who kicked me out of highschool because my hair was too long. I protested that the length of my hair was of no educational concern, and I was suspended for insolence. A Cobourg library was named after that stupid principal.

The music teacher pulls me over in the hallway and asks me if my longish hair tickled my ears. I replied, "Do you ask that question to girls?" I was dragged down to the office and briefly suspended for insolence.

The list goes on and on. And now the majority of teachers in our region is dominated by women, both on teaching staff and leadership. This matriarchy has proven to be disastrous for boys.

Sorry Pat, I have a bias against teachers, and it is not without foundation.

Teachers have often spent their life telling stude...

2010-04-29T21:49:32.843-04:00
Teachers have often spent their life telling students what to do and expecting obedience to their directions. The Mayor has been known to show this character trait in the way he deals with the council. Councillor McCaughey has shown this approach in cases when he has expected town committees to do what he wants, regardless of the law or the public interest.

To avoid having any teachers on the council could be seen as discriminatory, even though past experience shows they can be problematic. However a greater problem is having all nearly all the council of the same type. For the last three council terms the overwhelming majority of the council have been white retired men. There is nothing wrong with being white, being retired, or being a man. But to have a gang of five tends to disenfranchise the rest of the population whose opinions and values based on their life experiences are not represented on a council that lacks diversity.

No, I don't think there is a bias against teachers, just a wish for a breath of fresh air in the make up of the council.

Your bias against teachers is showing - whatever t...

2010-04-29T20:41:59.258-04:00
Your bias against teachers is showing - whatever their former
profession both Dean McCaughey and Mayor Delanty have contributed much
to the town of Cobourg. But I do realize that for a blog to be self
sustaining it needs to provoke strong disagreement or disapproval - so
here is it is.
Pat lyon

Stan must be thinking about that BIG OPG pension a...

2010-04-28T06:36:07.964-04:00
Stan must be thinking about that BIG OPG pension and when they will hire him back again as a high paid consultant.

Greg I thought about cropping it until I too reali...

2010-04-27T22:30:15.587-04:00
Greg I thought about cropping it until I too realised that Stan's face told a great story

Ben: This is really great picture. It is full of ...

2010-04-27T16:02:29.508-04:00
Ben:
This is really great picture. It is full of rich colours, and if you click on the picture it enlarges ( at least it does on my computer) and the expressions and gestures of the two subjects speak volumes. It is the sort of picture that the pre-Raphaelites and British Victorian artists liked to paint.