Thursday, February 23, 2006

Skip School

The Newfoundland Department of Education certainly has its priorities straight: it's letting kids out early on Friday so the teachers can watch Brad Gushue's team shoot for the curling gold medal in Turin!

Burke said while schools could have arranged to have children watch the game on television, buses would have arrived during the final ends.

"Schoolchildren just can't walk out of school and declare a holiday. We have to do that for them," Burke said.


Curling is a great Canadian sport, and Gushue is the greatest Newfoundland curler ever, but how many kids do you know were going to hook off to watch the game? Even in Newfoundland?

Source: CBC

2 comments:

Lord Kitchener's Own said...

Isn't that kinda the point though? Kids weren't going to take the day off school to watch the game, so the Education Minister is forcing them too.

I can understand why some people think this is kinda silly, but is it really that big of a deal? Pretending this is all some vast conspiracy to give teachers (half)a day off seems a little over the top... and a little too cynical for my tastes. It's not everyday Nfld. and Labrador get to make such a big splash on the international stage, and the Minister of Education wants kids to see it and remember it, and hopefully have it inspire them. I bet more kids will get inspiration out of watching the game than spending that 4 hours in the classroom.

We're talking about sending kids home early on a Friday, not shutting the schools down for a week. I think the Minister's heart is in the right place, but even if it wasn't, this is hardly worth any fuss.

Adam Daifallah said...

Jack MacDuff may challenge you on Gushue being the greatest NL curler ever.