CASTLEGAR NEWS, Thursday, February 24, 1977 Success fs Built In ‘Learning Reading i is Easy and Enjoyable RD Kelly Davie—Lochlin Krause—Stewart Higgins—Michael Barisinkoff—Brian North Karen Mller-Tait—Jonalfer Card Attending the conference, on “Discovering and Enhancing the Talents of Children” held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, Feb. 3, 4, 5, were three local teachers—Mrs. Ruth Townsend, Mrs. Marg Culley and Terry Rodgers. The following article in the Vancouve Sun, describing the conference, which was altended by teachers, principals, con- sultants, superintendents, school trustees and parents of gifted children. * bd . Pity the child who heads the class academically, who reads at a Grade 11 level when he’s only in Grade 4, He's in as much trouble at school as his classmate, whocan hardly understand a Grade 2 reader. If that sounds absurd, read on. Educators are realizing that talented children often get the short end of the teaching stick. Ala recent conference on gifled children, teachers, pro- fessors and ‘education officials agreed that the school system tends to be detrimental, rather than encouraging, to the talents * of exceptional students. - “The emphasis has been ¢ helping poor, retarded or hand, capped children, rather tha: those at the other extreme,’ said Frances Fleming, acting superintendent of the provin- cial education department's in-- tegrated and support services, “The present school sys- tem is spot set up for gifted children.” Local Teachers Attend Conference Claims Bright Children Suffer . She said the system has been built on a false premise that the bright child, if no special provision is made for him, will raise the levels of ‘others in the class. “This does .not happen,” she said. “The program, for him, has to be truly challenging or the talent of the child will deteriorate. “There is evidence which indicates that gifted children do not learn effectively when “These children's needs often drive parents and teachers to distraction.” But she added that parents often harm their brighter child- ren by pushing them too hard. “A gifted child can be damaged if parental pressure is always on them,” she said. “When they're singled out or made different or superior, their peers don't want them anymore.” Talented children need a i in the grouped th: their school years with children of average ability.” Fleming, a former teacher, principal and schools super- intendent, said that, if gifted children are allowed to become bored in school, they can be troublesome to the teacher. “Many may even pretend to be backward, in order to at- tract attention,” she said. home, school and community, * Fleming said. “They need alert and sensi- tive ‘kinds of direction and guidance, they need security, coupled with receptive listen- ing to relieve the fears of the timid, the over-taught and the, over-stimulated,” she said. But Fleming told the “audience of mainly teachers‘ $240 Million Picasse Fortune Shared by Six jis of the fortune of mae Picasso‘told a court in Grassé,’ France,’ they have agreed on sharing the esti- mated $240 million estate with half going to the late painter's two grandchildren. They are Marina, 26, and Bernard, 17, born to Picasso's only legal child, Paolo, who died in 1975, Each will get $60 million. Paolo was born of Picasso's — See: Quioplan INSURANCE AND a! LICENCE ANDERSON ‘ Insurance Agencies Ltd. 61 Maple St., Castlegar Phone 365-3392 Open Monday through Saturday to Serve You first marriage to Russian... dancer Olga Kolkova. The grandchildren’s bro- ther, Pablito, died in July, 1976, at the age of 24 after swal- lowing concentrated bleach. His mother, EmilieNne, said at the time he had been upset because he had been turned away as he tried to pay his last respests at the coffin of Picasso, who died at 91 in April, 1973, without leaving a will. ‘The estate comprises 1,885 paintings 7,000 drawings, 1,200 sculptures, 30,000 engravings and 3,222 ceramics, as well as property in France. Picasso's widow, Jac- queline, will receive an esti- mated $48 million. She is auto- matically entitled to the cha- teau of Vauvenargues near Aix- en-Provence and the villa ~ Notre-Dame de-Vie at Mougins ° on the Cote d'Azur which were bought after the marriage. The other three heirs are Claude, 29 and Paloma, 27, from a relationship the painter had with Francoise Gillot, and Maya, 42, born to Marie- Therese Walter. The three, who were recognized as Picasso's natural children by a court in 1974, will that gifted children are not a “band of angels”. “They often bring their own woes. upon’ themselves,” she sald. “Some need help to be less obnoxious and be told that being considerate of others will help them: achieve goals.” ~ In an interview later,. Fleming said .she feels the Beginning pupils at’ Blue- berry Creek School have dis- covered that learning to read is an easy and enjoyable process, They have learned to crack the code—to look at a word as’a series of sounds and to put the sounds together to forma word, reading instruction are the most critical, In these years a, child must not only learn the basic code-cracking and com- prehension skills, but also will develop an awareness of the excitement of words, stories and the joy of literature which will later develop the children into lifetime reader. DISTAR. (Direct Instruc- tional System of Teaching Arithmatic and Reading) is new lo the Castlegar district but has been used with outstanding re- sults in schools across the con- tinent since 1969. The. program is carefully structured ‘and | sequericed— sounds are. taught first, fol- lowed by sound blending; whole’ word reading is’ followed by sentence and story reading, Every detail is taught with nothing taken. for granted. Children learn one concept at a time and master it thoroughly before moving on to the next. Because a child does not at- tempt a new skill until the previous -one’ has been mastered, his or her success is cs core curriculum will neither advance nor retard the cause of gifted children. She referred to the core curriculum booklet, : entitled What Should Our Children Be Learning?, which says the present outline of the core cur- riculum is only a part of the total school program and the learning it prescribes will not be achieved by all students at the same time. “Provisions to meet these individual differences are made by the teachers who adjust methods and materials to develop ‘the student’s fullest potential,” it says. It is this issue that has been the bone of. contention between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and ihe govern: ment. The BCTF 5 running an advertising campaign pointing out that a standardized centrally-imposed curriculum will not suit’ the varying abilities of all children. Another speaker, Cali- fornia psychology professor and duthor Martin Covington, ‘said many gifted children are either underachievers or overstrivers. He said in both cases the children are pushed by high ideals of their parents and operate on the fear of failure. “Children seem to have a .preoccupation with ability,” he said. “It starts early. Teachers are horrified to find that children, within a few days of starting school, can point out who is bright and who isn't among their peers.” He added that children tend to link effort and achieve- ment with selfworth. Mel Folkman, supervisor of intermediate and special education in Chilliwack, said - talented children need to work together and compele with each other, “It's extremely hard to work with small numbers of talented children in a group of © talented students,” he receive an estit ghare of about $20 million each: The heirs will draw lots for their shares of the art works in the presence of three notaries to avoid any dispute over who gets which works. ‘They also agreed to form a company. to handle sales of the .. works so they would not flood the market and lower prices. Estate duty of between 16 “ and 20 per cent will be paid in works of art which will be © chosen by the cultural affairs ministry and put on permanent display in a future Picasso museum in Paris. Call Budget Rent a Car — Get the Car of Your Cholce by Reserving Early! Meed a Car This Weokoudl? We Hove Weekend Specials $5 rer kD © 100 Free Miles (Castlegar Only) . © Pickup & Delivery ——— Budget Rent a Cor Castlegar — 385-3300 Trail Only — 368-3306 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! said. “They need the stimula- tion they can provide each other with.” The’ most - noticeable characteristic of the children who have had five months of . Distar instruction is their con- fidence in their own ability to read. Children with learning disabilities also appear to be thriving on this method. The built-in structure of the pro- gram guarantees success to each child. A Distar reading lesson is fast-paced and highly disci- plined. The children, who sit in a small semi-circle facing the teacher and within touching distance, respond initially in unison in both the phonic and reading sections of the lesson The first two years. of : New Rural Crown Land Subdivisions Included The provincial ministry of municipal affairs and housing has ‘established a‘ new Cran- brook office covering services to school district areas ‘from Anarchist summit: to.: Crows Nest, and including Golden School District to Mica Creek. Four similar regions have been established in the pro- vince. Frank ‘Bertoia, longtime administrator for the Regional District of East Kootenay, until mid-December, is manager of this vast Kootenay area, from his Cranbrook office. His principal function is in Policy administration of various government housing’ matters including the rural Crown land subdivisions the provincial government {is now encour: aging. His principle functions will deal with housing study guides, land acquisition, urban and rural Crown land, survey, re- \plotting and septic tank ‘de- signs, His services also include home ‘conversion loans, lease and leasehold mortgages, Home Purchase Assistance Act, Municipal Incentive grants, As- sistant Home Owner Purchase, Assisted Rental projects and ether federal and provincial also: under his office is Neighborhood Improvements Projects with four Kootenay * Snail Darter Wins Battle In U.S. Court A little fish won a legal victory recently when the 6th programs underway at Neluon, i WE GIVE YOU PLANE Kimberley, Grand -Forks, which can also “invoke. Residential Rehabilita- tion Assistance Project grants. Rural and Remote,Housing projects are also under his’ auspices. Advertising= keeps people working: GOOD SERVICE AT THE ' MOWEST COST © KOOTENAY BUILDERS 663 Columbia Ave. Phone 365-5155 Remember February. is Heart Month ... do something about’ itt POEMS WANTED The National Society of Published Poets Is compiling a book of poems. if you have written a poem and would like our soclety to consider It for'publication, send your to: poem and a self. N License SRK762 Mileage 33,921 Accepted. NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PUBLISHED POETS, INC. P.O. Rhone: Floride, U.S.A. 33569 FOR SALE — “AS iS WHERE IS” Damaged 1975 G.M. Suburban, Rolled Over ; 4 Sarlal NTCL166F50 1579 May Be Seen 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Nelson Auto Body, 1004 Davies St., Nelson Contact Mr. Sheets, Proprietor No Warranties or Guarantees Offers on a **Where Is As Is"' Basis “ By Mail, Up to March 10, 1977 .. To Purchasing Agent, W.C.B., 5255 Heather St., Vancouver, B.C. Payment by Certified Cheque If Otter U.S. circuit court of appeals in Cincinnati,’ Ohio halted con- struction on the $116-million Tellico dam project. The court rejected ‘an argument by the Tennessee Valley Authority, (TVA) feat Now Open! its project in al- most complete. TVA officials said in Knox- ville they will appeal the case to the Sup Court. and then as each child is spot-checked for errors on each section. -Many of {he responses are called for. by-the teacher's hand signals, thus:"providing for a minimum of talking by the teacher and a. maximum of re- sponses from the children. The program calls for total involve- ment of all members of the group at all times. Both pupils and teachers are enthusiastic about Distar. The children enjoy the fast pace and the sense “of security working as a group gives them. The teachers feel that Distar materials present a fresh and exciting approach to reading. $100,000 Grant For Community College Libraries The British Columbia edu- cation ministry has offered more than: $100,000 in‘an_at- -tempt to strengthen com- munity college libraries. , The ministry said Friday of last week, a $58,000 grant has been approved for a six-month project: designed to. identify books, periodicals. ‘and other _ library resources needed by students at community . col- leges, The project will be co- ordinated, by Ross Carter, librarian ‘at Vancouver Com-- munity’ College. { Ou ue ‘Seedlings! 1% Order Your Oinanionial & fruit Trees : NOW. FOR SPRING! We Are. Open Saturday & -Sundayl Saturday & Sunday Special soil for Serninetion & ove & propouation W < AVAILABLE Florist Lid. SAM'S Nursery ond: 100] - 9th Ave. S. 365-7312.- The winner in the legal duel was the-snail darter, a three-inch, _tannish-coloredins member of thé’ perch iy which feeds on snails-'at. bottom of the Little Tenn River, It is found only in that 17 miles of the river scheduled to be part of the Tellico reservoir. On Dec, 28, 1978, four months after discovery of. the fish, Congress passed the En- dangered Species Act. And, in 1976, the snail darter was put on the'list of such animals,” In making its ruling, halt- ing all activity which might destroy the snail darter’s home, the appellate court ruled a permanent injunction will re- main, in effect until Congress exempts the project from ‘com- * pliance with the Endangered Species Act, or the fish: are taken off the endangered list. The snail darter suit was filed by a group of Tennessee lawyers and by the Association of Southeastern’ Biologists. . . » Husky Service! into the Station and sample care _servicel. 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