For the past eight years, two of our grandchildren have attended Wilkinson Junior Public School in East York, Toronto.
asserted
two → attend → York
With last June’s graduation, our days there ended.
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days → end → graduation
I’m going to miss it.
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I → go → it
When kids are young, it seems as if their school days will go on forever.
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days → seem → ?
The reality is that one day you are dropping them off in the kindergarten yard and the next minute you’re attending their graduation.
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you → drop → graduation
Those eight years will shape the rest of their lives.
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years → shape → lives
Now, when we drive down Donlands Avenue and pass Wilkinson, I am filled with feelings of gratitude and sadness.
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I → drive → gratitude
I know my feeling of sadness is temporary, but I will always be thankful for those years and the dedicated staff members who breathe life into that old building.
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who → know → building
From the street, the first thing you notice are coloured signs, in many languages, proclaiming that all are welcome.
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all → notice → languages
Once inside the front door, while waiting to check in with one of the most welcoming school administrators ever, you see more signs, proclaiming that Wilkinson’s mandate is to serve the diverse needs of all students.
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mandate → wait → students
My husband and I are retired teachers and grandparents of four, so we have met many teachers.
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we → meet → teachers
Over the years our grandkids have had the privilege of being cared for by many excellent classroom teachers.
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grandkids → have → teachers
We often planned our Toronto visits around special occasions at Wilkinson, such as school concerts and sporting events.
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We → plan → concerts
Last June, as we watched the track and field day, we overheard their phys. ed teacher extraordinaire say, “High fives all around.”
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teacher → watch → fives
He repeated that phrase all day, after each race he supervised.
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he → repeat → race
That simple sentiment captures the spirit of Wilkinson.
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sentiment → capture → Wilkinson
Students are encouraged, not only to do their best, but to encourage and support each other.
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Students → encourage → other
Along with the extraordinary musical performances, we were always impressed by the smoothness of the whole operation.
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we → impress → operation
As with the track and field days, they went off without a hitch, thanks to the teachers who put in extra time to be there.
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who → go → time
It has been a privilege to watch that teamwork in action.
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It → watch → action
Strong phys. ed. and music programs in a school bring benefits that carry over into all aspects of students’ education.
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that → bring → education
Our family is also grateful to vital members of the school team who work in the background to assist challenged students.
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who → work → students
If all students are to experience success, many need psychologists to assess their abilities.
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many → experience → abilities
Some benefit from time spent with occupational therapists, social workers and special education teachers.
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Some → benefit → therapists
Regular classroom teachers, try as they might, cannot meet the needs of all their students, without the assistance and expertise of these specialists.
uncertain
they → try → specialists
Money spent on special education and smaller class sizes benefits all students.
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Money → spend → students
This fall, Toronto classroom teachers will have to rely on a reduced team.
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teachers → have → team
As a parent in the 1980s, I was involved in securing special education services to assist our learning disabled child.
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I → involve → child
As a special-education teacher in later years, I empathized with parents of special needs students.
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I → empathize → students
It’s discouraging to hear that parents and teachers must now fight for services that were more readily available in the 1980s.
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that → ’ → 1980s
How can governments fail to realize that education, the formation of our future society, is the most important business of all?
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education → fail → all
As the late Ontario premier Bill Davis used to say, “If you get education right, everything else in society falls into place.”
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everything → use → place
Despite the current shortfall in education funding, staff members in schools all over the province do their very best to teach our children.
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members → do → children
Like parents and grandparents all over the country, we entrust our precious young people into the care of their new teachers.
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we → entrust → teachers
We can only hope that their schools, like Wilkinson, will be welcoming places, demonstrating inclusivity, goodness, joy and hope.
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schools → hope → inclusivity
The Aporia
