First it was Glen Allan, last week was Arthur. Thieves took off with historical plaques for reasons unknown.
The people behind those plaques are understandably upset.
The historic plaque commemorating the Queen’s Bush Settlement and the Black pioneers who settled there in the 1800s had a nice, sheltered home in a quiet Glen Allan Park. The original dedication was in 2008, with plentiful descendants and community members present. It was a gorgeous day if we recall correctly. The sign is no more.
The Arthur District Agricultural Society plaques reflected 100 years of service to “the cause of agriculture” during the period of 1856-1956.
Built history and historical markers act like an education program across Ontario and the country. Visitors, descendants and locals alike have passed through those gates for nearly 70 years. All of that ended last week and we are a poorer community for that.
Regrettably, these won’t be the last times anguish follows such tomfoolery. Goofy kids, outright thieves and spiteful people have always been a part of society. While these words may hold no sway with the criminal element, let’s have a conversation at home, church or in schools about respecting others and their deeds.
We talk a lot in this country about taking pride in what communities have to offer. The work of volunteers and generations of families has brought us to this point and for the most part it is a mighty awesome place to live. Historical markers celebrate that history and behind that are people doing their part to make the world a better place.
Stealing history is a crime and it should be treated as such.
Of Coles and Cliffs
It was a sketchy stretch in a misspent youth.
Entering into the teen years there was a whole lot more on our mind than school. While grades were never an issue up until that point, there was a time when the lack of attention caught up with us.
Rarely one to get too busy with the inner workings of our education, Dad came home one night with a solution. It was a plastic bag full of various Coles Notes on English class literature. That was a subtle hint to step it up.
Coles was the Canadian version, similar to CliffsNotes that gained favour with students south of the border. Our first impression was that this was akin to cheating, but it was really just a primer on essential themes and took the edge off thoroughly reading classics – whether Shakespeare or popular novels of the 20th century. We can’t recall if it helped grades much, but seem to remember we didn’t read Coles Notes with any greater enthusiasm.
Years later, as our social circle expanded and various employees landed on our doorstep, we began to recognize that misspent youth more clearly. A few would quote and visit passages of interest.
We missed out on some important concepts and timeless themes that may have helped in unravelling the mysteries of people we have encountered in days since.
A half century later, the short-cut to an education has grown far more insidious.
Educators now face grading papers clearly written using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. A paper can easily be purchased online and handed in as a personally written treatise on scores of subjects. While students may find the practice rewarding, (if not caught using AI) they are missing out.
There is some irony with that, since the internet was supposed to be about expanding horizons and access to knowledge. Instead, on some subjects anyway, the world view is narrowing into a pattern of group think based on whatever result a computer drums up.
The larger tragedy though is an experience missed and replaced by a virtual flicker. Reading, understanding and then expressing what you think, or how a character made you react – that is the priceless opportunity great literature affords.
Don’t waste it.
