I am dismayed by the announcement that CALC [Cowichan Adult Learning Centre] will be closed at the end of this year.
I am a 63-year-old woman attending CALC and working towards completing my high school. Many young people at CALC are working hard to complete their schooling. They are all hoping to better themselves and oftentimes they are also hoping to better the lives of the infants and toddlers they have.
The SD 79 school board doesn’t seem to see value in educating these students. and has announced that CALC will close at the end of 2016. VIU is offered as an alternative; however VIU is not the solution. VIU doesn’t offer the flexibility CALC provides and will be expensive to the very people who can least afford to pay. These students are often working low-paying shift work positions and are unable to attend regularly scheduled classes.
Education shouldn’t be about getting a financial return on your investment. SD 79, and society in general, needs to invest in the long term value an education provides. One might not see immediate results, but take the time to see how the student has fared in 10 years and compare that to someone who hadn’t had that same education. The higher educated person fares better.
If it really is about dollars and cents, I am willing to have my taxes raised to support that.
Please, if you care about the future of the next generation, demand that SD 79 reverse their decision. It is wrong.
Bonnie Walsh
Mill Bay