The Deduction Debate

      "New policy allows teachers to deduct marks for late assignments" Says an article posted by Siri Agrell on The Globe and Mail. The article says that students in Grades 1 through 12 have been "getting away with too much for too long." Therefore, the Ministry of Education have implemented a new policy that explicitly allows teachers to deduct marks for assignments that are turned in late for the first time in fifteen years. Being a teen student myself, I'm not a big fan of due dates. However, I feel like it is a fair for teachers to expect students to hand in their assignments before the deadline in order to accomplish organizational skills. Here, I'm going to discuss what I think of this new policy, what it was like before the policy was applied, and how it's impacting students like me.

     The fact that students have been getting away with things far too easily, in my opinion, is quite true. I know of a few examples from past classmates and myself who have not gotten assignments in on time and still got the mark that we would have got if we did hand it in on time. If teachers can deduct marks for late assignments now, that would mean a gradual increase of what would be late assignments now being turned in on time. Before the policy was implemented, students have never had to experience the consequence for late assignments until now. The potential backlash was noted by the teachers and parents. They worried that penalizing the students would scare them away from school. The policy was still carried out, so students had to cope with this strict new change.

     A rule was applied in 1999 when the Ontario ministry introduced a policy that encouraged late assignments to be included in the evaluation of student work habits and not to influence the students' actual grades. Basically, students didn't get penalized for handing in late work. Certain schools even completely banned taking marks from tardy assignments. An interview among 562 teachers was carried out. 62 percent said that it had resulted in a higher level of students missing class, and 84 percent said that they had received an increase in late assignments.

     My opinion on the 1999 policy is that it really didn't accomplish anything in schools. The students weren't learning any organizational skills or habits, so they felt like they could hand in their work whenever they want. If the policy we have today never existed and the no-penalty policy was still in charge, students would have an extremely hard time in future years of school and university or college. They wouldn't have learned how to reach a deadline, so if they have a job to do in a future career, they might not have the skills to complete that task in time. However, the new policy is making students work harder and more efficiently to complete tasks more easily than before; I should know, as the policy has affected me as well.

     I personally think that this is a fair penalty, and that the new policy has the right to do what it can do for all of the right reasons. That may mean that students will have to endure late nights to complete homework, but it helps them become prepared for what lies ahead in their lives. Hard work will always pay off in the long run; There's no doubt about that.

Where I Want to Live

    If I could live anywhere I wanted, that place would need to have certain attributes to fulfill my requirements. What's the point of living somewhere that you don't like? When you leave the house after you're finished school, or when you're moving, you always need to try your best to live somewhere that you can feel comfortable. A variety of things would factor into my decision if I were to live somewhere. Here are some of them.

First up is climate and weather. I like a place that has a nice, warm climate in the summertime, but also a cool, cozy climate in the wintertime. Toronto is a perfect example. The summers are nice and hot, and the winters are cool and fun most of the time. Most people tend to favour summer, but I love both summer and winter for different reasons. I also hate rain, so living in a rainy area wouldn't work with me very well. Luckily, Toronto is quite balanced in terms of sunny and rainy days. So if I were looking for a place to live and I based my decision entirely on climate and weather, I would stay put, right here in Toronto.

     Safety is another concern. If I were to live somewhere I would want to make sure that I'm safe from criminal activity. It's always important to try and settle somewhere safe, so you don't put yourself and others in danger. Places like Detroit or Mexico City are VERY bad choices, as those cities are filled with crime. Toronto, as it is, is already a very safe place. If I'm looking for a new place to move to, I really don't need to go anywhere; Toronto fulfills my expectations again.

     Lastly, I would make sure that the place that I want to live is healthy, meaning not a lot of diseases spreading around. Places like Africa or India have several deadly diseases spreading among it's inhabitants, such as Ebola. Toronto, and Canada as a whole, is considered to be very safe health-wise. we're lucky to not have to deal with deadly diseases such as Ebola or Malaria, and our doctors and hospitals are well-trained and have the knowledge to control certain health-related issues. Toronto once again has everything I need to live a safe, healthy lifestyle.

     If I had to decide somewhere else where I would want to live, my decision would be quite simple: No where. Toronto has everything I need to live a happy life. Of course, it's always fun taking a trip with your family to Disney World or going up north to your cottage where it's always a bit chillier outside, but as for a place where I would want to "set up shop," so to speak, I really don't need to go anywhere. It's impossible to know where you'll end up in your future. Maybe you'll get a job that requires you to travel around a lot, or maybe you'll get a job that you can work from home. There's so many things that could happen, but who knows what will? Only time will tell.