Last week the national media reported on a growing movement of parents in the United States who feel teachers do not expect enough from their students.

The movement is starting to express its views by getting members elected to school boards where they demand higher standards from district schools, even to the point of firing school principals who don't deliver.

The teachers affected reacted differently. Some welcomed the emphasis on higher expectations while some resisted, insisting everything was fine and the new emphasis on student performance was draconian.

With the start of school today, the issues of standards and teacher expectations is timely.

It is likely Yellowknife teachers give good grades for their own expectations and standards but underlying their confidence is the role parents play.

How much can a teacher expect from a student whose parents do not value the good study habits, punctuality, and proper social skills education requires? What's to be gained from putting pressure on such a child to perform? How can the parents be brought around? These are questions teachers will be asking themselves everyday with any number of students.

For parents dissatisfied with their child's performance, they must ask themselves how much they are helping the teacher. Do they monitor homework? Do they create a good working environment? Have they met with the teacher on a regular basis to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses?

It only follows that if the parents expect a lot and contribute little, their expectations are out of line.

Teachers are only part of the equation. They can take a leading role, but if parents don't get in step now at the beginning of the school year, everyone's expectations are going to be shattered by the end of the school year.

City staff's three options to deal with the alleged "problem" posed by the decrepid but charming and historic Woodyard remind us of Henry Ford's famous remark about the color of his cars: you can have one in any color you like, so long as it's black.

Similarly, the city is telling Woodyard residents and other supporters that we can demolish it, demolish it or, if we prefer, demolish it.

Whether one sees the Woodyard as a "problem" or not -- and we don't -- it seems unreasonable to impose such a narrow restriction on the debate from the outset. Simple respect for history, for the origins of our city, suggest otherwise.

Frightening as it is to read of a bear invading a Yellowknife home, as one did earlier this month, a tempered response to the threat of more such attacks is in order.

According to the RCMP, bears may not pay regular visits to the city limits, but every now and then a curious individual does show up. In fact, there's nothing unusual about it and this year's visitations are well within the norm.

So let's not race to the gun cabinet the next time we hear a suspicious sound in the garden. Chances are it's the neighbor's dog. And even if it is a bear, the old adage likely holds true -- they're more scared of us than we are of them.