education

Categories under education

The problem with Charter Schools

Written By: - Date published: 12:38 pm, February 11th, 2018 - 296 comments

The Government is moving to stop the creation of new charter schools and require existing charter schools to integrate with the public system.

Doofus of the week Anniversary Weekend edition – Damien Grant

Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, January 29th, 2018 - 43 comments

Damien Grant wins the latest award for penning a column where he claims that University education is a great folly of modern life, contributes surprisingly little to our economic well-being and does not prepare graduates for work.

National’s Standards

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, December 13th, 2017 - 74 comments

It’s great to see Chris Hipkins abolishing ‘National Standards’ as a matter of priority. This policy was nothing but an unfortunate bit of populism from the previous government, and a Prime Minister in John Key who specialised in band-aid solutions to problems that required stitches. While it may have made some people feel better that it […]

National Standards causes decline in educational levels

Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, December 7th, 2017 - 30 comments

The latest Progress in International Reading Literacy Study results suggests that National Standards has been a failure.

First year of study free launched by Prime Minister Ardern

Written By: - Date published: 1:09 pm, December 5th, 2017 - 83 comments

Jacinda Ardern has formally launched the Government’s free tertiary education policy.

Teachers will be dancing in the streets at the latest Education announcement

Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, October 30th, 2017 - 58 comments

Chris Hipkins has announced that significant changes will be made to testing regimes for Primary and Secondary schools.

Free Education – how to pay for it

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, October 28th, 2017 - 85 comments

I am a New Zealander living in Norway lecturing at NTNU, Norway’s largest University. For the last few months I have been thinking about the challenges of providing free post-secondary education. Norway offers free education for all students including international students.

The mess that the new government inherits

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, October 23rd, 2017 - 51 comments

This post is too long to read. Its purpose is to serve as reference material, a “one stop” snapshot of where we are as a country. The mess that the new government inherits. The consequences of the nine long wasted years of National. The magnitude of the challenge ahead of us.

The education mess

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, October 9th, 2017 - 20 comments

The complete mess that National has made of our health system got plenty of airtime during the election campaign. While it received less coverage, the education system is a mess too.

Green Party announces a better deal for students

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, September 14th, 2017 - 8 comments

“Students are the only group in society expected to borrow just to get by. We believe that students should be supported so that they can focus on learning the skills they need to contribute to a smart, innovative economy and a fairer society”

Labour announce affordable tertiary education

Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, August 29th, 2017 - 54 comments

As the Nats stand exposed in another apparent dirty politics hit, Labour gets on with the job of winning the election. Jacinda Ardern today announced new policy: Making tertiary education and training affordable for all.

Nats double down on failed national standards policy

Written By: - Date published: 2:05 pm, August 27th, 2017 - 124 comments

The centerpiece of National’s campaign launch was an education package that doubles down on the demonstrably failed national standards policy. Out of ideas.

Labour’s School Leavers’ Toolkit

Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, August 14th, 2017 - 100 comments

“Labour’s School Leavers’ Toolkit will help students learn to drive, understand practical budgeting, be equipped with workplace skills, and learn how our political system operates through civics education at school. Every secondary school will be resourced to provide these courses.”

Tax cuts or fix this…

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, July 21st, 2017 - 54 comments

Auckland City Councilor Richard Hills yesterday tweeted some of the things we would like to see fixed before a tax cut. You might want to add to the list. Good thing Labour is promising to cancel the cuts and spend billions more on health and education.

National reckon public health and education are a waste of money?

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, July 20th, 2017 - 27 comments

According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.

Labour oppose visa scams – Nats would rather have the quick bucks

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, June 13th, 2017 - 35 comments

Labour is right to stress the many advantages that immigration brings to NZ, and right to address the major way in which it is being abused – student visa scams. Bill English has made National’s position clear, they would rather have the quick bucks.

Nats propose centrally planned economy

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, May 12th, 2017 - 21 comments

Not even joking.

Parata fleeing education mess

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 24th, 2017 - 37 comments

Parata can believe whatever brings her comfort of course, but the fact is that this National government has made, as usual, a mess of education.

“Dumbing down a generation”

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, March 21st, 2017 - 137 comments

An excellent piece by Simon Collins in the weekend Herald. NZ’s educational scores in international comparisons are locked in a downward spiral. National’s ideology has failed, while we ignore successful models.

Nat branch chair calls for “corporal punishment”

Written By: - Date published: 6:27 am, March 21st, 2017 - 38 comments

Bill English should have spoken out to dissociate his party from Price’s archaic views. Why hasn’t he?

Call to teach consent in schools

Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, March 14th, 2017 - 127 comments

Yesterday evening saw a well attended rally at Parliament to protest rape culture in NZ, and call for the teaching of consent in schools.

Free speech vs hate speech

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, March 2nd, 2017 - 154 comments

Auckland Uni is in a difficult position – a classic dilemma with two important principles at stake.

Two big policy fails

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, February 24th, 2017 - 10 comments

This is what you get with a hasty, reactive, “top down” policy process.

The cost of education

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, January 28th, 2017 - 14 comments

National needs to do something to address spiraling education costs in both the secondary and tertiary sectors.

Privatised Education Strikes Again.

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, January 25th, 2017 - 20 comments

The problems we have identified many times, with privatisation of essential services, continue.

This pattern of Kiwi’s exploiting migrants is shameful

Written By: - Date published: 8:17 am, December 14th, 2016 - 88 comments

A depressing feature in The Herald this morning explores the exploitation of migrant workers. The same pattern as the private sector’s treatment of foreign students. This paints a shameful picture of New Zealand. Greed has made us forget who we were.

Charter schools fiddling their results

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, December 9th, 2016 - 110 comments

Charter schools are fiddling their results. Just another example of the way that education for profit is all about profit, with education hardly getting a look in. All of National’s ideological interventions in education are failures.

Massive education fail

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 30th, 2016 - 45 comments

Thanks National: “NZ kids worst at maths in English-speaking world”.

What skills do we need in the age of fake news?

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, November 23rd, 2016 - 131 comments

Revelations surrounding the role of fake news in the American election have been stunning. And the critical thinking skills that democracy needs to survive this trend are under attack in our education system.

Tax-cuts or… Education

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, October 28th, 2016 - 6 comments

National’s dangling tax cuts, but there are far more important things to be spending public money on.  Today: Education.

unCOOL

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, October 17th, 2016 - 6 comments

In August Hekia Parata announced her new COOL solution, that distinctly isn’t what it says on the tin.

Now’s your chance to submit your feedback on her proposal.