Mickysavage on Tolley’s standards meetings

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, March 5th, 2010 - 10 comments
Categories: education - Tags:

mickysavage reports on Anne Tolley’s meeting in West Auckland. He relates her complete inability to understand the issues. He concludes that national standards was a dog whistle policy that in action will actually only consist of spending $50 million a year on reports with pretty graphs and standardising grading for writing. Everything else is already standardised. There will be no improvements in education standards.<more>

10 comments on “Mickysavage on Tolley’s standards meetings ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. dave brown 1
    5 March 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Why are we doing it? Its not WE, its THEY.
    So schools can be ranked and failed, closed, and 30% poor teachers sacked as parents move their kids to privatised, subsidised schools. This is happening in Amerikkka.
    Gives rich kids big subsidies by shifting funding from public sector while rich moms and dads get tax cuts. No poor kids left behind get farmed out to PPP social sector, boot camps and 3 striked into private jails.
    Sack the banksters.

  2. ghostwhowalksnz 2
    5 March 2010 at 6:00 pm

    What would we expect from a Napier motelier. Has has the mind set of 4star motel that thinks that fluffier towels and chocolates on the pillow will upgrade her to a five star hostelry.
    A check list of student achievement and teachers regarded as no more than service workers pumping the students with standardised learning. This is what happens in Japan and Korea and they are happy with it. But its not acceptable in NZ and parents would revolt if tried here ( let alone the students)

  3. side show bob 3
    5 March 2010 at 10:37 pm

    DB the trouble is you are a fossil, Schools are ranked and failed, despite the musing of teachers and union lackeys.Stop using “rich kids” as some excuses for covering your arse. My kids ( I’m a farmer and could be consider a “rich bastard” ) have been to poor schools but still beat those that have gone to “rich schools”. You defeat your own purpose fool, money dose not buy brains or learning, teachers do that.!!!!!!!!

    • mickysavage 3.1
      5 March 2010 at 10:47 pm

      Sideshow

      I prefer DB’s analysis. He is quite right.

      Tolley’s comments suggest that 30% of primary school teachers should be sacked. National Policy will create winner and loser schools and the loser schools will eventually have to be closed.

      Rich schools have had $35m pumped into them at the expense of adult education. Current indications are that the nats will give tax cuts to the rich and the poor will get bugger all.

      Penal policy seems to be aimed at increasing the rate of incarceration and the government is intent on privatising prisons.

      I have been to poor schools. I prefer that every school has the resources to teach their pupils properly.

  4. Irascible 4
    5 March 2010 at 10:45 pm

    This story from the USA says it all… National Standards testing is a failure. The architect of the whole scheme has decided that her advice, her policies were based on faulty logic and arguments.
    So why does NZ persist in believing that they are worth introducing here?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505543.html

  5. Ron 5
    6 March 2010 at 6:59 pm

    Anyone point me to a schedule of Tolley’s tour?

    • mickysavage 5.1
      6 March 2010 at 8:10 pm

      Can’t help sorry Ron. I checked the Beehive website and the National Party website but there is no sign of an itinerary. Could it be that Tolley does not want Kiwis to know when she is going to be in their area wanting to talk to them about National Standards?

      • Ron 5.1.1
        8 March 2010 at 7:49 am

        I checked those places, as well, MickyS. I think you are probably right. Small metings of NACT supporters so she can get a couple of column inches in the local papers. I’ll talk to the local Nat office.

  6. Paul3 6
    6 March 2010 at 7:31 pm

    Side Show Bob teachers do make a very big difference, but it is actually the socio economic background of children and the cultural capital that this brings that determines just how much a teacher or school can do, or at least the amount of time that it takes to help children learn. National Standards will confirm this – look for low decile schools (many who do an amazing job) to be over represented in the bottom half of National Standards League Tables – in fact pick up any issue of North & South which ranks schools and you will see this now.

  7. despairing 7
    7 March 2010 at 2:14 pm

    ‘Tolley’s Standards’ is a complete misnomer

    she hasn’t any