Open mike 26/03/2010

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 26th, 2010 - 16 comments
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16 comments on “Open mike 26/03/2010 ”

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  1. Dan 1
    26 March 2010 at 7:12 am

    Question from a colleague for which I do not have an answer: do private schools and kura kupapa have to participate in National Standard tests?
    If not, why not? They are hardly National Standards if a significant cross section are left out?

    • prism 1.1
      26 March 2010 at 9:38 am

      This morning Pita Sharples was talking about Nat Standards and kura kaupapa. Apparently they have a year to adjust to teaching to the NatSt. Not sure about private schools but they are probably oriented to conforming to tests and accept this new one.

      Yesterday I heard someone talking about the testing in Britain which has been going for a while. Apparently they think its net outcomes are negative. It sounds as if it results in teaching to the average, possibly results in teaching to the mediocre, as brighter, more gifted students don’t get the attention and special help they need, and neither do the strugglers. The Nat St. line and meeting its requirements is the main teaching objective obviously and so probably ends up dumbing down everyone!

      • Bored 1.1.1
        26 March 2010 at 4:21 pm

        There’s a line of thought that the education system is supposed to equip students for their future employment and life skills .all I see is a system that currently sets out to please everybody and satisfy nobody. I see an education system that does not know what it needs to do to supply good workers, good citizens, and rounded people. It would seem that the employers demand more and more whilst avoiding the costs of training, that education has become a profit industry where the students pay to get useless qualifications.

        When it comes to standards I see a class of parents who push their children to success whilst those without that push fall by the wayside. I meet a lot of the “failures’ and never cease to be pleasantly surprised by their ability and intelligence. I don’t have any answers, just lots of questions and a gut feeling that we have the whole thing arse about face.

  3. prism 3
    26 March 2010 at 9:45 am

    I thought Trevor Mallard spoke well and made his points well on interview with Morning Report Nat Radio this a.m. Was to do with noticeable improvements in learning stats after extra teacher training he instituted.

    captcha – gun – as in is this a gun politician to watch!

  4. Anne 4
    26 March 2010 at 11:03 am

    @ Dan
    It’s my understanding that private schools will not be part of the NS testing regime. Something to do with their status as schools independent of the state run system therefore cannot be forced to participate. Since the Nats send their little darlings to posh, private schools (they are the only ones who can afford it) isn’t that convenient! No, no, no… we’re not having our children subjected to National Standards. That’s for State kids only. But we’re happy to take the the $35 mill. of State school money that our pollies have given us.

    • dan 4.1
      26 March 2010 at 12:19 pm

      I would like the philosophy of this enunciated by the NACT party. Not only do the private schools head off for the baccalaureate and Cambridge exams and thereby undermine the NCEA system, rubbish the unit standards that were meant to create an assessment system that catered for all learners, and now insist their young folk need no more labelling from National Standards than the name of the school they went to!!!
      This scam encapsulates this sad group of politicians totally. Mr Holyoake would not have been impressed. Weasel Wodney has slipped more ACT philosophy through, and 95% of voters did not vote for that fellow.

  5. Anne 5
    26 March 2010 at 11:20 am

    I would be interested to know if Anne Tolley’s children went to private schools? And what about her grandchildren? Does anyone know? No details (for the protection of the children) just whether they are private school educated.

  6. Tigger 6
    26 March 2010 at 11:30 am

    Key is booed in Levin.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3511298/Prime-Minister-John-Key-heckled-in-Levin#share

    Given his pathological need to be liked, this ought to cut him deep. He’s used to being booed in the House, but in the street?

  7. gobsmacked 7
    26 March 2010 at 12:05 pm

    Here’s a shocking story: When Nats Attack … a kids’ blog exposes the heartless bullies!

    “He [Key] came to say hello to some of us and he kicked two people out of their chairs so Mr Guy and Mr Key could have some photos by the school.”

    http://room2rocks10.blogspot.com/2010/03/prime-minster-is-at-poroutawhao-school.html

    (Well, if Charles Chauvel on a plane is ‘news’ … )

    • Tigger 7.1
      26 March 2010 at 3:38 pm

      Great find gob! It’s not clear who got thrown out of the chairs though. Most likely it was Maori, beneficiaries or some other group National loves to push around.

      I was interested in the bizarre story Key told them:
      “Mister John Key told us a story about a rich man how had a daughter and for her 21 birthday he would invite all the boys. The man told the boys that if they swam to the other side of his swimming and make it through his crocodiles he would either give he 1 million dollars or he would let them marry his daughter. One of the boys got pushed into the water and swam to the other side and when he got out the man asked him what he wanted the boy said ” i want to know how pushed me in the pool. Mister John Key told that story because the boy gave it 100% and he want us to give it 100%.”

      First, the guy gave it 100% because he had no choice, so the moral of the story is hardly ‘give it 100%’. It’s more, ‘push or you will be pushed’.
      Second, why is the guy marrying off his daughter? Arranged marriages? Offering your dauther or money? What kind of world does Key live in? Jokes are one thing but a morality tale should probably not be immoral (by Kiwi standards).

  8. Uenuku Kai-Tangata 8
    26 March 2010 at 4:53 pm

    John Taylor Gatto, former US teacher, winner of the New York state teacher of the year (twice) and US national teacher of the year, author of many books on education and the person who coined the phrase “dumbing down” in his book “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (1992)” has some very interesting observations on standardised schooling and standardised testing. Gatto asserts that the modern western style of schooling is a derivation of the Prussian system – designed to create automatons who respond to authority instead of individual critical thinkers.

    For more information about Gatto’s observations listen to two interviews he did recently with Jan Irvin of Gnostic Media.com

    Podcast #068 – Another Brick in the Wall, part 1 – An Interview with John Taylor Gatto
    http://gnosticmedia.podomatic.com/enclosure/2010-03-05T00_01_15-08_00.mp3

    Podcast #069 – Another Brick in the Wall, part 2 – An Interview with John Taylor Gatto
    http://gnosticmedia.podomatic.com/enclosure/2010-03-15T00_11_48-07_00.mp3

    Hei kona ra
    Uenuku