Posts Tagged ‘schools’

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.

National standards – a failed crusade

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, May 3rd, 2016 - 260 comments

National told us “New Zealand elected a Government that promised to introduce national standards so that every single child could read, write, and do maths when they left school.”

Postcard from the “brighter” future

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 am, March 30th, 2016 - 31 comments

Evidence of growing poverty hitting “mid-decile” schools.

NRT: Compare and contrast

Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, November 27th, 2015 - 2 comments

I/S at No Right Turn compares the government’s treatment of two very different schools. “National’s racism and pandering to the rich pervades every aspect of policy.”

The education review

Written By: - Date published: 7:01 am, November 4th, 2015 - 31 comments

National is initiating a review of education. They will of course be excluding consideration of resourcing and their sacred cows (national standards, charter schools). One possible outcome appears to be shifting resources from poorer schools to richer ones.

A schools league table that we need

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, September 4th, 2015 - 15 comments

The Nats have created the (spurious) data for school “league tables” so that parents can be fully informed and make choices, so they tell us. But it seems that parents don’t deserve to be fully informed about the dangerous physical health of schools. That would be just too inconvenient.

School lunches – Key vs data

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, July 6th, 2015 - 29 comments

Key claimed that the number of hungry kids in schools was limited to “the odd one or two”. Everyone knew it was nonsense. Now a survey by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation indicates the true extent of the problem.

It’s great to be a charter school!

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, July 2nd, 2015 - 48 comments

A charter school banks an “operating surplus” of $2.4 million, while state schools remain chronically underfunded.

Schools under pressure

Written By: - Date published: 2:38 pm, May 31st, 2015 - 12 comments

Schools are not adequately funded for the job we ask them to do.

Key’s pre-budget falls flat

Written By: - Date published: 8:29 am, April 15th, 2015 - 8 comments

Key’s attempts to drum up enthusiasm for this year’s upcoming budget have fallen absolutely flat. And as usual, promised funding actually represents an ongoing cut in real terms.

The education horse race

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, April 9th, 2015 - 15 comments

On the one hand the government are pushing for more and more NCEA passes to feed the league tables, and on the other they are acknowledging that those passes are no longer enough to suggest success at Tertiary level and tightening criteria to exclude students. Mixed messages, perverse incentives, a giant shambles.

Parata and the Christchurch schools

Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, February 18th, 2013 - 73 comments

As widely reported, Chirstchurch schools find out their fate today. The damaged Hekia Parata was the wrong person to front this process…

Bullying schools – again

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, July 16th, 2012 - 29 comments

Threats to schools over the contents of their newsletters?  The “brighter future” doesn’t like dissent.

Competition, cooperation, schools

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, June 27th, 2012 - 12 comments

Competition is the wrong model for education, and National’s nonsense “league tables” are going to make it worse…

Big fat Tolley folly

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 35 comments

Comment from an international expert reported in The Herald today reminded me that National Standards aren’t the only ideologically driven folly that Tolley is forcing down the throats of schools. She’s also doing her bit to contribute to a major health problem…

A principal writes

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, February 6th, 2010 - 86 comments

School principal Pat Newman posted the following as a comment on Red Alert. It’s not a polished piece written with distribution in mind, but it’s from the heart, and well worth reproducing here (minor typos corrected). Pat added several further excellent comments, follow the link above. I speak as a principal of a Decile 2 […]

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