Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 03, Aug, 2010
Was Mrs Tolley starting to learn something about her portfolio?
For a moment it appeared that someone was listening...
PLD is highly valued by teachers and principals – and rightly so. Suddenly it's appeared on the government's list of things to do. Are they really listening? Is Mrs Tolley learning?
Nope.
Once again the government is adopting a once over lightly approach that smells strongly of tokenism.
MOE doesn’t have the staffing to offer this service? That’s not surprising given its regional focus on property and finance. Schools are businesses; principals are CEOs. Now, get on with it: sell your brand and balance your books.
Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 17, Feb, 2010
A 2009 MOE report released under the OIA tells the minister that National Standards will “improve [MOE] ability to compare performance across primary and intermediate schools.” The ministry already uses “National Qualification statistics to monitor secondary schools performance.”
The report goes on to detail possible interventions for schools with low achievement. These range from voluntary school improvement initiatives, to statutory managers or even school closure. The ministry plans to expand its use of statutory interventions, rather than saving them as a last resort.
The report asks the minister to “direct the ministry to develop a coherent intervention framework for schools, for an environment where student achievement information will be used to decide which schools warrant intervention.”
Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 11, Feb, 2010
"big sports fields and small class sizes"
This month a new private school opened in Whangarei. Quite a few kids are already enrolled, which begs the question: other than old-style uniforms and dodgy international exams, what does a private school have that a state school does not? The student quoted in the local paper knows: "big sports fields and small class sizes. That's an improvement coming from a class of 33. It means teachers can focus on smaller groups."
Well then. Smaller class size. A 12-year-old knows that it makes a positive difference to her learning. What makes it so hard for the government and other class-size deniers to understand her simple point? Fewer kids, more teacher time, more space to learn, more flexibility, less stretch on shared resources… win, win, win…
Oh, and hats off to Mesdames Roy and Tolley, for the funding boost to private schools that gives them what the state schools are not funded to have: Small classes. And, by the way, private schools have raised their fees (again) this year, on average by 3.5%. More public money plus higher fees, what’s not to like?
Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 17, Sep, 2009
Recently, the NZCER released a report based on students’ own experiences of alternative education (AE).
It was interesting to read how perceptive these kids are about their learning needs. They need one-to-one support. They prefer very small classes. They like the intimate nature of AE centres and feel swamped in mainstream secondary schools.
The report also mentions the range of health and social issues young people in AE are likely to be grappling with: drugs, alcohol, gang affiliations, poverty, learning setbacks, anger… Obviously not all kids in AE experience all these factors. However, most do have several of these ongoing challenges in their lives. They have complex needs which are hard to deal with.
Posted by: Winged Avenger
on 12, Aug, 2009
Dear Ted
I've been following your recent progress with interest. Tough times, I'd have to say... still, Dan's on the mend and the Ozzie captain's been taken out of play - all is not lost.
I've been thinking about all the important aspects of running our great nation and it occurred to me that the new cycle tracks just aren't going to be as much help to our national game as I had hoped - although you might want to take the team for a bit of a ride as part of your bonding programme? Think of the publicity shots... 100% NZ... pure... yeah... right! Good one.
