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: blogger
on 17, Jul, 2009
By the Winged Avenger
It's not unusual for people who have been out of schools for 25 years (and more) to whinge about declining education standards. Before they get too carried away with knocking 21st century schools, perhaps they should take some time to think about their education system - the one that left them unable to tell the difference between a donation and a fee; between an act of choice and one of compulsion.
For now, though, let's try and keep it simple, at least for the sake of the less well educated amongst us; and, to be fair to our teachers of yesteryear, for those who seem to have forgotten much of what they were so painstakingly taught.
