Posted by: Cynic
on 21, May, 2012
Tagged in:
working conditions ,
teaching ,
teachers ,
staffing ,
public education ,
professional learning and development ,
Hekia Parata ,
funding mechanisms ,
education spending ,
education politics ,
Class size
Just been reading about Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam - I suspect he and Hekia Parata might end up having some frustrations in common.
But one of his biggest frustrations has been realizing that running government isn’t always just like running a business.
...
Early this year, Haslam unveiled a plan to give school districts the flexibility to adjust class sizes, which would free up money to increase pay for teachers in tough-to-teach subjects or difficult-to-staff positions.
But the plan went down in flames.
Democrats and the state’s largest teachers’ union relentlessly attacked the plan, polls showed almost nine in 10 surveyed thought class sizes should be kept the same or made smaller, and even Republicans couldn’t bring themselves to support the governor’s proposal.
At the local level, school officials were worried that any money saved from raising the average class size would give elected school boards and county commissions reason to reduce education budgets instead of plugging the money into better teacher pay.
Missouri News Horizon
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In New Zealand Hekia Parata has announced changes the staffing ratio - and says it's OK folks - schools can still keep class sizes the same, it's just a funding ratio. The "freed up" money is going to improve teaching quality.
Well let us unpack that just a teeny bit:
Posted by: PPTAweb
on 09, Feb, 2012
Tagged in:
teaching ,
teachers ,
students ,
research ,
privatisation ,
PPTA ,
MOE ,
Ministry of Education ,
John Banks ,
Hekia Parata ,
Class size ,
ACT Party
Everyone seems to be back to their 'usual' lives. Teachers and students back at school, workers back at work, including me, so that means update the blog - as no elves updated it for me during my own summer(?) break.
Politicians are back prevaricating and obfusticating and some of their advisors advice appears to do the same. The announcements on charter schools, and class size - and the Ministry of Education briefing to the incoming Minister - are depressing examples.
So to advice from Bertrand Russell and the Skepticblog and referenced in the title of this blog - don't take people's (politicians in particular) word and check everything twice:
