Welcome to the blog of the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers' Association / Te Wehengarua (PPTA), .... A blog that's not afraid to ruffle some feathers
Nothing much to do with education - but everything to do with stereotypes and, of course, what is published under the heading 'research'.
The trigger was the ongoing conversation in this office about stereotypes: gender, age, ability, ethnicity, technological prowess, looks i.e. physical characteristics (eye of the beholder of course) ... good schools, bad schools, good teachers, bad teachers, unions .... got the picture?
I described PPTA as being 'apolitical' recently and then immediately thought "oops don't think I used the right word", Kevin Bunker (PPTA General Secretary) always carefully describes PPTA "as not supporting any particular political party". So to Wikipedia I turned
"The state or quality of being apolitical can be the apathy and/or the antipathy towards all political affiliations. Being apolitical can also refer to situations in which people take an unbiased position in regard to political matters."
Decisions are made by those who make themselves heard ... and those who vote
Not only is it election time where, next month, we get to have our say on what the future of New Zealand will look like and under whose leadership; but over the next fortnight secondary teachers will have the opportunity to vote on the leadership of PPTA. There are two nominations for president and three nominations for junior vice president (JVP).
There is a saying around elections along the lines of "we get what we deserve" - i.e if you don't vote you'll just have to put up with the result!
The leadership of PPTA, an incredibly important voice for teachers and public education, is too important to leave to chance.
