Posted by: Observer
on 09, Jul, 2010
Associate education minister and trainee space cadet, Hon Heather Roy, has stumbled on the shambles that passes for an education policy in England and is advocating it here. Now anyone who has had the sad experience of teaching in a state school in England knows that it is not a system to emulate. Basically, the English system runs for the benefit of the elite private schools Eton and Harrow etc (though they call them public) and state schools are treated as either whipping boys or political footballs or both.
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 09, Dec, 2009
Tagged in:
vouchers ,
Tomorrow's Schools ,
teachers ,
privatisation ,
private schools ,
power ,
politics ,
Performance pay ,
education spending ,
education ,
Don Brash ,
2025 taskforce
Don Brash is famous for two things
By ToilandTrouble
- His willingness to use race in order to advance his campaign for political power in 2005, and:
- His ability to survive for many weeks on a diet of corned beef and frozen peas.
He is also an economist and we know how many of them it takes to change a light bulb (none, the darkness will cause the light bulb to change itself). In sum he is overwhelmingly under-qualified to comment on educational matters. That doesn't matter though because economists are immune to intellectual humility, untroubled by their own ignorance and always ready to draw a crooked line from an unproved assumption to a forgone conclusion.
Posted by: blogger
on 30, Oct, 2009
By Winged Avenger
Q. when is a voucher not a voucher?
A. when it’s a bulk fund.
Q. when is a voucher also not a voucher?
A. when it means the removal of zoning.
Q. when is a voucher good for education?
A. so far, never…
So, what is a voucher?
“Vouchers” describes various systems that place school funding in the hands of students and families. The idea is that each student is entitled to access education up to a set value each year. This value is issued in the form of a voucher. The student takes the voucher to their chosen school and redeems it for their education.
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.
