Tags >> teachers
Posted by:
on Aug 31, 2010
I have been playing around with the Reserve Bank Inflation Calculator and it has thrown up some interesting statistics.
My calculations show that teachers rather than being disconnected have been sidelined. Mr Key says we have had significant pay increases over the last 10 years however what is significant is the fact that this has been insignificant in real terms when adjusted for inflation.
Compared are 2000 at top of basic scale $50300 with 2010 top of basic scale $68980
Salary for 2010:
2000 - 2010 CPI adjusted is $65,000
2000 - 2010 Wage increases adjusted is $70,750
2000 - 2010 Food price increases adjusted is $69,000
2000 - 2010 Housing price increase adjusted is $105,000
Averaging these out is $77,000
Salaries have kept pace with food but that is it. In real terms secondary school teachers' salaries are barely keeping up with inflation.
In terms of food and housing someone teaching in 2000 would need to be earning $87,000 in 2010 just to keep pace with inflation.
Actually no New Zealand Government has given secondary teachers a decent pay increase in the last decade. So far it has been a catch up for inflation. Increases in productivity (NCEA workload etc ) have NOT been rewarded.
Posted by: Max
on Aug 17, 2010
Teaching is a profession in crisis, particularly in my area, Computing. The problem that we face is that as the technology and the skills we wish our young people to have, progress and change, we need teachers who can inspire, lead, and teach these skills. How do we attract teachers with these skills into the profession.
Parents would, I am sure, agree with me that computing skills will open doors and give access to lucrative jobs and opportunities for their children. We want our children prepared for the future, we want them inspired and enabled to use the new technologies that are available today or will be in their futures.
In computing we have a whole set of new areas for assessment for our fifteen year olds from Programming and Computer Science to Digital Infrastructure and Electronics. These new areas will spread to 16 and 17 year olds over the next two years. These are vital skills in a sector that will help New Zealand's global competitiveness.
Skills Shortage Slows Recovery summarises "discussions with information and communications industry leaders and chief information officers (CIOs) across Australia and New Zealand" showing how the IT skills shortage is slowing the economic recovery.
In October last year the Ministry of Economic Development conducted a survey into the IT skills shortage - ICT Industry Skills Gaps and Ultra Fast Broadband Roll-out Skill Requirements - and found that “83% of companies surveyed found difficulties in recruiting qualified, skilled and experienced staff, and it was having a medium to major effect on their businesses.” Brett O'Riley the NZICT Chief Executive had this to say when the report was released. "These roles are essential to New Zealand's drive to improve productivity and also generate foreign exchange."
Posted by: Cynic
on Aug 17, 2010
Been following stories and tweets about the name and shame approach of the Los Angeles Times’ article, “Who’s teaching L.A.’s kids?” (August 14th).
It led me to some interesting and valuable research including the IES report Error Rates in Measuring Teacher and School Performance Based on Student Test Score Gains:
Our results are largely driven by findings from the literature and new analyses that more than 90 percent of the variation in student gain scores is due to the variation in student-level factors that are not under the control of the teacher. Thus, multiple years of performance data are required to reliably detect a teacher's true long-run performance signal from the student-level noise. In addition, our reported sample requirements likely understate those that would be required for an ongoing performance measurement system, because our analysis ignores other realistic sources of variability, such as the nonrandom sorting of students to classrooms and schools (Schochet & Chiang, 2010, p.35)
Posted by: Rob
on Aug 12, 2010
PPTA members rejected the Ministry of Education (MOE) pay offer of 1.5% and 1% with clawbacks on existing teaching conditions.
Teachers also expressed frustration and disappointment with the MOE's refusal to negotiate on any of the improved conditions they requested.
Here's a calculation that works with the one thing the MOE actually offered teachers - the so-called pay rise.
Posted by: Cynic
on Jul 23, 2010
In 2005 ERO came up with the 20% gap - no data, no proof, no evidence. In nearly every government and education press release since then you will find this expanded myth - that teachers and schools are "failing 1 in 5" students.
Now ERO are re-using the 20% in their latest report - this is not a fact but a convenient reusable guesstimate:
"As a result, little statistical data is provided in this report. Schools are evaluated against highly variable contexts in terms of the different proportions of students with high needs they have and the range of needs these students may exhibit."(p.12)
How can ERO bring about change and improvement in the sector when their strategy appears so negatively focused on blame and bringing schools and teaching into disrepute. A strategy that values teachers, values schools, and aims to work together to improve one of the better functioning education systems in the world, would surely be better placed to promote successful learning. Together we can make it the best education system for all students.
A strategy that says there are schools that are fabulous role models, we will work out why, perhaps parts of their model will work elsewhere. There are schools not coping, we will resource them to investigate why and work together to improve learning opportunities for students, teachers and school communities.
NAH way too hard - let's drive up the crises, let's diss the teachers, diss the schools, and put the jackals out to feed on the bones of an education system that was doing reasonably well but nobody wanted to defend.
Posted by: Rob
on Jul 22, 2010
We wonder how many Treasury officials send their kids to state schools or use our public health services? We wonder how many have lived on benefits or had jobs that got their hands dirty, or in which they have had to face the consequences of the stupid policy proposals they seek to inflict on the population?
Treasury advice to the National government on funding for education includes the proposal to remove the automatic adjustments to base funding which occur through demographic and other projected changes and fund these changes within the allocation of new money each year or make a case for additional funding on a year by year basis.
School rolls are projected to rise to about 2024. These are demographic changes which increase operations funding and staffing levels in a predictable manner. Currently the funding for school staffing and operations is automatically adjusted to fund the increased cost this creates.
Posted by: Helen Kelly
on Jul 20, 2010
Tagged in: working conditions , unions , teachers , sick leave , power , politics , NZCTU , Kate Wilkinson , John Key , holidays , Employment Relations Act , employment
You will all be aware by now of the employment law changes announced at the weekend.
It is our understanding that all these changes are subject to the full select committee process but they can at any time invoke urgency as they did in December 2008.
These changes come on top of the original 90 day law in December 2008 rushed through under urgency, the limits being proposed to how unions conduct strike ballots, the requirement to agree on meal and refreshment break times, the axing of the Pay and Employment Equity Unit, the cut in union education funding, and the cuts in ACC entitlements.
Below we briefly summarise the changes announced which, in almost all cases, unions will oppose.
Posted by: Observer
on Jul 19, 2010
According to John Key teachers aren't interested in kids and learning. Look at this quote from his speech to the National Party last weekend
 Friends, this Government has made a choice. That choice is to put the future of our children and this country ahead of the interests of those who resist change even when the status quo had been so clearly failing our children .
Thanks John. Nice to know you care and understand. It makes me think the unionists protesting outside are on to something with that rat image not only does it bear a passing resemblance to the man himself but it links back to Tolley's visit to the PPTA executive when she read them a story about Riley the Rat who learned "how to be happy with less".
Posted by: Cynic
on Jun 9, 2010
"As a parent I would not be happy if my school was using money that should be going to the education of my children for sprinklers. I send my kids to school to get educated, not to have a shower." (Anne Tolley)
But sending kids to a burned-down school, or even worse losing a student or teacher's life, is OK?
First the Ministry suggests that schools remove rubbish bins from their premises in order to prevent fires then they suggest "schools that cannot afford sprinklers should install security systems " (and how would security be cheaper in money and lives than sprinkler systems?). And what about prevention being better than the cure - school arson attacks cost more than $30 million in the last 10 years - (and that's just dollars, not lost school/teacher/student work, not the loss of a community facility, not the people costs) did those schools have sprinkler systems?
Anne Tolley is a parent and she is the Minister of Education, the buck stops with her, not her ministry (despite media pitches to drive up sales for the $327 report from TransTasman).
Don't drop and roll for cover with glib comments Anne - you should ensure every school is funded to install sprinkler systems and not treat students, teachers and communities in such an off-hand cavalier way.
Posted by: Rob
on Jun 3, 2010
Canada, but only Richmond in Alberta. Some cities/areas/states in the US (e.g. Cleveland, California, Illinois, NY). In Cleveland the result is classes of 45 students.
However, others parts of the US (e.g. Colorado) are choosing publicly not to cut numbers, using the stimulus funding the Obama administration has made available to support their schools.
France, though it's right of centre government has for 3 years had a programme of reducing teacher numbers as part of its education 'reform' package, so how much is due to the economic situation is moot.
In each of these places cuts are accompanied by a public outcry.
The New South Wales state government is preparing to shed public servants but it is not clear if this will affect teachers at all as it is targeted to 'back room positions'. Do I hear an echo??
The UK government has just has announced cuts of 6.2 billion pounds to public services for 2010/11, but has specifically excluded schools from those cuts.
Back to Canada - Ontario's right of centre government has declared it's intention to have a 2 year pay freeze after current contracts expire, but once again there is no talk of cutting teaching numbers.
Ireland has cut pay rates for public servants and teachers, but there are a couple of points to be made here.
1 Ireland is an economic basket case! Didn't that nice Mr Key say that our economy is in much better shape than most overseas countries. Aren't we expected to return to surpluses three years earlier than predicted last year? Are we really being asked to compare ourselves with places like Ireland and Greece? Is there something you would like to tell us Mr English?
2 On the basis of ppp-adjusted salaries NZ rates would still need a 28% increase to match in real terms what basket case Ireland is now paying its teachers!
So, very few western countries are cutting teaching positions, even if they are cutting back on public sector jobs generally. Most OECD countries value their public education systems and the people in them and are continuing to invest in them.
Oh, and by the way Tony - PPTA's claim is for 4% for a one year term of settlement, not 12% over three years. Your spin doctors should not change basic facts in their rotations. When they can't don't have the facts its called sloppy. When they change them deliberately its called lying.
|
