One thing that is as certain as death and taxes is that the New Zealand public will never be educated by reading articles on education in the New Zealand media. The latest poisonous effort by Rachel Grunwell in the Herald on Sunday was clearly designed to further stupefy the New Zealand public in respect of NCEA.  It was followed by a tendentious poll in which 71% of respondents expressed a lack of confidence in the qualification.  No surprises there really but was interesting was the selection of examples of practical areas that students could get credits in.   (From the article)

“NCEA credits available include:

* Strip and make beds.

* Demonstrate telephone calling and answering techniques. Prepare and cook a cake, a sponge and scones.

* Service guest room toilet and bathroom areas in a commercial establishment.

* Clean motel exterior windows.

* Strip and make beds.

* Demonstrate telephone calling and answering techniques.

* Prepare and cook a cake, a sponge and scones.

* Service guest room toilet and bathroom areas in a commercial establishment.

* Clean motel exterior windows.”

We are clearly supposed to regard these credits with disgust and derision. Why? Perhaps because they are pretty much traditional “women’s work” -   things women can do instinctively and which (according to orthodoxy) require no skill whatsoever.   Even though, for example, the good health of society relies on effective cleaning of public bathrooms, the assumption here is that it has no value.  Personally, I think that these skills are far more worthwhile and socially useful than the presumably more acceptable credits in  neo-liberal economics, financial misdealings and even dubious journalism.