PPTA

(September 2011) Dated February 2011. Letter from PPTA to Education and Science Select Committee regarding technology delivery in New Zealand secondary schools.

(August 2011) The New Zealand public education system was once the envy of the world.But in the last 25 years the quality of the system in our schools has been eroded by amultitude of ill-conceived trials, pilots, policy reversals and endless political tampering. It’s time to tell our politicians to put the bats down and allow good ideas the time and space to work.

(2 February 2011) The first week back at school. It’s an exciting time for senior high school students. It’s a time when the world starts to appear larger and closer… a time of recognising what is possible… a time to start seizing opportunities.Our teachers play a key role in steering students towards those opportunities, then giving themthe grounding and confidence they need to take full advantage.But teachers have returned to school wondering why so little confidence is being shown in them.Over the past few months, the government has made no attempt to enter into constructivedialogue over the secondary teachers’ claim.This claim is as much about conditions like class sizes and recognising the importance of extra-curricular work – eg sports coaching and fostering artistic talent – as it is about pay.Teachers nurture the talents of our most precious resource – our kids. If we don’t get behind our teachers, what of the future of those kids, and the country?If you lose them at 16, you risk losing them forever. Advertisement - STCA campaign 2011

(30 January 2011) The first week back at school. It’s an exciting time for senior high school students. It’s a time when the world starts to appear larger and closer… a time of recognising what is possible… a time to start seizing opportunities.Our teachers play a key role in steering students towards those opportunities, then giving themthe grounding and confidence they need to take full advantage.But teachers have returned to school wondering why so little confidence is being shown in them.Over the past few months, the government has made no attempt to enter into constructivedialogue over the secondary teachers’ claim.This claim is as much about conditions like class sizes and recognising the importance of extra-curricular work – eg sports coaching and fostering artistic talent – as it is about pay.Teachers nurture the talents of our most precious resource – our kids. If we don’t get behind our teachers, what of the future of those kids, and the country?If you lose them at 16, you risk losing them forever. Advertisement - STCA campaign 2011

(17 January 2011) PPTA is seriously concerned at the brazen attack on the credibility of the NCEA,New Zealand's indigenous school qualification system, by Auckland Grammar in itsannouncement that it is directing all Year 11 students (with only minor exceptions) todo Cambridge International exams instead of NCEA. Auckland Grammar appears tobe forgetting that it is a state school funded by the taxpayers of New Zealand.

(January 2011) NZ PPTA advertisement. Building a nation’s collective knowledge is like building a hothouse in which economic growth can flourish.  Around the world, the countries that believe in investing in education understand the central importance of teachers. In South Korea, they refer to their teachers as ‘nation builders’. In Finland and Denmark, they have made huge investments in the recruitment, training and support given to teachers.The economic downturn has hit these nations, too. But they believe the long term gains outweigh the price they will pay if they downgrade their education systems.In New Zealand at present, we are not seeing such leadership or vision. “There is no money” cries a government that then sprays large amounts in the direction of Hollywood studios, a Rugby World Cup party venue, a failed finance company and private schools.Attracting great teachers for our children, and keeping them in New Zealand, costs money. How can the government that promised us all ‘a brighter future’ not make that investment?

(November 2010)  Reality cheques: New Zealand’s Private Schools $35 Million; Warner Brothers $30 Million; South Canterbury Finance Investors $1.6 Billion, Rugby’s Party Central $9.8 Million; Public education?    “There is no more money,” Education Minister Anne Tolley told the secondary teachers in response to their claim with the Ministry of Education.  Teachers are well aware of the difficulties brought on by the economic downturn. It’s a time to stick to the basics.  But while the government says it’s time for everyone to embrace austerity, the same government’s actions say something different.  It appears things are not so austere for a select few.  Perhaps it is more a matter of priority in how you spend what you have?  Public education is not for the few; it is for all New Zealanders.  Secondary teachers see investment in education as a basic priority we should all be sticking to, now more than ever. That’s why most of our claim is about conditions aimed at improving our students’ education, like keeping classes to 30 or less, having access to decent professional learning for their teachers and giving them time to do the job. That’s also why we are asking for an education strategy to be put in place that will protect and advance the interests of the 290,000 secondary students who attend our state schools each year.  What happens when you cheapen and neglect a public education system?  You risk your country’s future. Teachers will be lost to other professions and better paid jobs overseas, while the education of a generation of young New Zealanders will be compromised, with potentially dire consequences. Is that a risk we want to take? 

(7 October 2010) Dear Secondary School Parents,I write to you as a secondary school teacher and as president of the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA).  I write with feelings of exasperation, concern and resolve – having tried hard to settle the PPTA claim with the Ministry of Education over these past months. I’ve been teaching for 28 years – I love the job, the students, and I enjoy doing something socially useful. That’s the way it is for most teachers – many of us are parents ourselves. What we do expect from the government however is a measure of support and a shared commitment to New Zealand’s public education system.  Despite what you may have heard, one party sat down with a will to negotiate meaningfully and openly, and that was the PPTA. We laid our cards on the table. We seek a set of conditions we know will strengthen secondary education in this country and develop vital support for a recovering economy

(September 2010)  Education is one of the strongest aspects of a robust and successful community.The government needs to invest in education and look after the working conditions for secondary teachers and the learning conditions for students.PPTA members have asked for a fair and reasonable settlement package that:• Values secondary teachers• Supports recruitment and retention• Promotes safer school environments• Reduces class sizes• Creates better learning conditions for studentsA crisis created by decision makers is one we can choose to avoid right now.

(1 October 2009)  Photograph - giant raspberry blown at ACE cuts  

(1 October 2009)  Successive New Zealand governments survived two world wars and global depression – without having to cut night classes, CLASS (community learning association through schools) president Maryke Fordyce said.Her dismay at the current government’s plans to slash 80% of adult community education (ACE) funding was reflected by participants at PPTA’s annual conference – with an attempt to blow the world’s biggest raspberry.

(30 September 2009)  Adult education, curriculum support days and teacher staffing will all be casualties of National’s plan to cut costs in the secondary sector. Education minister Anne Tolley found herself faced with a sea of yellow placards saying ‘don’t let the sun set on night classes’ when she addressed the PPTA annual conference this afternoon. Despite repeated calls from schools, students and communities to re-think her decision to slash 80% from adult community education (ACE), she refused to do so.