A principal writes...
Round up of recent National Standards media

Here's the text of a letter about National Standards read on Nine to Noon on Feb 4th.

Hello Katherine,

Thank goodness for some perspective and balance this morning on this topic. If only successive governments had resisted the urges they have all had to use education as a vehicle to establish their mark on the country through their endless initiatives and constant meddling.

We are witnessing yet again the softening up processes through misquoted and inaccurate statisti… Continue

The bus tour hit Waitangi today and parked up along the waterfront just down from the bottom marae - sea, sun and views out to the Pacific. We spent most of the day getting people signed up to the petition. It was a bit like being on a pedestrian tourist highway and you wouldn't believe the number of British retired teachers who are visiting NZ and who passed our way. Interestingly they were all very keen to talk and find out more about National Standards - their overwhelming view was "don't

… Continue

Hi all



It has been suggested that we send back our national standards pamphlet
that john key is sending to us (with tax payer money that could have
gone to our kids).



Imagine his surprise if he gets thousands of pamphlets sent back to him.



Talk with your friends and pass the idea on.



Prime Minister John Key

Parliament Office

Private Bag 18888

Parliament Buildings

Wellington 6160

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I had a fabulous time meeting lots of wonderful Southlanders while on the Bluff-Balclutha leg of the Bus Tour. We visited Bluff, Ascot, Salford, Dovovan, Winton, Dipton, Riversdale, East Gore, West Gore, Tapanui and Balclutha schools (in 3 days!) plus leafletted in the centre of Invercargill and outside Bill English's office. A huge thank you to all the Principals and worksite reps who organised their communities to come and support the call for a trial.

I found parents, caregivers and grandpar… Continue

The bus didn't have to roll into Kaikohe today - Don our bus driver had taken it home for the night there last night as he lives there. Last night he texted me to say he'd made the mistake of stopping off for some bread in town on the way home... the interest people had in the bus had delayed him getting home for dinner!

Chicky Rudkin, principal at Kaikohe East School, had invited us to talk to parents outside the school in the morning. With Bessie Mutu, our NZEI field officer based in Kawakawa… Continue

I love this quote from Jim Neyland, a well-known education writer in Wellington who sadly passed away last month. He was involved in opposing the previous incarnation of National Standards called National Testing, which ERO tried to introduce in 1998. In opposing National Testing being seen as a solution to the problem of underachievement, he wrote "To argue this way is equivalent to arguing that we should assist an undernourished plant to grow more quickly by measuring it more often."