All Blog Posts (179)

National Standards just lead to those who underachieve as being labelled as lazy or not committed enough, when in fact they could have a learning disability!

Catherine Delahunty MP reports on resistance to Natiaonl Standards from the heart of the Waikato...

http://blog.greens.org.nz/2011/08/17/national-standards-rural-resistance/

Steiner parents are outraged the Government has told Steiner schools that they must do National Standards or lose their funding.  They've set up a great website  http://www.protect.org.nz/

Lots of great information and energy!

and there's a story today in The Aucklander about their campaign:…

You can listen to Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on July 29 for the details: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2494634/checkpoint-top-stories-for-friday-29-july-2011

So now the MInistry suggest schools make it up!!  Worryingly, I was at a school meeting last night where some parents also seemed to think this might be an acceptable way forward...  When a school says it's teaching kids to become active researchers, ethical citizens, enquiring thinkers etc, isn't there a bit of a double standard in our Ministry saying we should basically lie about data???

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The latest press release from NZEI:

The Government should call “time out” on the National Standards after an ERO report released yesterday showed 63% of teachers had only limited or some understanding of them, the education union representing primary teachers, NZEI Te Riu Roa says.

NZEI President Ian Leckie said the ERO report again confirmed the Standards were “fuzzy” and unreliable.

“The low level of understanding reflects…

A courageous letter to the Minister from an Auckland principal:

Greetings



I am professionally and personally insulted by your remarks as quoted in the

NZ Herald this morning and wish to issue you a challenge and invitation to

stand by your comment and prove its validity. If you are a politician with

integrity I trust you will accept my…

Here's a letter sent to the DomPost from an NZEI member:

Intelligence is something which gets measured and the researchers can tell in early childhood, the children with clever and adaptable ways of thought from the children not so gifted. With parent/teachers meetings having been held recently there have been teachers who…

A great photo and story in the Oamaru Mail:

Go principals in Oamaru!

700 principals from around the country last weekend voted "no confidence" in National Standards.  The Minister's response:  don't vote for National. Rather than address the professional and ethical concerns professional leaders have, Anne Tolley just politicises the whole debate.  Meanwhile, NZEI has done a survey of teachers in primary schools around the country. More than 70% of staffrooms responding were at "boiling" or "warming up" temperatures in their reaction to the Standards.  And…

Foundation learning is our economic and social base There has been no comprehensive research for its development by a NZ government since 1963  If this government thinks that Teacher Bashing and Whipping Boys (and girls) will win them another election I want to  give them a run for their money. See www.readspeak.co.nz for a new  foundation learning programme and a YouTube National Standards assessment  If you can see a future there…

1. A leaked email from the Ministry of Education has been reported on Radio New Zealand today http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/62412/ministry-may-struggle-with-national-standards-charters The memo says the Ministry if likely to be overwhelmed because of its own decision to move the date requiring schools to submit charters from the end of May to January next year. If and…

It…