While I have your attention class…
While the public’s attention is focused on educational issues, use the platform to press for change on the Nats other damaging educational initiatives, national standards and charter schools.
Social issues
education
Schadenfreude
The hysterical right are pretty pissed that the Nats have backed down on class sizes. Let them rant all they like – the Nats can’t afford to listen.
Flip-flop still leaves hole in education budget
With its polling slip-sliding away, National had no choice but to dump its ideological class size increases. But why did they dump the spending on teacher quality too? If that was such a priority that it justified sacking 1,000 teachers, couldn’t something else be cut? And what other education spending will now be cut to fill National’s budget hole?
Class sizes vox pop
Public opinion is massively opposed to cutting teachers. When 50,000 people marched down Queen St the Nats dropped plans to mine conservation land. Time for another show of people power.
Coward
Hekia Parata has refused to front up to education groups against her bigger class sizes.
Only money matters
How did National get it so wrong on the cuts that would costs too many schools far too many teachers? Did the Nats do any consultation at all?
Class sizes: show National you care
Here’s a petition against Hekia Parata’s class size increases. Show the government what a big mistake they’ve made. If Federated Farmers can spread it, so can you…
One law for some
Financially troubled private school Wanganui Collegiate received a $3million grant in Budget 2012, 3 times the annual operating grant of the larger Wanganui City College. Since then it has been advertising its low class sizes and ability to reduce fees significantly. Private schools will no doubt be using the current outrage over increased class sizes for recruiting purposes, but they should not be doing it with taxpayers’ money.
There is no alternative?
We all know National is on a record borrowing binge. But when they say they need to slash education investment to balance the […]
Protest in the smartphone age
There’s a lot of analogy between how a guerrilla movement succeeds against a superpower or a state in the era of mass communication and how protest movements can do the same. Unable to win head-on, losing becomes winning as long as the cameras are rolling. It’s about being seen as having a legitimate cause and just as importantly being seen as the victims of disproportionate force and abuse of power.
Parata to change careers?
Hekia Parata this week became the fourth minister in three months to see her career reduced to tatters. Looks like she’s planning a change.
Class sizes don’t matter?
Call off the education cuts
National has no choice but to call off the education cuts. The sooner they do it the sooner it will stop killing them in the court of public opinion.
Polly Parata
Hekia Parata is demonstrating how political lines endlessly repeated can go horribly wrong if you have nothing else to say. Her Polly Parrot repetitions are wrongly-based, and the longer she and Key go on about how fewer teachers and larger classes is going to improve the quality of teaching the worse its going to get for National. The hubristic Parata has galvanised and united the education sector and more backdowns are likely, both in policy and politics.
Key’s future gets shorter
Budgets allocate money not just for 1 year, but for the next 4. When National says its putting $511m into education, that’s actually $128m a year over 4 years (less than inflation). So, it stands out like a sore thumb that National has promised to limit teacher loses at 2 per school for only 3 years. After that? Seems like Key doesn’t expect it’ll be his problem.
Sacking ‘only’ 400 teachers ‘good news’ say Nats
National has copped a hell of a backlash for increasing class sizes. The internal polls are said to be diabolical. There are a million parents of school-age kids out there, and they’re pissed off. Now, they’ve flipp-flopped and dipped into the emergency money. They won’t say how many teachers they’re cutting but it’s at least 400, probably 1,000.
Larger classes only for the peasants
So, half the Cabinet sends their kids to private schools. Those schools – which National has upped the taxpayers subsidies for – boast of small class sizes. Kings, where Key sends his kid, says: “Class sizes are limited and our policy of a low pupil-to-teacher ratio ensures students are given greater individual attention in the classroom”. Guess larger classes are only good for the peasants’ kids.
Class size backdown
Is the government coming to its senses on the matter of reducing class sizes? That would be a rare pleasure indeed…
Nats attack education at every level
If you were a rightwinger, who believed the route to a prosperous society (for the elite, at least) was through private endeavor, wouldn’t the way to help that along be to invest heavily in education? Then, people would be equipped to work out the rest themselves, without the State. So, why is National attacking education at every level? Do they see education as a threat?
Budget nasties
This afternoon a couple of ‘hidden treasures’ have come out of the budget. In changes not announced, but discovered 1122 teachers could be losing their jobs and changes are being made to the assets old people are allowed to keep once in residential care. Sneaky, Bill, sneaky…
An Open Email to Hekia Parata
An email from a concerned Principal about what Hekia Parata’s changes – principly class size – will do to our children’s futures. And the address Emeritus Professor Ivan Snook gave to graduating teachers last week.
Back to school for Parata
Parata on The Nation: “what we’ve had is a five-fold increase in the number of teachers while we’ve only had a 2% increase in students”. There are 52,500 teachers. Is Parata really saying there were only 10,500 a decade ago? The minister needs remedial maths, methinks. This is the tragedy: our kids’ education being toyed with by nincompoops and dullards with a dumbarse ideological agenda.
Joyce’s latest brainfart
This week, Minister for Talking Big and Not Delivering, Steven Joyce, had his second opinion piece in the Herald of the year and, naturally, it bore no relation to the ‘vision’ in the previous one, or any of the 5 point strategies or 8 point action plans he has produced to date. Instead, it said ‘wouldn’t it be great if more international students came here?’. Problem is, his actions are driving them away.
Nats to cut 500 teachers
If there was any doubt that National has an anti-teacher, anti-education agenda, it’s gone. Increasing class sizes will ‘save’ $43m a year by reducing the number of teachers that would otherwise be required by 500. National standards will be used for performance pay. It’s a cut to the frontline, a cut to our kids’ learning. And Parata’s comments suggest more to come.
You can’t fix what is not broken – no need to change university councils
Dr Sandra Grey from the Tertiary Education Union has a look at Stephen Joyce’s proposals to changing the governance of tertiary education institutions. She suggests that he has a look at what happened in the changes to the polytechs in 2009. And also points out that his proposals don’t follow what is known about good governance for universities.
But it has been apparent to readers here that Joyce prefers to be a fiddler rather than being effective..
Education for the elite under National
National’s going to cut access to the student allowance and up the repayment rate on student loans. Basically a hike on your graduate tax. These measures won’t save much themselves. But they’ll make higher education unaffordable for many. Fewer people will get qualifications. That’s how they’ll save costs: by blocking higher education for the poor, leading to a less skilled population. Loving this brighter future.
Inter-generational theft
Baby boomers strike again. In 1989, University fees for domestic students in New Zealand were less than $300. Moreover, for many students, 90% of that […]
More willful ignorance on charter schools
Armstrong tries to downplay the risks of charter schools. To do so of course he has to (as the PM so often does) denigrate the science that he wants to ignore.
Nats’ economic failures just another excuse for cuts
Didn’t take much clairvoyance to see that National would fail to meet its promise of a Budget surplus by 2014/15. You’ve never seen a Finance Minister have his forecasts cut so often and look so happy about it. His failure against his own artificial target gives him an excuse to cut. His party’s ineptness to blame but we pay. Students look to be his target this round.
$100m for Lizards
John Key and Bill English couldn’t find $150million over four years for increased parental leave that would hugely benefit future children. Horrors – we would have to borrow! But they could find $100million straight away to pay international investment banks including Australian company Lazard’s to advise on asset sales that robs our children’s future and that nobody else wants. It’s a matter of priorities – money gets money, kids get nothing.
Ideological blindness on education
The Nats are determined to ignore the evidence on the harm caused by charter schools, just as they are ignoring evidence on the damage done by national standards. This willingness to harm kids, as incidental pawns in their ideological games, really pisses me off.
Brain drain getting younger
Oh great. Now we’re losing Kiwis overseas straight out of high school…
NRT – Unqualified crony Isaac gets charter schools job
ACT-crony Catherine Isaac will head the implementation of the government’s unmandated charter schools programme. Isaac has no relevant expertise to justify this appointment. She has been given the position (and a generous public salary) solely on the basis of ideology and party affiliation. That is not how our public service is supposed to work.
Good for the goose…?
Treasury has repeatedly proven itself incapable of forecasting its way out of a paper bag but, for some reason, that doesn’t stop it trying to tell everyone else how to do their jobs. Currently, they’re pushing for larger class sizes in the reduced education budget. Someone should ask why the education budget is under pressure but Treasury’s isn’t. Wait, someone did.
Better ideas from Finland
David Shearer used Finland as an example of successful small country economic development in yesterday’s very good speech, but his main focus was on education. Dianne Ravitch in the NY Review of Books shows how Finland also leads the world in education – and with few tests and excellent teachers, they don’t need to bag any “bad” ones.
National standards aren’t
The predicted problems created by a “national standards” system are coming home to roost already.