Education archive at Grant Robertson

Archive for the 'Education' Category

Just who is misleading on national standards?

February 6th, 2010

As we know John Key made a great deal this week of what he called “misinformation” from those who oppose the National Standards policy. But it seems he might want to look in the mirror for misinfomation. In the Dominion Post today is a letter from Ivan Snook, Emeritus Professor of Education at Massey University. He takes the PM to task about his claims about an Education Review Office report into reading and writing in Years 1 and 2. He takes each of Key’s claims in turn. Over to Ivan;

“1. Two-thirds of teachers were not properly managing assessment. Not correct. It found that some leaders trusted their junior school teacher or leader who knew the pupils well, a perfectly reasonsable thing to do.
2. 30 per cent of teachers were not doing a good job of teaching reading and writing. Not correct. It found that 10 per cent of teachers were less than adequate.
3. Many principals aren’t adequately sharing their school’s achevement information with their communities. Not correct it found that they reported to the school community about their own school, but did not always give data comparing it to other schools”.

Its quite clear that the Government went into furious damage control last week around National Standards. They must have put out the word for some “evidence” to back their claims, and it seems they might have got a bit over-excited.

Posted in National Standards and Education. | 0 Comments

“Catching up With Australia”

January 14th, 2010

I am not sure about the title of the series of articles that the NZ Herald is running in response to the Brash Taskforce, but the first from Auckland University Vice-Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon is a good one. I don’t agree with McCutcheon in terms of his comments re interest free student loans and student support, but his overall view that we must increase funding for research and education is undoubtedly true, and the real lack of doing this is one of the great shames of New Zealand’s response to the recession. The full article is worth a read, but this paragraph probably sums it up

I would invest in education, valuing our teachers – from pre-school to professors – as the professionals they truly are. I would focus on supporting our most able students to continue on to postgraduate study and research careers, rather than terminating the very scholarships that keep our best doctoral students in New Zealand, as the government has recently done.

Posted in Economy, Science and Education. | 0 Comments

Special Education: this one is for George.

December 17th, 2009

Let me tell you about my friend George. He is 7 years old and he has autism. He has done really well in his couple of years at school. He has made lots of progress both in terms of his class work and his social interaction. Today George’s parents have been told there will be no ORRS (Ongoing and Reviewable Resourcing Scheme) funding for next year. They are used to knockbacks in trying to get the education that is George’s right, but this is not the Christmas present they were after.

As of this week I am now officially Labour’s Spokesperson on Special Education. I am rapt, and very happy that Trevor as lead Education Spokesperson has found room for me in the Labour education tent. I look forward to working with him and Lynne Pillay our Disabilities Spokesperson in this area, for all the Georges out there.

To make it clear for those who don’t follow this area closely, this is how the Ministry of Education define Special Education

Special education is the provision of extra help, adapted programmes, learning environments, or specialised equipment or materials to support children and young people with their learning and help them participate in education. Many children and young people have special education needs. This can include learners with learning difficulties, communication, emotional or behaviour difficulties, or intellectual, sensory or physical impairments.

I mentioned Special Education in my maiden speech as an area where I thought there was a need for a thorough re-think of the whole process including from how funding is allocated, applied for, how assessments are done, allocation between funds, follow up etc. This is a difficult area and a lot of money has been allocated in recent years, but many issues remain. I should note that the current government does have a review of Special Education underway, the public consultation part of which was meant to start this year, but will now commence in 2010.

My interest in Special Education goes back to working with students with disabilities as NZUSA President (and acutally getting some wins out of Wyatt Creech on those issues). But more recentlly it has its basis in watching two families who are my friends go through all kinds of hoops and drama just to get the education for their children that is their right under law. In both cases the parents are educated professionals and they have struggled mightily with the system. That was all before I was an MP. As an MP I have dealt with a number of cases where parents and teachers alike have had to battle and battle just to keep their kids in school.

I could go on and on, but for those with an interest feel free to get in touch. I will be in contact with individuals and groups in the New Year to begin a discussion about where people think we should be going with our policy. I want to use some new methods of policy development, including in the virtual world. In the meantime, have a read of Hilary Stace’s comments on the possible impact on the national standards on children with autism. Interesting and worrying stuff.

Posted in Education. | 0 Comments

Key Government: All Map, No Compass

November 30th, 2009

If I was a betting man (which in fairness I am at the races from time to time) I would put my money on John Key going to Copenhagen. As Audrey Young points out

Attendance of leaders has become a matter of symbolism, a symbol of commitment to a positive outcome. Key looks like that is not important to him.

But that will be the only reason he goes. Not because he believes that the world desperately needs to come together to address a major environmental issue, or that for the future of New Zealand and our region we desperately need to be part of a positive solution. Goodness, earlier in the week Murray McCully was complaining about climate change taking too much time at CHOGM. Earth to Murray, its kinda the biggest show in town right now.

My prediction is that Steven Joyce will tell Key the optics look bad, and he had better get over there. I am sorry to sound so cynical but this is a bit of a pattern.

Today John Key has dismissed the 2025 taskforce report, in part on the basis that National needs to keep its promises to the electorate on keeping Labour programmes such as Working for Families and Interest Free Student Loans. Great, but we all know what Key and National actually think of those programmes- “communism by stealth” anyone? Its not that Key actually believes this is socially responsible policy, he’s just stuck with it.

Returning to Copenhagen the risk for New Zealand is that all this naked pragmitism is going to be seen as just that. Again to quote Audrey Young

No one will give Key credit for parachuting in for a photo-op once others have done the hard work

Therein lies the problem for New Zealand. Beyond any straight environmental motives, from an economic point of view being dragged kicking and screaming to Copenhagen is a terrible look for an isolated trading nation that has prided (and marketed) itself on its clean green image. Its probably already too late on that score.

I accept that John Key’s pragmatism is playing well with New Zealanders at the moment. Its all very well having good political anntennae, but the long term future of New Zealand suffers if you don’t have a plan as to where you are going. All map, no compass is a very bad recipe for New Zealand.

Posted in Economics, Productivity, Climate Change and Education. | 0 Comments

Rushed Law is Bad Law

November 28th, 2009

Colin James has written an interesting piece on two examples of the impact of a rushed law making process- the Emissions Trading Scheme and National Standards. The ETS has been discussed at length this week, but the concerns raised by our leading, and indeed world leading, educational assessment experts should be sounding the loudest of alarm bells. The fact that one of those experts was John Hattie, the person who John Key pointed to as his mentor on these issues makes it all the worse. To quote from Colin James

if teachers teach to rigid standards the risk is that standards and the testing that goes with them become counterproductive. Kids get trapped into failure. The focus is on what teachers teach instead of what kids learn. “The international record,” the four academics said, “is damning.” Other education experts say this is particularly so of the United States’ “no child left behind” project which actually condemned disadvantaged children to being left behind.

The thing here is there was nothing to justify rushing the national standards law through Parliament last year under urgency. If there had been a proper select committee consideration the views of Messers Hattie, Crooks, Flockton and Thrupp could have had the consideration they deserved. Instead we have another version of this government’s view as expressed by Bill English last week ” bad advice is advice we disagree with, good advice is advice we agree with”. Parents and children deserve better than a rushed process and a government that only hears what it wants to hear.

Posted in Urgency, Environment and Education. | 0 Comments