Charter Schools – Another lie from John Banks!
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Somewhere in New Zealand is a building. It’s not signposted and it most likely looks like any other building in any other town or city.
The only difference is what this building contains.
This building contains all the stupid ideas that humanity has ever come up with in the last 100,000 years or so. It’s quite a big building, because there are so many stupid ideas that have been collected; filed; and lovingly stored. There is practically a stupid idea for every occassion.
This is the building where National and ACT Ministers go to get their next big, “bright”, idea.
This is where John Banks, along with Hekia Parata, went in search of the lunatic concept that is known as “Charter Schools”. It was stored in a little shoe-box, labelled,
“Dumb and Dumber – how to Dumb Down Your Child Using Taxpayer’s Money
Stupid Idea #2,717,990: Charter Schools”
The idea goes something like this;
- Organisations and/or private companies will set up schools – Charter Schools
- Charter Schools would be managed by said Organisation/Church/Company, but funded by the taxpayer
- Charter schools could be run for profit, or non-profit
- Charter schools need not employ qualified, trained teaching staff
- Charter School managers would negotiate salary levels and employment conditions directly with employees – so a “teacher” could be hired on minimum wage – $13.50 an hour
- Charter schools would set their own hours, term dates, etc.
- Charter schools can set their own curriculum
- Charter schools could be run by religious groups such as the Destiny Church cult
Education Minister Hekia Parata and Associate Education Minister, John Banks, today announced the framework for the New Zealand Model of Charter School – or, as they have euphemistically branded them, the Orwellian-sounding “Partnership Schools”, or pandering to culturally-sensitive niceties, “Kura Hourua” .
In effect, ACT and National will be using tax-payer’s money to fund private schools. Not since farming subsidies has National come up with such an odd way to throw our taxes at private companies and organisations.
Private schools and educational institutions have always been a part of New Zealand’s social structure. They were usually religious-based, such as Catholic high schools; Jewish schools; or private training institutions.
Many have now become “State integrated” schools,
” There are three types of school: state, private (or registered or independent) and state integrated schools. State and state integrated schools are government funded. Private schools receive about 25% of their funding from the government, and rely on tuition fees for the rest.
State integrated schools are former private schools which are now “integrated” into the state system under the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975 “on a basis which will preserve and safeguard the special character of the education provided by them”.
According to Ministry of Education statistics, of the 286,886 secondary students (Years 9–15) enrolled in New Zealand schools at 1 July 2011, 81.9 percent (235,048) attend state schools, 12.4 percent (35,631) attend state integrated schools, and 5.6 percent (16104) attend private schools. “
See: Wikipedia Secondary education in New Zealand
The odd thing about Charter Schools is that they are an American construct, originating in 1988, and with the first Charter School law enacted in 1991 in the US.
See: Wikipedia Charter Schools
It could be justified that Charter Schools is an American attempt to employ free-market principles to produce better education outcomes,
“Caps on the number of charters in a state drag down performance as much as lax oversight, because they cramp the diversification of the market and discourage investment…
[abridged]
… Since 1993 15% of charter schools have shut their gates, most because of low enrolment, a sign that the market is working.”
See: The Economist – Charting a better course
It’s hardly surprising that our American cuzzies would turn to their precious capitalist Market Place for solutions to their poor education system.
In a recent OECD PISA report, member states were ranked according to education outcomes for reading, mathematics, and science. The results were… educational.
See: OECD PISA report Education at a Glance, 2011
The graphic below is an abbreviated version of data gleaned from the report,
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It’s interesting to note that in reading achievement, Finland, New Zealand, and the US ranked;
# 3 Finland
# 9 New Zealand
#18 United States
In mathematics,
# 2 Finland
# 9 New Zealand
# 26 United States (below OECD average)
In science,
# 2 Finland
#10 New Zealand
# 23 United States
Any reasonable, rational adult could conclude that Finland must be doing something better with it’s education system than either New Zealand or United States. However, since right wing political parties like National and their low-information supporters don’t always engage in issues on a reasonable, rational level, it’s usually left up to the public to persuade National to review policies that are incoherent and based more on dubious ideology, rather than proven methods.
One simple fact; Finland does education better than us, and way better than our American cuzzies.
When it comes to charter schools, it’s mostly an American ‘game’. Few other countries follow it. Finland certainly doesn’t,
“… What can we learn from Finland and South Korea?
Finland probably has the most successful school system in Europe. Tests of 15-year-old students from 34 nations find the Finns leading in reading, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy. Finnish schools have been in a reform mode for the past 40 years.
Yet, Ms. Ravitch says, “Finland rejects all of the ‘reforms’ currently popular in the United States, such as testing, charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, competition, and evaluating teachers in relation to the test scores of their students.”
The Finnish system is built on rigorously prepared teachers. Teacher training in Finland is an elite profession, open to only the most qualified and offered at only eight universities, which have formidable entrance requirements. Teachers are high achievers, well paid and highly respected.
Ms. Ravitch, who was in Finland last year, found bright and cheerful schools where students engaged in music, dramatics, play, and academic studies with 15-minute recesses between classes. She found that: “Free from the testing obsession that consumes so much of the day in American schools, the staff has time to plan and discuss the students and the program”. “
See: Lessons from Finland, Korea
How do our Finnish cuzzies do it, you may ask. Perhaps a clue can be found here, by Paul Frysh, from CNN,
” The most important lesson the United States can take from Finland is the “preparation and development of high-quality teachers,” Paine said.
This starts with honoring the profession, he said.
“In Finland, it is a tremendous honor to be a teacher, and teachers are afforded a status comparable to what doctors, lawyers and other highly regarded professionals enjoy in the U.S.,” he said.
In addition, like other professions, teachers gain seniority and tenure primarily on the basis of training and experience, and teacher unions have a strong voice in shaping education policy — all very controversial in the United States.
The profession is held in such high regard that competition to get teacher training is fierce. Nationally, only about 10% of some 7,000 applicants to primary school programs are accepted annually to Finnish teacher training programs, according to statistics from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.
And it’s not about the money.
“In Finland, they do attract the very best and brightest into the profession, and it has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with the respect that is given to the profession,” Paine said.
In fact, teachers in Finland are paid about the same as teachers in the U.S.
One young Finnish teacher, asked why he went into the profession, told Paine: “Because it is the most honorable of all professions. It is a patriotic, national calling to be a teacher.”
But what he learned in Finland, Paine said, is that the respect must be more than just lip service.
Administrators in Finland really listen to teachers, then back up their words by giving teachers autonomy and resources, said Paine.
“If you want enduring, lasting student learning, there’s no easy way around that but to invest your time and your resources, including money, as close to the classroom as you can possibly get and that’s with the teacher.”
Part of this investment is in initial teacher education.
In the U.S., most teachers accumulate debt paying for their education, teacher-mentoring is rare and training ranges wildly from a few weeks of training in alternative teacher training programs such as Teach for America to world-class four-year and graduate college programs.
In Finland, by contrast, teachers train for free, receive a stipend and begin hands-on teaching with a mentor almost immediately. All school teachers must hold a master’s degree in addition to four or five years of undergraduate training to be permanently employed, and teachers without a master’s are given time and resources to get it.
And it turns out that well-respected, well-educated teachers stick around longer. “
See: West Virginia learns Finland’s ‘most honorable profession’: Teacher
So Finland did not achieve it’s high education outcomes through short-cuts and fads such as “charter schools” and performance pay. Their strategy was a greater investment in the teaching profession itself. It wasn’t about the school structure – it was about the teachers – the men at women who actually front up, at the chalk-face, of our class-rooms.
By comparison, Charter schools have had a poor education outcome in the US, according to a 2009 report by Stanford University’s Centre for Research for Education Outcomes (CREDO),
” The group portrait shows wide variation in performance. The study reveals that a decent fraction of charter schools, 17 percent, provide superior education opportunities for their students.
Nearly half of the charter schools nationwide have results that are no different from the local public school options and over a third, 37 percent, deliver learning results that are significantly worse than their student would have realized had they remained in traditional public schools.
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A study done by Stanford University found that charter schools on average perform about the same or worse compared to public schools.
Source: Wikipedia Charter Schools
These findings underlie the parallel findings of significant state‐by‐state differences in charter school performance and in the national aggregate performance of charter schools. The policy challenge is how to deal constructively with varying levels of performance today and into the future…
[abridged]
… Our national pooled analysis reveals, on the whole, a slightly negative picture of average charter school performance nationwide.
On average, charter school students can expect to see their academic growth be somewhat lower than their traditional public school peers, though the absolute differences are small. “
See: Stanford University: Charter School Performance in 16 States (USA)
So the question we now pose is; Why do it? Why borrow from a country that has worse education outcomes than us – instead of looking toward an education system from a country near the top of the OECD?!?!
Hekia Parata stated,
” We want all our students leaving school with the skills they need to reach their potential in the modern economy. Partnerships schools or Kura Hourua will be based on international best practice and will ensure high levels of accountability and flexibility, while being tailored to New Zealand’s education environment. “
See: Ministers announce framework for Partnership Schools
In which case, who in their right mind emulates a nation’s education system that has a worse ranking on the OECD scale than we do? Because if that’s the standard that John Key, Hekia Parata, and John “I-can’t-recall” Banks is searching for, then perhaps we should emulate Indonesia.
They’re at the bottom of the scale.
If anyone knows the answer to this question, you may have unlocked the enigmatic, convoluted inner-workings of a right wing politicians brain.
As for John Banks – he was interviewed on today’s (2 August) Radio NZ “Checkpoint” programme, where he stated,
“… because I know, Suzie [RNZ interviewer] , that for the kids that are not engaged in the education system today, abandoning them to the dole is not good enough. This does work in Britain, does work in America, does work in Finland, does work in Switzerland, and this special partnbership schools are going to work here. “
Radio NZ Checkpoint: Associate Education Minister on charter schools
Unfortunately for Banks, his comments are not supported by evidence,
- Charter schools “does not work” in the United States. The CREDO report states quite clearly that only 17% showed any appreciable improvement in outcomes. The remainder showed either no difference (46%) or a worse outcome (37%).
- Finland does not use the Charter schools system; “Finland rejects all of the ‘reforms’ currently popular in the United States, such as testing, charter schools, vouchers, merit pay, competition, and evaluating teachers in relation to the test scores of their students.”
- This blogger can find no evidence that Charter schools exist in Switzerland. Indeed, quite the oppposite; “In Switzerland, most children go to public schools. Private schools usually are expensive and people tend to think that students of private schools probably didn’t make it at the public school. Public schools include “Kindergarten”, “Volksschule” (elementary school), “Gymnasium” (secondary school) and “Universitäten” (universities). Most municipalities provide kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. Most cantons provide at least one secondary school. There are eleven universities in Switzerland, nine are run by cantons, two are run by the confederation“. See: Information about Education in Switzerland
- Of the countries mentioned by Banks, only Britain has Charter Schools, which they call academies. This blogger can find no peer-reviewed study to confirm their effectiveness or otherwise.
Once again, John Banks appears to be lying to the public. Nothing that escapes his lips can be taken at face-value.
There are further points that warrant attention,
Subsidies
ACT has, in the main, been quick to oppose subsidies. It is a Party that prefers the “free market” approach. Indeed, it went so far as to oppose subsidies for superannuitants for GP visits, power bills, and insurance.
See: John Banks – Speaking Truth To (Grey) Power
ACT has condemned Kiwisaver subsidies – incentives for people to save for retirement – as a “bribe”.
Likewise, subsidies for doctor’s visits and University education were condemned as not in the “public good”.
See: Saving New Zealand: Building a More Prosperous New Zealand
ACT condemned the previous Labour’s job-creation programme, which invested $251 million subsidising young people into work, as an “expensive band-aid”.
See: Labour Created Record Youth Unemployment
Yet, at the same time, ACT sees no contradiction in subsidising private organisations, churches, and corporations to set up and run Charter Schools?
One can only surmise that corporate welfare is still very much an integral part of ACT policy. “Money for mates” – business mates – is one way to put it.
If someone wants to set up a school, within certain Ministry of Education guidelines, then let them spend their own money on such a venture. This blogger sees no reason why the taxpayer should be spending our taxes on private enterprises. That is not why we pay our taxes.
Untrained Teachers
The prospect that Charter Schools will be staffed by untrained “teachers” beggars belief. This is not how a modern nation upskills it’s people – by engaging untrained staff instead of highly educated professionals.
If National is going for the cheaper option, where untrained “teachers” are paid minimum wages to teach vulnerable, low socio-economic children – then what is the point of spending millions of dollars on teacher training?
Especially when Education Minister Hekia Parata recently announced last week that a postgraduate qualification would become the new minimum requirement for all trainee teachers.
As Hekia Parata stated, on 16 May, National’s new policies would include,
” 1. Invest an additional $60 million over four years to boost new teacher- recruitment and training
2. Ensure that student teachers are equipped with the best teaching practices for 21st century learning
3. Shift to a post-graduate qualification for new teachers
4. And give stronger mentoring and coaching for those teachers working towards full registration. “
See: Hekia Parata: Raising achievement for all in Budget 2012
Parata went on to say,
” Even so, our National-led Government is committed to improving the quality of teaching through an ongoing investment of just over $300m over the next four years in professional learning and development.
· Today I am pleased to announce that in Budget 2012 we will invest a further $511.9m of new money into quality frontline education services.
· Quality teaching is about holding high expectations of, being able to relate to and finding what works for every single child in the classroom. That’s what every one of our teachers needs to be able to do. “
So if National is pushing for new teachers to attain postgraduate qualifications – an expensive investment in on-going education – then what is the point of spending taxpayers’ money on setting up Charter Schools staffed by untrained or poorly trained staff?!
On what planet does this make sense to anyone? Planet National?
The Finns certainly did not achieve their #2 and #3 rankings on the OECD scale by dumbing down the teaching profession and opting for second-best.
In contrast to Parata’s 16 May statement, it is sobering to note that the 2 August media release by Hekia Parata and John Banks, announcing the advent of Charter Schools, did not once mention teachers or improved teacher training.
Not once.
See: Ministers announce framework for Partnership Schools
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That little fact speaks volumes about National/ACT’s reliance on ideology rather than common sense.
John Key’s insistance that we shouldn’t get “hung up” on the issue of untrained teachers in classrooms simply boggles the mind.
See: Key: Don’t worry about unqualified teachers
In this instance, his casualness will have raised eyebrows and probably a few hackles. His suggestion that “he would be happy with his children being taught by unregistered teachers” is a derisable joke – Key sends his kids to expensive private schools.
The stench of hypocrisy…
But I’ll leave the last word to investigative journalist/documentary maker, Bryan Bruce,
” So… charter schools will not have to employ qualified teachers. What a brilliant idea!
Let’s see …next we could have charter doctors, charter dentists, charter architects, charter engineers… all totally unqualified.. and Hey! we could get rid of universities.. Think of all that lovely money we’d save.
Goodbye student loan – who needs one?Hip hip! for our charter politicians John Banks and Hekia Parata . Hurrah !
Now our Charter kids won’t have to worry about the future.
They won’t have one.”
See: Facebook -Inside Child Poverty
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Previous Blogposts
Privatisation of our schools?!
Additional
Education shake-up ‘biggest for years’
Destiny Church may get funding for new school
Key defends state-funded private schools
On charter schools – Gordon Campbell
OECD: Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science
OECD: PISA – Education at a Glance 2011
Ministers announce framework for Partnership Schools
Charter schools could employ unregistered teachers
Government allows non-qualified teachers into school system
New charter school model ignores findings of research
Key: Don’t worry about unqualified teachers
Stanford University: Charter School Performance in 16 States (USA)
The Economist: Charting a better course
Radio NZ: Checkpoint – Plan to allow unregistered teachers into charter schools
West Virginia learns Finland’s ‘most honorable profession’: Teacher
Majority against hiring unqualified teachers
From around the world
Salon: Education reform’s central myths
allthingslearning: Can a teacher “create” LEARNing THAT LASTS?
BBC: Academies told they can hire unqualified teachers
New Statesman: The American revolution in English schools
Huffington Post: In Support of the Whole Child
Other Blogs
No Right Turn: Charter schools are bad schools
Local Bodies: NZ Charter Schools Defined
The Standard: Incoherent education policy
The Standard: Robber’s charter
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Frankly Speaking... 
Charter schools can be seen with its minimum wage, untrained “teachers” as an attack on teacher unions. It is nothing more than ideological warfare of the right-wing, and they don’t give a damn that children (and eventually the economy with an underachieving alumni of charter schools) will suffer as a result.
Finland it seems has cooperation between government, schools, academia and teacher unions and better outcomes as a result.
And just wait for all those Jesus-freaks to get their snivelling hands on all those young brains. 6000 year old Earth, Noah’s Ark believing imbeciles not prepared for the realities of the 21st century will be the result. Surely now in this enlightened, non-dogmatic age that has to be a form of child abuse.
The current system has the flexibility needed
Look at this “the alternative school in Porirua” started in 1985
It has many of the features of the charter schools.
The article is about the Moe trying to shut it down in 2010
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/local-papers/kapi-mana-news/3910236/Fears-for-the-future-of-Porirua-Alternative-School
Great post, Frank
I’ve often wondered just what is it about Scandinavian countries that makes them such a role model in so many areas..?
We’ve got Iceland serving their government and the bankers notice and claiming back their own country.
There’s Norway dealing with the aftermath of psychopathy writ large with a measured and steady progress towards a just outcome – no calls for the death penalty or panic-buying of more guns’n’ammo, just because, y’know, Merkins can…
And Finland. A nation which moved from a small producer economy to high-tech giant in the space of a decade, rich in culture from Santa Claus to death-metal, and one which is offering observably better solutions for our very own Swamp of Educational Bad Ideas.
I’m no fan of totalitarianism, but I will defend just socialist practice, and part of that is recognising that social contracts apply to all – in particular, the right to an education, liberal in scope, designed not to teach by hammering facts into kids and testing the bejasus out of them, but which produces a desire to learn using didactic and dialectic processes, is surely something to which we should aspire.
We’ll only get there by agreement on process and sufficient investment in state sector education.
One of the reasons I oppose charter schools is that, being potentially run by organisations with very specific (ie, non-liberal education) agendas, they will not produce well-educated good citizens (not that we get that currently, but see remark about investment above…)
Charter schools have the potential to turn out people with poor judgement, ill-suited to operating in the global environment that is C21st Earth…
Can you imagine a graduate of a Density Church-run ‘university’ or a Business Round Table sponsored high school grappling with complex social issues, such as gay marriage, or global climate change…?
I can.
It’s bloody frightening.
Funny you should say that, Duncan…
I was at a public screening of Bryan Bruce’s “Inside NZ: Child Poverty”, and at the discussion afterwards, I made the suggestion that perhaps we should dump our politicians and become a part of Finland, and let them govern us…
(Wouldn’t Gerry Brownlee be pleased?) 😉
This is why people who don’t know anything about schools or education shouldn’t be running that portion of the government. Sigh. As a school girl, I hope these ‘charter school’ things don’t invade my town. We don’t need anymore bad schooling decisions.
Indeed, Skyuni. The concept of Charter Schools was investigated by a group set up by John Banks. It was headed by ACT ex-candidate, Catherine Isaac. She had zero educational qualifications and experience.
When this was pointed out to Banks, he replied she was experienced because she had sat on a school Board of Trustees!
I kid you not;
“Not mention the fact this educational experiment will be monitored by a committee led by a woman whose sole qualifications appear to be that she “loves education” and has served on a school board. The appointment of former ACT president Catherine Isaac is clearly politically motivated and shows that the implementation of charter schools is not evidence-based, but ideologically driven. ” – http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/6352544/Government-passes-the-buck-on-charter-schools
Which would make me a qualified surgeon if I was ever elected to a District Health Board? 😀
another brilliant, well researched blog Frank.
What would a gambler and a pub owner know about running schools? This is the price of that cup of tea!
How does a criminal politician justify his/her lack of deep and wide understanding of the subject he/she should know about to be able to properly manage his/her department?
By making the world around them even more stupid.
This is not a joke, this is what is really happening.
Government doesn’t care about the safety of our kids let alone the eduction. Well how bloody dangerous is this: We have already had ‘Registered’ teachers on child molestation charges now if they allow unregistered people to work with children that leaves the gates wide open and the vulnerable are at risk, no registration, no governing body, no checks etc etc etc, Bloody Hell !!!!!!!!!
Dodgy John & No Mana Pahrana! That’s a winning combination! Who’s going to buy into this deal?? How are they going to sell this hmm let me guess?? Poor families will get a discounted breakfast at McDonald’s and the parents can work off the fee’s by volunteering 20hrs unpaid labour every week to the school. Bigger class sizes for state schools where as smaller class sizes at C/S’s! Every child will get a job at one of the sponsors businesses because they’ll all be “Bonded” for 3 years and paid the minimum wage.
Denny, I’m guessing that low-income families will be the ones targetted here. Very few middle class or high nett-worth families would countenance sending their children to second-rate schools, taught by untrained “teachers” on minimum wage…
This is cut-rate “education” and desperation by the Nats…
Bullies and lunatics are running schools NOW and getting away with murder – literally – look at the child suicide stats!
Oh, and in case anyone wants to share their views with John “I-Can’t-Remember-Any-Helicopter-Ride” Banks, Hekia “I’m-not-backing-down” Parata, or John “I’m-still-smiling-But-Inside” Key; their email addresses are;
john.banks@parliament.govt.nz
hekia-parata@parliament.govt.nz
john.key@parliament.govt.nz
Lets look at the history of education in New Zealand. There we will find British schooling ASSERTED upon the Indigenous Maori by racist adult thinkers of the Intellectual & religious minds of arrogance. All keeping in mind their greed for land gain & colonising tactics. This led to the state school system from the victorian & colonial age. This – STILL operating in the millennium age!! With the forced assertion ‘the children are to be seen and not heard’, and the teacher & principal ARE ALWAYS right! What a load of CRAP!! The parents are the 1st TEACHERS of their children, where is respect & acknowledgement of this? The answers will NEVER come from the ARROGANT national party thats 4shore!! Lets bring in the 1st Maori Queen for NZ to Judge the adult arrogance!!
Maybe banksy thinks that by initiating this lunacy it will redeem his wrong doings for being a ripp off…were paying good dollars to get him investigated…..he should be the last person to be able to do that. Id rather vote for hopawaate to do it at least the country got a laugh!!
We need to teach our children to think for themselves, give them access to good information and teach them to think, and to take responsibility.
Thats not fair to the original education system(not that it ever did me and my culture any good) but for pakeha. If we are going to teach our kids anything we dont want it to be about a failing economy…history has already not benefitted from that syndrome….I dont want our tamarikis heads being filled up with crap not even relevant to us!! Our children should be protected by our indigeonous interlectual rights not whatever the flavor of the day is thats bullshit!! we want a say in our children curriculum….period
And be very aware of what others can do to them if you let them
Stop spending our putea before we see it Banksy you couldnt help the original system…whats so diferent now…oh thats right vindication for the investigation…hypocrite!!!
Fix up what you have already failed at the education system!!!YOURS….not ours
Its not the lack of qualifications its the lack of foresight of what they intend to teach our kids and an academic diploma shouldnt dictate our childrens learning…because having that opens the doors to legislative dictatiors. That tohu is recognised by pakeha…so that they have to comply with the flavour of the day….teach them how to survive when wall st crashes …teach them how to grow food and how to nuture a family not the crap they teach then where maths is probably the only useful tool for them …but the rest…utter garbagamondo!!
I failed at that school system badly…so I studied as a student in a different enviro and will have a degree nek year…I would never have done that at school back in the day so I believe theres hope…but not under their regime
I think this is a ploy for maori/pakeha dissention pakeha dont wanna learn our shit and we dont wanna learn theirs…problem straight away or are we going to be opressed once again and be forced to do what we dont want too…damn it …your guys turn we been suckin the kumara for 172 years how bout you guys have the next 50…thats fair
We should be kicking up merry hell…this affects our right of tuku iho and we are sending our downline into dangerous territory…is this what we want our grandchildren to look up and say thanks for nothing…cos we did nothing!!!
Come on slebby heds help me owt hia aw boi..lol
Chartered just another term for legislative control
Stop passively intergrating our society by starting with the kids mentality……Parents that want there children to learn should have a choice of connecting to status quo using adversity….or sending their children to a school that teaches diversity…..subjects relative to the world we have to live in…not one we hope to live in….Pakeha and other ethnic groups welcomed as well. Plan for a local economy…let the rest of the world wallow in their own mire.
Your doing fine kere, now your on here have a look at what else hes written
Destiny “Church” Charter School Maths Exam. Question 1. Bishop Brian needs a new Harley. Your take home pay is $500 per week, rent is $350, food and bills come to $250. Write an equation to find the value of x and y where x equals the amount you gift to Bishop Brian, and y equals the amount you need to borrow from SuperLoans in a year to meet your expenses.
Check this out, Frank: It’s the latest research from NZ Council of education research (NZCER) commissioned by the Ministry of Education on 21st century teaching and learning in New Zealand. Foreword by Parata (snort!).http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/109317/994_Future-oriented-07062012.pdf
Sounds great, but one has to ask why we would bother to educate our students to be curious, connective, collaborative, strategic thinkers who can co-create knowledge and also be effective “makers” when – most of our graduates find work in retail, hospitality and services, or overseas. I don’t think NZ currently has the capacity in truly innovative, research-heavy enterprise to absorb such wonderful people. Why? Because our politicians have been intent for a long time on making us the ultimate south pacific sweatshop and milk factory.
Just started reading it, Kerry. The very first line almost made me spray my coffee over my monitor & keyboard;
Hekia Parata:
“I want to ensure that New Zealand has a world-leading education system that equips all our young people with the knowledge, skills and values to be successful in a world that is increasingly complex, fluid and uncertain. A good education gives our young people opportunities and choices.”
What a blimmin cheek!!
As usual, good research Frank. I’ve printed of a copy and showed it to a mate of mine who thinks National is god’s gift to us. I could tell by the look on his face he was none too happy.
Reblogged this on Cbmilne33’s Blog.