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Labour questions education policy

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Labour questions education policy

3News NZ

Labour leader David Shearer

Labour leader David Shearer

Labour is contrasting the Government's drive for quality teaching with its decision to allow charter schools to hire unregistered teachers.

Details of the way charter schools will be run were released on Thursday, showing they will be able to hire registered and unregistered teachers.

That's caused an outcry from teacher unions and Labour leader David Shearer says the government's education policy is "shambolic".

"It's incredible that in May the education minister was proudly outlining plans for investing $60 million in teacher quality and professional development," he said.

"A couple of months later they're happy to stick children in a classroom led by a teacher who isn't even registered."

The Government was going to raise $60m for teacher development by increasing class sizes and cutting teacher numbers.

It scrapped the policy because of opposition from parents and is looking for other ways to raise the money.

Mr Shearer says charter schools are the Government's "latest bad idea" and pose serious risks.

The schools can be run by community, business or religious organisations.

They will be funded by the state and can set their own hours and terms, and develop their own curriculum.

They are an ACT Party initiative and setting them up is part of its support agreement with the Government.

The first two are due to open at the beginning of 2014 and ACT leader John Banks says they will be able to help children who are failing in state schools.

NZN

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Comments

6/08/2012 8:38:42 a.m.

David wrote:

@David Everyone knows you're 100% Labour supporting and anti everything National ... National Standards, National Identity, National Pride ... You believe in the strongarm like that of unions holding NZ to ransom, and it is even the symbol of your favorite party - Strongarm Labour!

How many did Helen have working in her office as PR? How many does John currently have? Oh wait, John reduced the number of PR from what Helen had, but you attack John over the PR when Helen had more.

Again instead of tackling policy you have turned to the rabbid foaming at the mouth, attacking people as do 9/10 of your posts, as your Labour Training Group probably taught ... Keep it up, and you will help Labour lose the next election.

The current system preferred by teachers is flawed and with no national standards I can't see how it can be fixed. While teachers are reviewed, its peer review, and not to a national standard.

A teacher posted about being reviewed 4x in a year, and apparently not peers? Question, were the principal + head of department teachers before being shuffled up the ladder to their current position? Some national standard would still be better and while a peer review 4x in a year would be better than nothing, national standards and recording students results into a national database would measure a teacher and students not 4 in a year, but hundreds of times, plus remove the bias of local school politics and unions.

I managed to get some of the highest marks in primary, but due to politics of the principal (who I saw 1x in 4 years) I got put in the bottom stream in intermediate where the kids in the class average was around 40% marks while I topped the intermediate in several subjects. This is an example of peer review and politics winning over student education. It was not good for me being in that class, nor was it good for the other students in the class. Such garbage education can happen currently, with national standards it could much better.

5/08/2012 7:05:29 p.m.

David wrote:

@Mike you need to get National to be more consistent with the press releases they wish you to release... your schooling history changes so often it amazes me. What I would like TV3 to do is get Workers from public relations companies paid by National to formally declare themselves so that we can ignore them and all they say.

5/08/2012 11:47:05 a.m.

Mike wrote:

My best results were from an unqualified teacher. It was a few years ago, under a Labour govt and the school was short 4 teachers. Seperate to the 4 short, the school also had unqualified teachers filing spots including my Chemistry teacher. My Chem teacher was unqualified till about October in the year, and yet they were 10x better than the previous teacher who retired creating the qualified shortage.

Teaching should reward better teachers and Labour is all against that. Take the prev Chem teacher, they were unpopular, they didn't teach well and students didn't achieve with them. While the new and unqualified teacher was much better. National standard would pick up such things and performance should reward vs how long someone has been in a job. Should we reward people for a job well done? Labour says no. I feel someone doing a great job shuld be rewarded. But it needs to be based on something substantive, not a popularity vote by peers which Labour prefers. And this idea someone who does a job poorly but has been doing a job a long time should get more, I'm against that too - but Labour prefers it and wants such teachers rewarded the most.

I didn't have a good year that year as I wasn't in the best in health, even spent some time off just before exams in Hospital plus time off school afterwards recovering. So poor health, time off, unqualified teacher ... Labour would claim I had no chance? Yet I gained a grade 1 in Chemistry (not bad for a fill-in subject) which was the highest grade with grades 1-10 given in internally assessed 6th form. NZ needs more teachers like that teacher, even if they are unqualified. and national standard would help identify them, plus help learn from them, and target supoprt better for students and teachers.

On the other side charter schools could have tougher requirements, eg they could have compulsory drug testing and 0 tolerance of drugs vs the allow some junkies to teach we have now.

5/08/2012 9:19:06 a.m.

aiden wrote:

i take it people do not realise that under labour when there was a teacher shortage they were taking people who were not qualified teachers, but had diploma's in different subjects and making them teachers. George it is worth trying this, you are right, because a group of students are failing no matter what government has tried iwthin the system. The fact is that charter schools have to achieve the same standards as every other school, if they don't they are closed down. Charter schools are actually far better than people realize, which is why Bill Gates supports them, funds them and believes the US education system should be modeled on them. anyone who is interested to see how a teachers union can destroy an education system watch "waiting for superman" it also gives you a very good look at the high pass rates of charter schools

4/08/2012 8:19:46 p.m.

george wrote:

and the current system is working so well for the bottom 10% of children? Isn't it worth while trying something different to see if it gets results. The teachers union are conflicted in this argument as they are trying to retain the status quo. Labour are just negative whingers. Lets try this - surely it can't be any worse than the current system for those who are struggling or failing

4/08/2012 4:45:42 p.m.

Huang wrote:

If the chartered schools offered cambridge exams instead of NCEA, we might be able to see how internationally they are, licensed teacher or not. NCEA is Labour failed education policy that the teachers are trying to protect.

4/08/2012 1:51:00 p.m.

kelvyn wrote:

Designed to lower teacher salaries. If you were prepared to pay registered teacher wages why would you bother with hiring someone unregistered. National Party philosophy is measured in money. There is no room for anything else.

4/08/2012 11:56:12 a.m.

jono wrote:

This govt is full of bad ideas, this one is more absurd than most. For kids who want to be taught by unqualified people, there are already plenty of dodgy PTEs who will take their money once they've left school. No need to also corrupt the school system. Ordinary kiwis need to stand strong against this govt's efforts at undermining what's left of NZ society.

4/08/2012 11:37:17 a.m.

Christopher wrote:

The left are just so negtive all the time - they make me sick. We need to think outside the box to help those that are failed by the system. We already have teacher aides [ just like nurse aides] we have parents as coaches, mentors, role models and teachers already. It would be good to expand on this and remember it is an option for parents. Of course the left and the unions hate choices and options as they like to control everything with their socialistic doctrines.

4/08/2012 11:11:07 a.m.

mike wrote:

Maybe its time that someone told teachers that they arent always right? i did far better in classes that had a good teacher who maybe was less qualified, because they cared about teaching not the crap ones who think they know all and never inspire you, maybe its time that students could do teacher reports to?