Principals reject Tolley's national standards

Principals and other educators have examined these standards and have clearly stated they see them as flawed and will not achieve what they set out to do, so this is not a matter of dismissing changes but to ensure they are effective changes for the better. A minor point, Anne Tolley referred to the principals as ‘public servants’, public servants are employed by the Public Service whereas principals are employed by the schools the work for. The Ministry of Education is funds the school. What is needed is proof of open transparent communication between Minister and Principals.
@ Lightseed, READ MY COMMENT ABOUT WHO IS THE EMPLOYER HERE.

In my country the USA, the states have set up exams to block graduation from high school. The standards of the exam can be adjusted making for the ability to control the output of people without diplomas. Those people can then serve as a lower class. Common throughout the public school system including universities are expensive textbooks written by people already on the public payroll but the copywrite for the texts is not owned by the public. By comparison, if an engineer employed by a corporation were to come up with an invention, that invention idea is owned by the corporation. Learning and credit for learning is sequestered in institutions, but the vast majority of classes in high schools and universities could be videotaped, the texts could be on a public available database, and summary exams could be taken at libraries. If your over 24 years of age there is hostile academic environments on campus, the universities want the demographics pure, to fit the corporated controlled media image that colleges are Disneyland places for the 18-22 year olds, that parents and taxpayers buy. Social mobility is linked to education, and the reins are tight to control the demographics.

If only the minister would actually listen and respond to communication that we do make with here! letters take an age to get a response to and emails receive only an acknowledgement of receipt in many cases. That doesn't make for effective communication. As for having a mandate.... hardly! National was elected largely because the people of NZ had got tired of Labour direction after 9 years. It is somewhat disingenuous to suggest that the NZ Principal's Federation had stopped communicating with her Office since it was her Office that cut communication in the first place! It has been heart rending to see some of my colleagues forced to lead the implementation of National Standards, when they know from an absolute flood of overseas experience that they don't work and are damaging to the children of a nation. It simply is not possible to repeatedly tell children they are 'well below standard' and have them persist and become successful. Everybody knows such a strategy is bad teaching practice, yet this is a corner stone of the scheme being set up. For a country that consistently performs amongst the top 5 countries in the world we have a proven ability to do much better than such a system.

Steve, Teachers that don't do good tough work every day (including most of their holidays) do not exist. These people get paid little compared to those overseas and in the private sector. They do it because they value education. I have never criticized people for their spelling or grammar online, however assessing your enthusiasm for 'proper English what we were taught' is a good example of the flaws in NS. Under the NS one teacher may call you a failure for your imperfect grammar and poor spelling. Another teacher might commend you for your emotional and persuasive argument. Both would be correct. If there is disagreement can this be called a national standard? How would you feel about being labeled a failure? Does it inspire you to brush up on your low standard of written English, or make you angry and less willing to take advice from the person who called you a failure? The time and money wasted on NS is time and money that could be used to help children learn better English and maths, not rank them.

It is not the schools that are to blame. It is the homes. Principals give it their all, as do most teachers. I was a teacher in an Auckland decile 3 school for two years. You can't grow a beautiful rose in crap soil. (maybe you can, but it is a figure of speech I just penned. Fairly happy with it I am too). The problems stem from the home. Not from the school. Although I am a National voter from long ago, I think Anne take a deep breath and start listening.

Just Union tactics with their marxist doctrines with their ongoing dumbing down of educational standards. Parents want it and a good proportion of 'non unionised / non militant' teachers want it. [ie those teachers that can think for themselves and rerise above the politics.].
Really this is just anti National politics by the unions with there socialist agenda. The day kids education is held to ransom by the socialistic idealogies of the unions and Labour is a sad day.

The way I see it is that our education system is well below what it was and it is time the education system got back to waht it should be doing - but properly. We should be marking on a national basis. Period.

I see some this feedback from teachers means they are going to have to do some work, good hard work. Tough.

Kids need to be able to read, write and do maths. Also, by writing, not this 'text speak', I mean proper English what we were taught in the 'old days' and alot of you will remember this also. Did me no harm.

So National, bloody good on you!

Yes Lightseed, fire every teacher who opposes National Standards (almost all of them). What are the children going to do when there are no teachers? Stay at home? And what about the parents - take time off work?

Here you go again Lightseed waffling off a lot of crap,Blaming labour for some thing that has been going on well before you were born,You are a ass too blame the labour for the lack of education,The maori have always been slow on learning,and many european also who have not been able learn the basics,we are all born differently Some children may lack one thing but could be good in another.Like you have top marks in every thing that you were taught,that is why you are a idiot now.Just look at the remarks that are written about you on these comments.

Labour dumbed down the education system and put their lackies in there as the principals. Now we are seeing that these union fed communists are rebelling as it will show exactly what they are. Time for a clean out and put people in there that have the kids future in mind rather than their own agenda.