By Kate Chapman
Teachers have to do what the Government tells them to, Education Minister Anne Tolley says.
The 550 principals at the Principals Federation Conference in Queenstown yesterday voted to oppose national standards.
The principals said the standards would not deliver the outcomes they intended and they would tell the minister that. They sought a complete revision of the standards and they supported Southland and Auckland principals who recommended non-attendance at training.
National standards have already been introduced in schools. They will be used to assess children against benchmarks in reading, writing and maths with regular reports sent to parents.
In the latest battle between the Government and standards opposition, Mrs Tolley today told the principals they were unique among public servants who could speak freely to the media.
"No public servants have ever been granted the privilege of picking and choosing which government laws they choose to administer."
Other professionals in government ministries could offer opinions but the Government made policy decisions, Mrs Tolley told the principals' conference.
She implored them to talk to her, not the media.
"We won't always agree, but it is my constant hope we can discuss issues reasonably and with a good dose of commonsense and courtesy.
"While I'm not here to debate standards, I believe it's important to point out that we have been listening, and continue to listen, to your concerns."
National standards would not change things but offered a benchmark to indicate where action was needed, Mrs Tolley said.
Parents were the silent majority on national standards, she said.
"I can assure you there's no putting the genie back in the bottle -- parents are driving this."
Parents were thrilled about being more informed and involved, Mrs Tolley said.
Mrs Tolley told NZPA her speech seemed to be well received by the principals who applauded her when she was finished.
She said schools around the country were getting on with implementing standards and parents were happy to be receiving the first reports on the national standards.
Principal Federation vice-president Peter Simpson said there were no surprises in Mrs Tolley's speech.
The standards were fundamentally flawed and needed to be revised, Mr Simpson said.
The standards did not align with the curriculum and the assessment tools did not align with the standards, he told NZPA.
The federation would make a submission to the Government about the problems with the standards and solutions.
"We'll just continue to work with her (Tolley) along the lines of our professional judgement is that these standards are flawed. We want to continue to work with her."
New Zealand Educational Institute president Frances Nelson said the Government had lost touch with the sector over the standards.
"Principals and teachers have no confidence in the standards and the rushed implementation process.
"The Government wants us as professionals to get on with implementing the standards, but we're saying that as professionals we have serious concerns which should be taken on board."
The national standards would be implemented over three years.
NZPA