Posts by Hilary Stace
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I've been out for a few hours and come back to see the Education Amendment Bill is now into its 3rd reading. Great speech by Grant Robertson - emphasised that education is actually about teaching and learning (not testing). It is less than 40 hours since the scanned bill was bought to public attention via the previous Public Address post. We are fundamentally changing the principles of our education system with this legislation. Democracy has gone mad.
On the other hand I have been out talking to many people this morning. Ordinary non-political people are angry at the arrogance of this speed dial approach to legislation. The Fire at Will Bill has particularly hit a nerve.
Nicky Kaye just praised 'this fantastic National Government' - already sounds a bit hollow.
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Did I hear right - the Fire at Will Bill will now come into effect on 1 March not 1 April because of an amendment by Act's David Garrett - so even earlier (or was that the Bail Bill?) Whatver, more chaotic unsignalled legislative effects.
Yes Malcolm Gladwell is great. I heard him speak at a conference in the US earlier this year when he was arguing against sending your kids to elite schools and universityies.
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Now former Education Minister Nick Smith is getting very excitable. How can he be so hyperactive so late on a Friday night?
This ridiculous urgency process reminds of the late 1970s when I worked in the parliamentary library. In those days urgency literally went all through the night (now they finish at midnight) sometimes for days on end. Muldoon quite liked urgency. His other tactic was not opening parliament at all until half way through the year and then ramming through everything he wanted to do in frequent use of urgency.
Anyhow we were rostered to work through the night in those pre-internet days in case MPs or their staff required urgent information for a debate. Our pay rate dropped to quarter pay after midnight - that's quarter pay - not time and a quarter. (Collective action by librarians to the parliamentary admin committee finally resolved that injustice)
Mike Minogue used to be a frequent visitor as he found the library a refuge especially for a National Party maverick like him, with few allies and many enemies in his own party. Mike Minogue died just recently. I wonder what he would make of this new government - are there more like him waiting to emerge?.
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So the second reading already. Amazing speed considering only 24 hours ago this legislation first came to our attention when the Greens got a paper copy of the bill and scanned it onto their website. This is a surely a new record for education legislation. Who knows what will be on the agenda for Saturday's urgency?
What a great Minister of Education Meteria would be. Such an impressive speaker in this second reading. She showed how aligned the ideology of the Bill is with the No Child Left Behind law in the US and quoted an evaluation of that law that showed a 17% drop out rate of black students and those with disabilities from education in just 2 years. And challenged the Maori Party not to support it as evidence shows it will discriminate against, not assist Maori kids.
And can someone explain why Anne Tolley, without a degree and not much apparent experience in the sector, got the Education portfolio over Alan Peachey who at least has a few years of secondary principal experience?
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Any bets on how long before the Maori Party divorces the National /Act government? Their basic values really do not match. Already this week they have been forced to support the Tax Bill that in effect raised taxes for those earning between $14,000 and $20,000, and now they have to support this flawed Education Amendment Bill and accept the lack of democratic process, through unwarranted use of urgency and lack of select committee scrutiny.
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On Parliament TV they are now debating the Education Amendment Bill. This is surely post modern politics!
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If I had had the chance to do a submission on the Education Amendment Bill I would have quoted from Temple Grandin, PhD, who has considerable wisdom on all things autism related.This is what she says about standardised testing:
'One complaint I am hearing from both parents and teachers is that the No Child Left Behind law makes it impossible to spend much time on subjects other than reading and math because school districts put so much emphasis on students passing tests in these subjects. Recently, I had a discussion with a mom about teaching reading. She told me that her daughter, who has reading problems, was not allowed to go outside for recess because she had to do reading drills. The girl was bored stiff and hated it. However, she quickly learned to read when her Mom taught her from a Harry Potter book. To motivate kids, especially those with autism spectrum disorders, you need to start with books the kids want to read'....[she then goes on to discuss how she herself couldn't read by 3rd grade until her mother worked out her unique learning style and found her the right books to engage her interest]... 'If my third grade teacher had continued trying to teach me to read with endless, boring drills, I would have failed the reading competency tests required by No Child Left Behind'.
Grandin, Temple (2008), The way I see it: a personal look at autism and Asperger's, Arlington, Future Horizons, p,45-6.
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Oh dear. I've just read on Thestandard site that Steven Joyce doesn't like being ciriticised, and used his maiden speech to attack a person who had challenged him in a letter to the editor of the Dompost.
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My son has recently got very keen on Parliament tv (channel 94). They are now doing the Bail Bill clause by clause and seem completely tied up in knots. Some of the government MPs are looking distinctly uncomfortable.
I was wondering why this new government has rushed into this undemocratic urgency stuff for so much legislation so early in its term when there is really no hurry and it is very risky tactics.
But then I considered who is running this government. If you believe the Hollow Men theory that Steven Joyce is Key's main advisor - a man with no previous parliamentary experience - and even Key's expertise is limited, as was shown by some of his hiccups during the campaign such as his non-disclosure of share holdings, then it makes more sense. This behaviour is typical of high powered corporate players - quick firm decisions, don't give the opposition time to draw breath, act, and move on. Hesitation or consulting others risks losing your advantage.
Trouble is, this job is actually governing the country for all citizens. We are all shareholders here. This is not NZ Inc.
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I also question the assumption that all parents want to know where their child academic ability falls in relationship to the whole population of that age.
The parents I know who have wanted to know the results of PAT and other tests are those who have high achieving children and they want to be reassured of their brilliance.
But children are individuals and all learn differently. What I have always appreciated in my many years as a parent in the education system are the teachers who would spend some time with me regularly (my primary school did this twice a year near the child's birthday and 6 months on) going through what my child was doing at school, what their strengths and weaknesses were (academically and socially), and their high expectations of future progress. Then, most importantly, what I as a parent could do to help.
In all my reading about public policy there seems to be two common themes that lead to good outcomes in all areas: taking the effort to build good relationships, and high expectations of success.
Good teachers already do this. But this new education bill seems deficient on both counts.