Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Joining the conversation

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  • Rob Stowell,

    If they're under-performing, I think the community needs to know, teachers and management need to know, hell even the ministry needs to know, so they can see how to correct that. If they're over-performing, it may be useful to know how it came about and if those methods can be replicated elsewhere. The standardised tools that are there at the moment are just to piece-meal for that kind of information to be of real use.

    ERO.
    Talk to Dr Stoop about his peicemeal and useless organisation :) In my experience, ERO have a fair swag of integrity.
    So the ministry has a very good idea of what schools are doing well and who is failing. The name "National standards" is a smart piece of branding- like 'no child left behind' :( - but it doesn't describe what is happening. The 'national standards' are a simple mechanism to tie teacher pay and/or school funding to pupil results in a set of tests.
    (edit: ah, sacha beat me to it!)

    Whakaraupo • Since Nov 2006 • 2120 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Source for the goose...

    Yep. The zealous willingness to promote uniformed gossip as public debate - for fun and profit!

    I think the black Jacket with epaulets, Jodphurs
    and Jackboots is tres stylish, and so close to
    the horse's mouth....


    Wait loss in the suburbs...

    supermarket cues

    now there is a market niche magazine...
    Louche tips for living your life
    Pointers for the "aisle be right" brigade
    Ideas to shake a stick at....


    Len Black, (the Night Mayor) enjoy the ride...

    I always think Joanne Brown's views on education should be viewed in light...

    Brown is the new Black!

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Aaron Dick,

    "There are a lot of things wrong with the implementation of the standards, but not necessarily with the idea of the standards, if you wish to ascertain which schools may be under or over-performing in relation to the composition of their student population. If they're under-performing, I think the community needs to know, teachers and management need to know, hell even the ministry needs to know, so they can see how to correct that. If they're over-performing, it may be useful to know how it came about and if those methods can be replicated elsewhere. The standardised tools that are there at the moment are just to piece-meal for that kind of information to be of real use."

    Sorry, I know it's a huge quote but I figured it covered things the best. I am agreed that having a Standard is not in itself a bad thing. We need to have a benchmark for lower ability kids to aim for at least.

    But so far as I can tell, we have those standards already. When I began my training I was given curriculum documents and a variety of assessments. They all tested different things, yes, but it was clear how each related to what the average standard.

    So that makes me wonder why it is constantly said that at least these new National Standards provide that benchmark. We already had that! We have ERO to investigate how well the school is performing for its community and what outside influences it has etc. If you're really worried that poor teachers are getting udner the radar, I would invest in ERO.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • Matt Sinnock,

    ..what about an RSS feed?

    ..the new year

    And while we work on a clean feed you will find that Fiona's daily TV and Radio updates appear dailiy in here:
    Latest Issue RSS

    .. along with any other featured articles we put live that day.

    Note though that once each week you will see a swathe of the magazine content arrive with links to stuff you can't read.. I know.. it's daft.. we're working on it.

    Auckland • Since Oct 2010 • 3 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    I remember when the listener was massive, literally it was fucking huge, was it A3 ? It looked like a mat on your floor.Oh dear.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Ngaire BookieMonster,

    I remember when the listener was massive, literally it was fucking huge, was it A3 ? It looked like a mat on your floor.Oh dear.

    Oh, me too! It was like tabloid size?

    At the foot of Mt Te Aroh… • Since Nov 2009 • 174 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    I still have copies from that size-era - a couple of poems found nowhere else, and my first nationally published s.s. were the reasons for keeping them...they're A3 (or near as damn it) and at least double the number of pages of the current, pathetically scrawny (in content & otherwise) thing...

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Hand lettered by elves, it were

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    And while we work on a clean feed you will find that Fiona's daily TV and Radio updates appear dailiy in here:

    Ah, thanks.

    Edit:

    Safari can’t open the page “feed://www.listener.co.nz/sm/rss/latestissue.rss”. The error is: “The feed could not be loaded because the content is not in a known feed format.” (PubSub:2)

    Oops.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    So that makes me wonder why it is constantly said that at least these new National Standards provide that benchmark. We already had that! We have ERO to investigate how well the school is performing for its community and what outside influences it has etc. If you're really worried that poor teachers are getting udner the radar, I would invest in ERO.

    I agree. And one of ERO's findings about a school may be that teachers make insufficient use of student performance tools to inform their practice. However as far as I understand it few of these tools (STAR being an exception) correlated to a national norm, or did so inconsistently, providing neither schools nor ERO with the tools to assess the effectiveness of a school's teaching.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    A very good sign. Some pupils are smarter than we think. Come to think of it, some pupils are smarter than Minister Tolley thinks.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Come to think of it, some pupils are smarter than Minister Tolley thinks.

    indeed...

    Education Minister Anne Tolley said many of the parents having to find childcare would not have had the sort of pay increases teachers were seeking.

    ... I think Tolley will find that Year 11 students are mostly old enough that they don't need child care and can be left home alone...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    ... I think Tolley will find that Year 11 students are mostly old enough that they don't need child care and can be left home alone...

    I know, Ian, I saw that, and I thought - I despair. Because I do. I love my job so much, and then I remember who our Minister is, and I get all sad.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • johnno,

    Hand lettered by elves, it were

    currently looking for new job opportunities...

    wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 111 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Safari can’t open the page “feed://www.listener.co.nz/sm/rss/latestissue.rss”. The error is: “The feed could not be loaded because the content is not in a known feed format.” (PubSub:2)

    Worked fine for me in google reader.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    I think Tolley will find that Year 11 students are mostly old enough that they don't need child care and can be left home alone...

    I have the strike roster for our high school, and it only affects years 9 and 10. It actually works out very nicely for us because previously our year 10 son was only entitled to three days study leave for his NCEA exams. Now he has an extra four days scheduled.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Matt Sinnock,

    Safari can’t open the page “feed://www.listener.co.nz/sm/rss/latestissue.rss”. The error is: “The feed could not be loaded because the content is not in a known feed format.” (PubSub:2)

    Fixed now. Thanks for that.

    Auckland • Since Oct 2010 • 3 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Colony collapse disorder...

    If National Standards are actually a tool to crush the NZEI/PPTA, why doesn't Minister Tolley just say so? And as I previously mentioned, teachers are heartily sick of social work and warden duty foisted on them.

    The education wars are but one symptom of the privatised class system malaise.

    It has bugged me as to what is wrong with the Government in relation to education (amongst other things), and I just came across the perfect explanation in the book I'm reading ( The Language of the Bees by Laurie L King*)
    - Beehives are organic machines, entirely designed to provide for the next generation.
    - Our Beehive is not functioning properly!!

    *not completely a treatise on apiarists but also the adventures of the retired Sherlock Holmes and his much younger bride...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    There is a rather wonderful book, also about an aged Sherlock Holmes & bees - and a parrot, and a young boy. Which I bought a while ago and somebody borrowed and leant to someone else - and I cannot remember the title...I loved the last line which went something like this:
    "And the bird sang in a high elegant voice the words of someone they would never know."

    (That is NOT a quotation!)

    Writing this, I remembered it is by Michael Chabon, and it is called "The Final Solution."

    Now (she says grimly) off to track down the the non-returning book-borrower... be afraid, you, be very afraid-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

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