tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post7725735797946004555..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Guestie: Being Brilliant in the Classroomkatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-23215345632114730472014-01-30T13:54:35.756+13:002014-01-30T13:54:35.756+13:00I agree with anon 5.16. To bleat on about passion...I agree with anon 5.16. To bleat on about passion but then chase the money seems two faced. I have no issue with chasing money but my experience of teachers has been that the good ones were doing it for other than the money.<br /><br />I also think its appalling to virtually condemn poorer kids to failure because they are poor. They are up against a stigma before they start because no-one has expectations they can succeed.<br /><br />Taita College had a pretty bad reputation some years ago but a great principal turned that around by having simple expectations about behaviour. The same kids (although bolstered by a bunch of local middle class families that would have looked elswhere before the change)still went and home may still have been crap but they developed some pride in themselves. It showed.<br /><br />Much of the problem is related to, in my view, poor parenting and money won't fix that.<br /><br />3:16Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-33785728923123640942014-01-29T14:40:40.117+13:002014-01-29T14:40:40.117+13:00Put simply, the new policy disadvantages the alrea...Put simply, the new policy disadvantages the already disadvantaged. Poor kids are up against it in the education system because of thd social issues they face, through no fault of their own. If teachers are paid based on student results, surely they will flock to schools where the community is wealthy and it's so much easier to support children to get good results. Less good teachers in low decile communities. Just what we need, thanks National. the fresh gardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16450763870973452094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-26595486398531925922014-01-28T23:37:13.731+13:002014-01-28T23:37:13.731+13:00@Anonymous: Any education policy which requires on...@Anonymous: Any education policy which requires on teachers to martyr themselves for the good of the nation as a whole is dead on arrival.Hughhttp://www.tvgohome.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-70338817030841602012014-01-28T17:16:23.991+13:002014-01-28T17:16:23.991+13:00I find it difficult to accept that this poster has...I find it difficult to accept that this poster has the interests of the greater good at heart when they abandoned NZ to teach other children where the "resources are better."<br /><br />If you really felt community-minded, you would have stayed.<br /><br />My 2cents.<br /><br />A Former TeacherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-22696419755152225542014-01-28T06:16:09.823+13:002014-01-28T06:16:09.823+13:00Hear hear
I'm another teacher who also doesn&...Hear hear<br /><br />I'm another teacher who also doesn't teach in NZ, but this is all very new to me.<br /><br />The 'problems'* facing New Zealand's education system are actually very simple. Lack of teachers, and student poverty.<br /><br />The latter can't really be solved by education policy, it's a wider economic problem. It can be mitigated to a certain extent, like with the Greens' school lunch idea, but ultimately poor kids are going to have a harder time than rich kids and there is no way to prevent this without addressing their poverty.<br /><br />The former can be addressed by providing more teachers, so that each teacher can dedicate more time to prep, giving extra help to students who fall behind or excel, and so on. The government's ideologically opposed to this.<br /><br />*I say 'problems' because NZ's education system, even considering the recent decline, is still good by first world standards. The perception that it's in crisis comes from the rather unfortunate position of the concept of education in society - it is on the one hand expected to provide a solution to basically every concievable problem, and on the other hand it is very receptive to moral panics and displaced bourgeois anxieties. But having said that, it isn't perfect, so I don't have a problem with the fact that the government wants to improve it. Their methods, on the other hand, suck.<br /><br />tl:dr - The 'Great Man' theory doesn't work in education any more than in history.Hughhttp://www.tvgohome.comnoreply@blogger.com