Education Archive

• 

  Green vision for education or charter schools? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Bill that will facilitate charter schools went through the second reading last night. It relies on the Māori Party for support as no one else apart from National and ACT will vote for it. The Bill is a privatisation device to assist education franchises and groups who do not want to be accountable under [...] read more
  May 16, 2013 10:38 am - 24 Comments
• 

  Te Kotahitanga – a successful programme is cut - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  For more than ten years a programme has been developed, implemented and monitored that has a proven ability to help teachers work effectively with all students. Te Kotahitanga was developed by Russel Bishop, Mere Berryman and a team at Waikato University to help teachers become culturally responsive and inclusive. More than 40 schools have used [...] read more
  April 26, 2013 9:46 am - 2 Comments
• 

  Christchurch schools – proposals or promises? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  At the schools rally in Christchurch on Tuesday, Board Members and parents were talking about the promise broken by the Minister of Education. A number of schools such as Central New Brighton and Branston Intermediate had been clearly told they would have until the end of 2014 to prepare for merger or closure. The announcement [...] read more
  February 21, 2013 12:12 pm - 16 Comments
• 

  Christchurch education rally - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
    Another hot afternoon and a stadium full of homemade banners. I saw the pride and hurt on the faces of schools facing closure for reasons they could not fathom. I stood for a few minutes with the man who runs the Community Centre at Phillipstown School. They have been marked for closure and with [...] read more
  February 20, 2013 12:47 pm - 11 Comments
• 

  The heart has been ripped out of Christchurch school communities - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Schools can be the heart of their communities. In the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes, schools played a stabilising role not just for students, but for parents and staff as well. Now though, the Government has ripped the hearts out of some of the hardest hit communities. read more
  February 19, 2013 3:18 pm - 58 Comments
• 

  Back to school - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Despite the Novopay chaos and the depressing Government commitment to undermining public education, school starts today and can be a great place. The Green Party is keen to support students and teachers to stay positive and keep working together. We want to see more schools working closely with their communities, more Enviroschools, more early childhood [...] read more
  January 28, 2013 3:59 pm - 1 Comment
• 

  Engaging Maori Learners - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  On Wednesday I drove to Waitangi to participate in the “Engaging Maori Learners” conference of about 400 principals and teachers. I was especially pleased to hear the korero from Dr Chris Sarra from Bundaberg, Queensland who is one of about 20 aboriginal school principals in Australia and who has led some exciting changes in schools. [...] read more
  January 25, 2013 9:21 am - 5 Comments
• 

  Discontent over this loss of democracy - by Eugenie Sage

  
  
  
  On Tuesday I was on the steps of Parliament with Christchurch based MPs from Labour and NZ First to deliver an open letter  to the Prime Minister from seven Christchurch groups and the Wizard of New Zealand seeking a restoration of democracy in Canterbury. We investigated the decision making around the Government’s suspension of Cantabrians’ [...] read more
  December 6, 2012 9:42 am - 6 Comments
• 

  Enviroschools Award for Cool Ngaruawahia Kindy - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Yesterday I had the privilege of attending an Enviroschools Award ceremony at Newcastle Kindergarten in Ngaruawahia. They had won a bronze award for their sustainability efforts and focus at the centre. During the powhiri the children performed waiata with confidence and listened very politely to the speeches of the adults. We then had the chance [...] read more
  November 23, 2012 11:35 am - 1 Comment
• 

  The Parliamentary week that was, 6-8 Nov, for Pacific communities - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Parliament was preoccupied by two major pieces of news last week, the unemployment figures and concerns about Housing. It also passed the Climate Change legislation (as previously discussed in this blog post series) and failed to pass Labour MP Darien Fenton’s Bill to stop libraries from charging for borrowing and internet use. Unemployment During Question [...] read more
  November 15, 2012 11:30 am - 1 Comment
• 

  Christchurch education rally - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Last week I attended a rally in Hagley Park and marched through the streets of Christchurch with some of the schools under threat of merger and closure. The mood was angry and frustrated. The schools are demanding a proper consultation process not a maze of rhetoric, deadlines and confusing threats. Are they being fair to [...] read more
  November 5, 2012 9:39 am - 2 Comments
• 

  World Teachers Day - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This is the day we acknowledge the huge contribution of our teachers to our lives and communities. A teacher who helps students liberate their imagination and capacity is a lifelong gift. Yes, we can all remember teachers who acted as if they would rather have been in the army or spoke in incomprehensible codes but [...] read more
  October 26, 2012 10:00 am - No Comments
• 

  The Parliamentary week that was, 16-18 Oct, for Pacific communities - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  This is the start of what I hope will be a periodic review of what’s been happening in Parliament and what it might mean for Pacific communities. This week I’ll focus on three possible law changes, two bad and one good. Youth Rates – the Government has introduced a Bill into the House to extend [...] read more
  October 23, 2012 11:00 am - 1 Comment
• 

  Select Committee hearing on early childhood and Pasifika languages - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Last week the Education and Science Select Committee had a very privileged experience hearing from a number of Pasifika communities and individuals about their support for learning in their heritage languages. Although the Government restricted the inquiry to early childhood education (ECE) and Pasifika language issues, the submitters painted a broad and holistic picture of [...] read more
  September 19, 2012 5:08 pm - 21 Comments
• 

  Supporting the Gifts and Talents of Youth - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Every year the Green Party celebrates the “Gifted and Talented” which to us means all children, tamariki katoa! We also specifically support “Gifted and Talented” programmes in schools because they are broad and recognise the diversity of gifts that need encouragement from a young age. These gifts include leadership strengths, academic talents, sports and arts [...] read more
  June 21, 2012 3:35 pm - No Comments
• 

  Residential schools and inclusion – a genuine challenge - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Unlike the absurd proposals to raise class size, create league tables that rank schools, or bring in performance pay for teachers, the future of the residential schools for disabled students is a genuine dilemma now for some families. Like all the people I have met from the education sector and from a number of families, [...] read more
  June 20, 2012 3:10 pm - 1 Comment
• 

  Double Standards: Private schools receive Government funding while state schools are left scrounging - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The National-led Government’s proposed cuts in teacher staffing numbers and increased class sizes in public schools reeks of hypocrisy and double standards. Their proposals are informed in part by New Zealand Treasury’s briefing paper recommendations, which suggested increasing student-teacher ratios for reasons of cost effectiveness. The Government’s savings will amount to $43m a year as [...] read more
  June 5, 2012 5:09 pm - 64 Comments
• 

  Education is ACE - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The idea that education is for life is learned from early childhood. The ethos of community based learning, second chance education and community development has informed Adult and Community Education (ACE) programmes for many years. Despite the brutal cuts to ACE the ethos is alive and well in places like Riverslea Primary School in Hastings [...] read more
  May 11, 2012 9:51 am - 30 Comments
• 

  Digital Earth coming to Wellington - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  Last night I enjoyed attending the launch of the 4th Digital Earth Summit 2012, that Wellington City will be co-hosting (along with Land Information New Zealand)  in September this year. It is not the first time that Digital Earth has come to New Zealand – Auckland hosted it in 2006, thanks largely to the efforts [...] read more
  May 9, 2012 1:05 pm - No Comments
• 

  Cross-party support for Te Reo in schools? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  It’s high time we all worked together and supported our national languages in schools starting with Te Reo Maori. I agree with Tim Groser that learning Te Reo should be available to all children and it’s great to hear the message from an unexpected quarter. The earlier children learn languages, the better. And as Tim [...] read more
  April 30, 2012 12:47 pm - 72 Comments
• 

  What Our academics say about charter schools - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Many people are confused about the Charter School plans the Government are actively pursuing. We know it was in the ACT/National Party agreement to do this but we have been unable to find out what problem they are trying to solve. There is a multitude of conflicting international evidence on the issue because this is [...] read more
  April 20, 2012 3:18 pm - 7 Comments
• 

  Education that works for students - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This week John Key and David Shearer made key note speeches which included references to education. The rhetoric around education flowed freely but I couldn’t hear any depth or real excitement in either speech. Setting targets for NCEA improvement (which is the Government’s plan) and getting of  bad schools and bad teachers (which is Labour’s [...] read more
  March 16, 2012 5:13 pm - 54 Comments
• 

  Government needs to rethink National Standards after US experience - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In 2002, then US President George W Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law. No Child Left Behind was the US equivalent of the National Standards that New Zealand’s National-led Government has imposed on primary and intermediate schools – in fact it was the model upon which National Standards were [...] read more
  February 13, 2012 2:29 pm - 16 Comments
• 

  Schools should appoint their own principals - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I am concerned by media reports that the Ministry of Education is considering taking off boards of trustees the role of hiring their school’s principal. Rumours about such a significant proposal should not be swirling around in the media without a confirmation or denial from the Ministry. School boards and parents should be formally notified [...] read more
  December 19, 2011 7:42 pm - 9 Comments
• 

  Childcare changes typical of Govt’s anti-child approach - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has realised that if you’re going to work-test sole parents and force them into low-paid jobs when their children are six (or younger), someone’s going to have to look after the kids. read more
  October 3, 2011 4:39 pm - 6 Comments
• 

  When is civil disobedience justified? - by frog

  
  
  
  Dave Kennedy is the Green Party’s candidate for the Invercargill electorate. He has worked as a primary teacher for 30 years. Dave has his own blog site, which is well worth a regular read. I’ve decided this insightful post by Dave yesterday on how we have reached the stage that at least a quarter of schools are refusing to comply with Education Minister Anne Tolley’s National Standards deserves republishing here in full: read more
  August 18, 2011 9:04 am - 36 Comments
• 

  National Standards rural resistance - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Last week, I attended a meeting on National Standards in a small town in the Waikato. It was a cold Thursday evening but about 50 parents and teachers and the three candidates for the Coromandel electorate had a chance to hear Professor Martin Thrupp report from his current research on National Standards in schools. Martin [...] read more
  August 17, 2011 12:07 pm - 3 Comments
• 

  60,000 people are not wrong about cuts to early childhood education - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The 60,000 strong early childhood education (ECE) petition presented to Parliament this week represents a heartfelt message to the Government to invest in the best for our youngest citizens. read more
  July 15, 2011 12:06 pm - 12 Comments
• 

  Gifted Awareness Week - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This week is Gifted Awareness Week – a week when we celebrate the incredible talents of young citizens who have so much to offer the country. read more
  June 16, 2011 9:27 am - 31 Comments
• 

  Miramar South School – Low Decile and High Quality - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  As the debate rages about the proposed merger of two Miramar schools I want to challenge the perception that these schools have a lower quality of education, teaching staff and student behaviour. For the past two years I have been a proud supporter of activities at Miramar South School, presenting books to students and attending [...] read more
  May 31, 2011 10:22 am - 2 Comments
• 

  National Standards – fake it till you make it? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Some school principals have revealed that they are getting some interesting advice from the Ministry of Education about how to incorporate the National Standards into their school charters. The suggestion that they should essentially fake it – by inserting the words “national standards” into their charters, even if they are not actively using them – [...] read more
  May 18, 2011 2:30 pm - 4 Comments
• 

  Saints or support workers? Rodney Hide on special education - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  In the middle of his other troubles, Associate Education Minister Rodney Hide spoke at our Select Committee on Wednesday about the Review of Special Education. It was apparent that his 6 month journey with this portfolio has included some transformative moments, as documented in TVNZ’s Make the Politician Work. He has been open about the [...] read more
  May 5, 2011 5:21 pm - 2 Comments
• 

  Quality public education – a public good - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I spent the weekend at the Quality Public Education Coalition (QPEC) Conference in Auckland. This conference had the strongest turn out of people from every level of the public education sector since I have been attending. There were powerful presentations from people active in early childhood issues, the compulsory sector and the tertiary sector. Everyone [...] read more
  May 3, 2011 1:25 pm - 8 Comments
• 

  Restoring the Kaipara Harbour - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  I was really inspired when taking part in a hui at Puatahi Marae on Sunday, an open day for the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group.  The group’s title is a mouthful, but there is nothing complicated about the vision they share, which is to restore the Kaipara, its mauri, its quality and its ecosystems back to what [...] read more
  April 18, 2011 5:58 pm - 1 Comment
• 

  Pink Shirt Day on April 14th - by Kevin Hague

  
  
  
  You know you have one. Time to get it out. Russel Norman says I have to iron mine. April 14th is Pink Shirt Day, a day when everyone around the country is encouraged to make a visual display of our abhorrence of bullying. read more
  April 7, 2011 11:29 am - 5 Comments
• 

  Tertiary education cuts still not healing - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  The Tertiary Education Union is concerned that NorthTec is looking to cut positions in trades training at a time when there is already a serious skills shortage.   We can expect the demand for trades people will only increase when the rebuilding of Christchurch begins in earnest, and the development of infrastructure in Auckland proceeds apace, among other things.  I’m [...] read more
  March 31, 2011 1:08 pm - 2 Comments
• 

  Bullying in schools - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  This is a very old and a painful issue for many people. I was bullied in my primary school and I bet most people reading this have either witnessed or experienced bullying in schools. The issue of what to do with persistent bullies sounds simple: kick them out! But it’s not as simple as it [...] read more
  March 30, 2011 4:48 pm - 36 Comments
• 

  Community-led development – good news from the grassroots! - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I had two very positive days last week meeting with community sector groups in Porirua and in Nelson. It was great to hear some positive stories from people who are leading change in these places, and to realise how much great work is going on despite the recession, the Government and the hard times since the earthquake. read more
  March 21, 2011 2:10 pm - 3 Comments
• 

  National Standards race to nowhere - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Yesterday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited our Parliament and promoted free trade agreements with all the fervour of the faithful. This position was predictable, but less well known is her stance on education. Julia is the leader who imposed the Australian version of National Standards on Australian schools against the wishes of the teachers’ unions. read more
  February 17, 2011 10:31 am - 21 Comments
• 

  What is a real education? - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  I asked young people directly what they need from their education. Their answers are summarised in our report, ‘What is a real education’, released today. read more
  February 4, 2011 9:25 am - 12 Comments