Peter I agee entirely and I would also add that it's well past time to insist that teachers teach students of all ages how to think and not what to think. Indoctrination and propaganda of all kinds should be outlawed and those who cannot or will not see the difference should be removed from the profession. In my 37 years as a teacher I saw how difficult it was to remove the incompetent and grossly underperforming teacher. There are some in the teaching profession who should not be within a million miles of children. Whatever we do now, it's going to be a long slow road back to real quality.
All so very true Peter. Are your next articles going to be 1. Stop alienating men from teaching, we need far more ‘masculinity’ in schools. And 2. Fix the woke cultural indoctrination by stopping the brainwashing of teachers and stopping them from then brainwashing students with their anti-white, anti-colonial, complete indigenisation theory. My niece is a new primary school teacher. Previously my favourite niece, she now thinks I’m a racist because I challenged her new narrative.
Oh, and then there’s the global boiling & trans bullshit the system keeps peddling. It’s fine to knock teaching ‘creationism’ (6,000 yr old earth version) on its head (which as an ardent theist was a good move), yet teaching false biology & fake geo-science is somehow ok?
Perhaps you could remind your niece that she has chosen to participate in a profession almost entirely dominated by females. A bit like nurses. They are merely perpetuating society’s myth that these jobs are suitable roles for women. I think they are letting their side down badly. My nieces’ are farmers and sparkys.
If your nieces are happy, then good on them, nothing wrong with a solid trade or primary sector role. Lord knows we need 'em.
But re the female dominance of teaching and nursing, I guess we gravitate towards what we biologically lean to, nothing right, nor wrong with that. Women are generally more drawn to caring roles and I guess that includes primary school. Lots of great female teachers & nurses out there. They just need to be mindful that they don't buy into a girly woke echo chamber thing which was my point. Teachers Training is certainly woke, and the Teachers Union and Nurses Union both indoctrinate the same BS.
Thank you Peter! This is something I have been saying for years. The most valuable thing about TTC's is about collaboration: workshopping ideas and learning to disagree and discuss with equanimity in a group of one's peers. One of the prime tasks of a teacher is to get on with other people..... Many teachers today get their degrees extramurally, which requires a very different set of skills than what's required in the classroom. And possibly teach "what to think", as opposed to how to form and develop thoughts and ideas.
Just to inform: most kindergartens now, are all-year kindergartens, i.e they are open, and teaching through the term breaks. Through my early years teaching, our union was Kindergarten Teachers' Association, or KTA. It was VASTLY different than teacher Unions are now. It was far more concerned with how our work directly affected the well-being and learning of our charges, not so much about political alignments and trade-offs
So true Peter. add in the contempt for authority by the kids these days and the blatant racism and anti colonialism being preached and we are in big trouble.
Totally agree Peter. The level of education has deteriorated considerably. Teachers first need to respect themselves by dressing for the job, and show respect their students by having the aptitude and desire to educate. I lived in various parts of Asia the past 40 yrs and Sensei is a desired profession.
A qualification, then a bond. Same for doctors. And what about the reason for our decline in literacy and numeracy? Hipkins, son and mother seem to have had a lot to do with education standards, particularly reading and numeracy, why not identify and make public that actual reasons for this calamity - a calamity that has harmed untold thousands of children? Name and shame them!
The principle has a responsibility for the success of the organisation in the same way as a CEO. They need some similar freedoms. There should be a small percentage of the school budget that the principle has freedom to allocate to individuals on the teaching staff to recognise organising ability or teaching ability, or their subjects are such that there is competition for them outside the school system.
Go back to the old system is what I thought of, just before clicking the link to your article. You don't 'fix' what isn't broken.
Our Maths teacher in High school had a Mathematics Degree, the English teacher, an English degree and so on and so forth. They had sound foundational knowledge and could teach it well.
I know I sound like a broken record, but to those on here who haven’t heard my constant attempts to shout out the obvious, the NZ teacher training system is NOT a teacher-training system. It is not the ‘teaching college’ model, nor is it the ‘University’ model, it is the worst of both worlds. There is no quality-control systems, no standardised observation system, no genuine moderation or auditing (other than amongst buddies inside the corrupt system protecting their own backsides). The ‘lecturers’ in ‘Universities’ claiming to ‘teach’ the beginning teachers, are often failed school teachers (NOT adult-educators). Their students’ exams have no assessment criteria and the staff have little to no knowledge of adult education theories or practice. Why would they need that? You refer to strategies of classroom management, Peter, but those skills are not needed in a classroom which delivers engaging content, with a teacher who is emotionally intelligent enough to respond to complex differentiation. (Incidentally a word my manager at a certain NZ university didnt even recognise). And as to the ‘rising to the top’, why would any administrator (manager) of a teacher-training dept accept feedback and ideas from someone more qualified and experienced than them? Far easier and safer for those over retirement age and insecure in their well-paid jobs to tag them as ‘tall poppies’ or ‘anti-vaxxers’ and manage them OUT asap. The reason this system has been encouraged to continue for decades progressively getting worse? I would have thought that was obvious to us all, looking all around NZ right now: critical thinkers are not allowed in an indoctrination system like ours. Little wonder so many parents are increasingly homeschooling - that’s what I would do too. The system and most people in it, are utterly beyond help.
Peter I agee entirely and I would also add that it's well past time to insist that teachers teach students of all ages how to think and not what to think. Indoctrination and propaganda of all kinds should be outlawed and those who cannot or will not see the difference should be removed from the profession. In my 37 years as a teacher I saw how difficult it was to remove the incompetent and grossly underperforming teacher. There are some in the teaching profession who should not be within a million miles of children. Whatever we do now, it's going to be a long slow road back to real quality.
‘Teach students how to think not what to think’.
Got it in one, well said indeed.
All so very true Peter. Are your next articles going to be 1. Stop alienating men from teaching, we need far more ‘masculinity’ in schools. And 2. Fix the woke cultural indoctrination by stopping the brainwashing of teachers and stopping them from then brainwashing students with their anti-white, anti-colonial, complete indigenisation theory. My niece is a new primary school teacher. Previously my favourite niece, she now thinks I’m a racist because I challenged her new narrative.
Oh, and then there’s the global boiling & trans bullshit the system keeps peddling. It’s fine to knock teaching ‘creationism’ (6,000 yr old earth version) on its head (which as an ardent theist was a good move), yet teaching false biology & fake geo-science is somehow ok?
Yup, we’ve a long way to go…
Perhaps you could remind your niece that she has chosen to participate in a profession almost entirely dominated by females. A bit like nurses. They are merely perpetuating society’s myth that these jobs are suitable roles for women. I think they are letting their side down badly. My nieces’ are farmers and sparkys.
If your nieces are happy, then good on them, nothing wrong with a solid trade or primary sector role. Lord knows we need 'em.
But re the female dominance of teaching and nursing, I guess we gravitate towards what we biologically lean to, nothing right, nor wrong with that. Women are generally more drawn to caring roles and I guess that includes primary school. Lots of great female teachers & nurses out there. They just need to be mindful that they don't buy into a girly woke echo chamber thing which was my point. Teachers Training is certainly woke, and the Teachers Union and Nurses Union both indoctrinate the same BS.
Completely true from my own experience Peter. Come on Erica. Just do it ASAP
Thank you Peter! This is something I have been saying for years. The most valuable thing about TTC's is about collaboration: workshopping ideas and learning to disagree and discuss with equanimity in a group of one's peers. One of the prime tasks of a teacher is to get on with other people..... Many teachers today get their degrees extramurally, which requires a very different set of skills than what's required in the classroom. And possibly teach "what to think", as opposed to how to form and develop thoughts and ideas.
Just to inform: most kindergartens now, are all-year kindergartens, i.e they are open, and teaching through the term breaks. Through my early years teaching, our union was Kindergarten Teachers' Association, or KTA. It was VASTLY different than teacher Unions are now. It was far more concerned with how our work directly affected the well-being and learning of our charges, not so much about political alignments and trade-offs
So true Peter. add in the contempt for authority by the kids these days and the blatant racism and anti colonialism being preached and we are in big trouble.
Totally agree Peter. The level of education has deteriorated considerably. Teachers first need to respect themselves by dressing for the job, and show respect their students by having the aptitude and desire to educate. I lived in various parts of Asia the past 40 yrs and Sensei is a desired profession.
Absolutely right. I think Elizabeth Rata is the only voice I know of in teacher education who talks any sense.
A qualification, then a bond. Same for doctors. And what about the reason for our decline in literacy and numeracy? Hipkins, son and mother seem to have had a lot to do with education standards, particularly reading and numeracy, why not identify and make public that actual reasons for this calamity - a calamity that has harmed untold thousands of children? Name and shame them!
Thank you Peter.
Independent Consultants are required to reset Teacher Training & the Classroom.
Luxon polled on getting back to Teachers teaching children the basics.
Where is the evidence. The brainwashing continues at great pace.
The Statistics around home schooling clearly shows astonishing success. Well done Mum & Dad educators.
John Strevens
The principle has a responsibility for the success of the organisation in the same way as a CEO. They need some similar freedoms. There should be a small percentage of the school budget that the principle has freedom to allocate to individuals on the teaching staff to recognise organising ability or teaching ability, or their subjects are such that there is competition for them outside the school system.
Go back to the old system is what I thought of, just before clicking the link to your article. You don't 'fix' what isn't broken.
Our Maths teacher in High school had a Mathematics Degree, the English teacher, an English degree and so on and so forth. They had sound foundational knowledge and could teach it well.
I know I sound like a broken record, but to those on here who haven’t heard my constant attempts to shout out the obvious, the NZ teacher training system is NOT a teacher-training system. It is not the ‘teaching college’ model, nor is it the ‘University’ model, it is the worst of both worlds. There is no quality-control systems, no standardised observation system, no genuine moderation or auditing (other than amongst buddies inside the corrupt system protecting their own backsides). The ‘lecturers’ in ‘Universities’ claiming to ‘teach’ the beginning teachers, are often failed school teachers (NOT adult-educators). Their students’ exams have no assessment criteria and the staff have little to no knowledge of adult education theories or practice. Why would they need that? You refer to strategies of classroom management, Peter, but those skills are not needed in a classroom which delivers engaging content, with a teacher who is emotionally intelligent enough to respond to complex differentiation. (Incidentally a word my manager at a certain NZ university didnt even recognise). And as to the ‘rising to the top’, why would any administrator (manager) of a teacher-training dept accept feedback and ideas from someone more qualified and experienced than them? Far easier and safer for those over retirement age and insecure in their well-paid jobs to tag them as ‘tall poppies’ or ‘anti-vaxxers’ and manage them OUT asap. The reason this system has been encouraged to continue for decades progressively getting worse? I would have thought that was obvious to us all, looking all around NZ right now: critical thinkers are not allowed in an indoctrination system like ours. Little wonder so many parents are increasingly homeschooling - that’s what I would do too. The system and most people in it, are utterly beyond help.
Totally agree with this and the same goes for nurses (ex nurse)