June 2017 Volume 32, Number 2
Reflecting on Peter Simpson’s Retirement from Belfast School Also
featuring
• Sir Ken Robinson – A Daring Revolutionist • Kids Voting in 2017
• Moot 2017 • South Taranaki schools committed to exploring new technologies
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CONTENTS
Editor Liz Hawes Executive Officer PO Box 25380 Wellington 6146 Ph: 04 471 2338 Email: Liz.Hawes@nzpf.ac.nz
June 2017
2 EDITORIAL 3 PRESIDENT’S PEN Whetu Cormick
6
Magazine Proof-reader Helen Kinsey-Wightman Editorial Board Whetu Cormick, NZPF President Geoff Lovegrove, Retired Principal, Feilding Liz Hawes, Editor Advertising
Liz Hawes
11 16
For all advertising enquiries contact: Cervin Media Ltd PO Box 68450, Newton, Auckland 1145 Ph: 09 360 8700 or Fax: 09 360 8701
Reflecting on Peter Simpson’s Retirement from Belfast School, Christchurch Kids Voting in 2017
NZ Electoral Commission
Sir Ken Robinson addresses INTASE Conference
Liz Hawes
20 Moot 2017
Note The articles in New Zealand Principal do not necessarily reflect the policy of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation. Readers are welcome to use or reprint material if proper acknowledgement is made. Subscription Distributed free to all schools in New Zealand. For individual subscribers, send $40 per year to: New Zealand Principals’ Federation National Office, PO Box 25380, Wellington 6146 New Zealand Principal is published by Cervin Media Ltd on behalf of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation and is issued four times annually. For all enquiries regarding editorial contributions, please contact the editor.
Liz Hawes
25 NZPF Manifesto
NZPF National Executive
29 33 35
Taranaki Principals go to IT Conference in US
Lorraine Williamson
SCHOOL LINES
Lester Flockton
Opinion – ‘A cup of tea . . .’
Helen Kinsey-Wightman
ibc MARKETPLACE SECTION service providers
Profiles from education product and
ISSN 0112-403X (Print) ISSN 1179-4372 (Online)
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Peter Simpson’s Retirement
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Editorial Liz Hawes
Editor
By the time you receive the next issue of NZ Principal you will be tracking down the nearest polling booth site to vote in the general election. NZPF sees election time as an opportunity to tell all political parties what values and philosophies drive us and therefore what sort of policies we believe will build a sound and successful education system. The NZPF executive put together a manifesto which is published in this issue of NZ Principal on page 25. We hope you read it and share it with your colleagues and friends. You will see that the manifesto is prefaced with a set of principles and core values and beliefs. These include that we aspire to equity for our country; that we want collaborative and constructive relationships with Government; that schools are given equitable and adequate resourcing; that students leave school with lifelong competencies and skills; that schools are locally controlled through their own Boards of Trustees; that we have high quality teachers in front of children. We also believe that students must be central to any educational debate; that empowered and supported principals enhance the quality of education and that equity of access to life-long learning for principals is essential for a quality education system. What follows in terms of the particulars can then be understood because every statement is consistent with the values and principles. We expect that our political parties do the same. An examination of the websites of the major political parties participating in the up-coming election shows that they all list a set of values or principles for their party somewhere on their party website. I thought it may be interesting to check out the current Government partners’ websites in relation to education and see how true they have been to their values. Given the constraints of space, I have chosen the National and Act parties since they are the two leading education policy currently. The ACT party is a minor party in the Government’s coalition arrangement and the ACT leader has an Associate role in Education. The ACT website states in the values section that ACT will ‘empower individuals and households by expanding their options for educating their children.’ There is no denying that the ACT party has been true to its value statement. ACT has always promoted the expansion of Charter schools as an additional option for parents and has openly espoused the idea that freedom of choice is a good thing. More choice promotes competition and higher performance, according to ACT’s statement of beliefs. These beliefs are completely consistent with classical liberal principles upon which the ACT party was formed.
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The National party is less specific about education in their values statements but the party website tells us they value enterprise, hard work and the rewards that go with success. They aspire to a New Zealand where all New Zealanders can flourish. Their values include loyalty to democratic principles, equal citizenship and equal opportunity, individual freedom and choice, personal responsibility, competitive enterprise and reward for achievement, strong families and caring communities. From these we might extrapolate that success leads to rewards; there will be equity across the country with all New Zealanders having equal opportunities and equality of status as citizens and democratic practices will be the norm. In applying these to education, let’s look first at democratic processes being the norm. We immediately see one bright coloured blot on the landscape. It is the Education Council and the appointment by the Minister, of its members. It is a very sore point with the sector and will remain so. It is also a very obvious example of National not following its own values. National should be called out on this one. We’d score them a fail grade for democratic practices. On the equity issues, National recognised that we were not achieving equality of results for New Zealand students. They calculated that one in five New Zealand children was not getting a fair deal from education. These included Māori, Pacific Island children, children with special needs and children from low socio-economic backgrounds. Their answer to the problem was to introduce national standards. Many would suggest that a better solution might have been to first address biculturalism, poverty and the lack of specialist support services for schools. The question is however did the national standards policy fix inequities? The national standards scores across the country in reading, writing and maths, after eight years, have hardly shifted. The investment then is not paying with results. One thing we do know is that our Māori children, who are one of the target groups don’t get a mention in any of National or ACT’s education policies. National standards data however do tell us that national standards have not significantly lifted the achievement of Māori students nor any other targeted group. The inequities remain. So, a second fail grade. That said, the National Government was not wrong to address Māori success rates. Had they sought solutions democratically and in collaboration with the profession they would almost certainly have been more successful with the equity issue and scored two pass grades at once.
President’s Pen
Ko Tainui te waka Ko Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepūhunga te iwi Whetu Cormick
National President, New Zealand Principals’ Federation
After almost six months in the role as NZPF President on improving his national standards scores in reading, writing one of my friends recently asked me, ‘So, how’s it all going?’ and maths. In response, I said it’s great visiting the regions, meeting with We know that talents and creativity will not emerge through principals from all over the country and listening to what they drilling and rote learning in a narrow range of subjects have to say. Then I said it’s also very challenging and at times like reading, writing and maths. And they will not emerge uncomfortable because I am driven by through endless episodes of standardised what I think is right for the young people National standards assessment. Our young people aren’t in our schools.’ standard! They are unique, diverse My friend found this a puzzling is not the only individuals. Any form of standardisation response. He assumed that everyone I policy that stifles will fail them. Unfortunately the architects would be engaging with in the Ministry, of standardised forms of assessment do parliament and other educational children’s learning. not understand the difference between organisations would also be driven by achievement scores and success. They are what is best for young peoples’ learning in our schools. not the same thing. Even if that was true, many of the people in the organisations National standards is not the only policy that stifles children’s I now deal with do not understand or accept the conditions under which children’s learning thrives. What I am finding is that changes to legislation and changes to policies and structures sometimes bear little or no relationship to what is best for students’ learning. Take our NZ Curriculum, as an example. Since the government’s policy for national standards was introduced and the national standards results have been used as a measure OL of school performance, national standards data has become ENR W pivotal to many different functions. As the significance of NO national standards has risen, the importance of providing multiple learning options for our young people through our broad NZ Curriculum has diminished. National standards with Could your Teacher Aides and Support Staff their classic culture of targets, school competition through gain from a qualification that validates and published league tables, and narrowed curriculum have sucked develops their skills and knowledge? the oxygen out of our NZ Curriculum and the morale out of our teachers. We offer three certificates: Guiding Children’s Behaviour (Level 3, 40 credits) All teaching professionals know that if you offer a variety Supporting Literacy and Numeracy (Level 3, 40 credits) of learning opportunities especially to our young people who Assisting Children with Special Needs (Level 4, 40 credits) struggle with learning, more of them will have a greater chance Tutor of life-long success. Offering different learning experiences, Enrol today and we will provide you with: ✓ Strategies and skills that can be applied including the humanities, performing and visual arts, science, immediately to the students you are supporting. technology, outdoor education and sport, is how we find that ✓ Tutoring from qualified & experienced staff. unique talent within each of our students that we can build on ✓ A qualification that is approved by the NZ to set them on their special journey of success. Educational Institute (NZEI) and NZQA. ✓ An online programme so you can study where Sir Ken Robinson (p.16 of this issue) tells the story of a KERRAN BARTLEY and when it suits you. young boy from Illinois who at age six could walk on his hands as readily as his feet. With the opportunity to expand on Find out more 0800 438 848 this unusual talent through access to gymnastics, he became Email: kerran@trainingforyou.co.nz Mobile: 027 232 4294 America’s most decorated Olympic gymnast and now runs Website: www.trainingforyou.co.nz his own gymnastics business. He might well have ended up a NZQA Category 1 Provider | Celebrating 22 years in business dismal failure had he been at school today and made to focus
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learning. There are other factors standing in the way of teachers’ The Update also calls for the abolition of school charter ability to do their best by the children they teach. All teachers documents which define each school’s unique context and know that risk taking is an important factor in children’s community. Again we see another step towards courting learning. There are many ways that teachers promote risk taking sameness and central control, rather than celebrating diversity and again they draw on a very broad repertoire of learning and difference which is what we increasingly find in our school experiences. Placing children outside communities. of their comfort zones is important NZPF wrote a substantial Returning to my friend’s question, if they are to progress their learning ‘how’s it all going?’ I say if we allow and become confident. Risk taking is submission on many aspects the profession to lead we can give the another victim of the standardisation young people of New Zealand the of the Update, because it movement which is strangling the very best learning opportunities in life out of the NZ curriculum. further reflects the drive the world and the greatest life success As I write this column the Update possible. If we continue to support of the Education Act has just been towards standardising the direction of standardisation passed. NZPF wrote a substantial for education, we will be putting as much as possible in the submission on many aspects of the increasing numbers of young people Update, because it further reflects education sphere. under pressure and negative mental the drive towards standardising health statistics for our young people as much as possible in the education sphere. It includes a will soar. The costs to our health and ultimately welfare systems Statement of National Educational Learning Priorities which will be unnecessarily inflated. Meanwhile we will have failed is entirely under the control of the government’s Minister of to reach any of the standardisation targets for education that Education. This is an attempt to standardise our whole system we are so zealously setting now. of education and bears no relationship to children’s learning. Politicians come and go, but the children in front of us today It will have the effect of undermining, not strengthening the have their future lives in our hands. NZ curriculum.
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PETER SIMPSON RETIRES Liz Hawes
6
Editor
Principals’ retirement parties are always up-beat. They’re a time to celebrate the great achievements of the retiree, to reflect on their career and to listen to the string of career gaffes and embarrassing moments that loyal colleagues no longer have to keep secret because this principal won’t be at school on Monday to endure the ridicule. They are marvellous events and I heartily recommend you all get yourselves invited to someone’s retirement celebration before it’s your own turn to become the party entertainment! I was thrilled to be invited to join the hundred or so people at Peter Simpson’s party. Peter had been the President of NZPF in
catastrophe like this. No one would have blamed Peter had he decided to step down as President that year and return home to Christchurch. He didn’t do that. His sense of duty and commitment to the job he had been elected to do in Wellington drove him to continue. At the NZPF national office we felt privileged to have our share of Peter and while he never for a moment ignored the plight of his Canterbury colleagues he represented the nation’s principals with conviction and strength. As spokesperson for principals throughout the country, he always presented with genuineness, truth and compassion,
NZPF President Whetu Cormick presents Peter with his principals’ service award
Belfast School Teachers share their school experiences of Peter Simpson
2011 which was also the year of the unforgettable Christchurch earthquake. Peter first heard the news from his wife, Adrienne as she and her elderly mother rocked about helplessly inside their car, in a Christchurch parking building. That’s when the horror sunk in for Peter and he was on the first plane out of Wellington heading south. Having established that his wife and family members were all OK, Peter turned his attention to his wider family – the schools of Canterbury. His first contact was with his colleagues in the Canterbury Primary Principals Association (CPPA) who were already coordinating support for the affected school communities. Stories of extraordinary human selflessness and generosity were pouring out of the city which had been brought to its knees by the chilling freak of nature. Schools were right at the heart of the aid operations. They became hubs of security for families and centres for the distribution of essential services and reliable information. They became the place for people to find some common sense calmness and reassurance. Schools were living examples of just how much communities regard, trust and depend on their local schools, especially when facing
attributes that shone through in every public statement Peter ever made. He radiated sincerity and the media were drawn to him. His presidency coincided with the implementation of the controversial national standards. The profession had not welcomed standardisation, believing it would not make for a better education system and would threaten innovation, individualised learning and the revered NZ Curriculum. Peter did not hold back from expressing the profession’s views and went so far as to bravely call a vote of no confidence in the government’s national standards policy at the NZPF conference that year. The vote was almost unanimously supported. As ever Peter had truthfully and fearlessly represented the views of his colleagues. The extraordinary thing about Peter Simpson is that he never counts his own achievements. In all of his work, he is driven by a moral compass of what is the right thing to do for others and especially for children and their learning. It is a motivation that pervades his whole life. At his retirement party we heard wonderful moving stories of Peter’s life as a principal, a teacher, a family man and a
N Z P r i n c i p a l | J u n e 2 0 17
Proud Poppa Peter with speech maker grandson Jacob
community man. The difference between this and many other retirement parties is that the speeches were all about his strong values and attributes and his sense of service to the community. The night was little about his many personal achievements, trophies or honours. We heard from Paul Drummond, former principal and president of NZPF, of Peter’s humility and how ‘he mentors and guides others enabling them to flourish and grow in their roles.’ Drummond went on to say ‘ . . . he can park his own ego and allow others to have the kudos and recognition and be happy for them to shine.’ ‘Peter is the consummate statesman,’ he said, ‘He has a deserved reputation for matching his words with action and leading from a strong foundation of principles and beliefs.’ His most enduring quality as a leader and a friend, Drummond told us, is being present. ‘No matter who they are or where they are from, Peter engages people and talks to them in a genuine and respectful way. He allows other people time and space and voice,’ he said. Staff of the school echoed these sentiments, telling their story of Peter through a series of light-hearted video vignettes. They concluded their presentation saying that he was the man who had inspired and respected them, grown them, and humoured them. Most importantly he had trusted them to help him lead their school. Peter’s wife Adrienne, also a teacher and Deputy Principal spoke of his loyalty, tenacity and work ethic, his sense of humour and fun and especially the love of his daughters and grand-children. With two parents working in education the rub off was inevitable. ‘Rebecca remembers getting certificates for tidying her room,’ she said, ‘and the girls were constantly playing
schools’. Holidays were always cut short so that both Peter and Adrienne could return to their respective schools in preparation for the new term. This is when the girls turned into ‘teacher aides’ helping with the classroom displays and organising the filing drawers for their dad’s office. There were many moves in the early days and many school houses of dubious quality, she said, but there were also the positives for their young family who could experience the joys of country life as Peter completed his country service. No retiree can get away without someone sharing a few embarrassing moments. In this regard, Paul Drummond shone. He started with the story of Peter confronting a suspicious looking group of teenagers congregated on his school basketball
Peter Simpson (R) catches up with friends at his party
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courts during a weekend break. He won immediate cred with the group when he boasted he could shoot a basket from midcourt, then stepped up and nailed it! All of this was recorded on YouTube. ‘He then emailed the link through his Belfast School newsletter and sent it on to all his contacts,’ said Drummond. ‘He will resend the link if you would like it again,’ smiled the mischievous Drummond. Drummond then challenged his
night we had heard of Peter’s honesty and integrity. Whilst these are great virtues which Peter undoubtedly has, Drummond said they can be taken to extreme, like the time, again on the golf course, when he had asked Peter ‘Can I reach that hole with a five iron Pete?’ Peter’s answer echoed back across the fairway, ‘Eventually, Paul!’ The most resounding story of all though was told by the
Canterbury colleagues enjoying the night
Another group of Canterbury colleagues gather to celebrate Peter’s retirement
audience to dare ask Peter about his golfing hole in one! ‘You’ll wish there was a video of that too,’ he said, ‘because the narrative will be a much longer story and you may also have to endure a viewing of the trophy he presented to himself!’ Drummond then reminded the audience how many times that
children themselves. They had provided pictorial and written messages describing their principal and telling him how they feel about him. These were displayed on the party room’s walls. They included, Mr Simpson is entertaining; he sorts things out; he has interesting ideas; a positive attitude to everything; never gives up; makes our school the best; often talks to me; one thousand people like him; he makes our parents comfortable; he’s magic; he is our biggest supporter; makes school really fun; looks after new people; strolls around the playground; helps us achieve incredible things; never lets us down; puts other people before himself; he’s sporty. A couple of my personal favourites include ‘he is overcoming leaving us!’ and ‘He’s often here!’ But perhaps best of all are these two: ‘When Mr Simpson dressed up like a lady, and wore bright pink heels. I can never get that image out of my head’; and ‘Mr Simpson, I remember trying to play in your rugby team. I found out rugby’s not my thing!’ Remarkably all of the children’s comments were about how their principal affected them as people. Like so many others that night, they were talking about values, attributes, resilience, making human connections, empowerment and not taking themselves too seriously. Despite B e l f a s t S c h o o l ’s undisputed high academic standards and a ch i e ve me nt , these were not the focus of the children’s remarks. Perhaps they have already worked out that developing Adrienne Simpson shares family life social competencies
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with Peter the Principal
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and connecting with people is more important to life than worrying about whether they meet an arbitrary academic standard. Peter’s eldest grandchild, Jacob, was the final speech of the night. ‘Poppa,’ he said, ‘has been my principal for the last seven years, except for one when he went to Wellington to be the Prime Minister!’ Clearly inheriting his Poppa’s sense of fun, he quickly
in the swimming sports. Displaying a touch of Poppa’s hard out honesty, Jacob told us that Poppa won the swimming race! Then, again with a knowing grin, he said, ‘But I think he might have cheated!’ The downside of having Poppa as his principal, he said, was having to do everything even if he didn’t want to and ‘He knows if I have been naughty at home and at school! The best thing of all about Poppa, he said, is that he loves me!’
Accolades from the children
corrected the statement with a knowing grin for the audience saying, ‘oh, I mean NZPF President!’ He shared with us the good and the not so good aspects of having Poppa as his principal saying, ‘some good things are that I always have sausage sizzle money, I can ring Mum if I’ve forgotten something, I get to see my teachers outside of school, I get to be his spy at weekends if kids aren’t looking after Belfast School and I got to race him
Peter leaves Belfast school after 23 years as its principal, to take up a new role as Leadership Advisor in the newly established advisory service. Principals across the Canterbury region will now benefit from his mentoring and coaching skills, his extensive knowledge of principalship and his skills of empowerment. We have no doubt that Canterbury schools will all be better off for his new career choice.
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Kids Voting in 2017 NZ Electoral Commission
Schools around the country are gearing up for Kids Voting again this year and will be running their own mock elections when the General Election is held in September. More students will be taking part in Kids Voting than at the last election in 2014. By the beginning of May, approximately 82,000 students from 440 schools had been registered for the 2017 programme. In 2014, 78,000 students from 556 schools took part. Students learn about and vote for real candidates and parties and compare the results of their school election with the results of the real election. Photo courtesy of the Wairarapa Times Age. Masterton Intermediate School student ‘Running a mock election is a practical Toni Carter casts her vote in 2014 way to show students how our electoral system works,’ says Chief Electoral Officer, Alicia Wright. ‘It vote when they turn 18.’ helps them understand the process and get ready to enrol and ‘Voting is a lifelong habit. The earlier young people start to
REGISTER NOW FOR KIDS VOTING AT THE 2017 GENERAL ELECTION Kids Voting is a chance for your students to take part in this year’s general election. Students vote for real parties and real candidates, on a real ballot paper, and compare their results with the results of the real election. It’s free and easy to hold a Kids Voting election at your school. Register your school to take part or find out more at www.kidsvoting.org.nz.
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vote, the more likely they are to keep voting,’ says Ms Wright. ‘That’s why civics education is so important, and why we have developed Kids Voting and curriculum aligned teaching units for schools.’ About half the schools taking part in Kids Voting are primary and intermediate schools and about half are secondary schools. It can be run on a small or large scale, from one to two classes to the whole school. ‘Our recommendation to school principals is to run Kids Voting as a whole of school activity. It will give every student an opportunity to take part, building their knowledge of the electoral process and demystifying the voting process,’ says Ms Wright. ‘It’s great fun for students and Kids Voting ballot boxes piled up and ready to be shipped out in 2011 teachers and some schools go all out. Over the years, we’ve even seen schools hosting candidate debates with the real candidates and 95 per cent said they would definitely participate again. standing in the electorate.’ All teachers agreed the programme improved their students’ ‘Other schools have students form branches of the various knowledge and 91 per cent rated their student improvement political parties, develop their own campaigns and campaign either four or five out of five. material, and run their own voting places.’ ‘We did it as a whole school voting exercise, as it raised Teachers surveyed after Kids Voting in 2014 said it worked well. awareness of the elections and who was standing,’ said one 96 per cent of teachers thought the programme met its objectives, teacher in the survey. ‘There were many discussions heard around the school as to who (students) were going to vote for and why.’ ‘My students were really engaged in the process and they also encouraged their parents to vote,’ said another. Schools can register for Kids Voting on the Electoral Commission website. The advantage of signing up early is that they will be sent all the resources they need by the end of term two, allowing time to review the resources, understand how the programme works and plan how to run their 2017 General Election. Resources sent to schools by the Electoral Commission include Tracey a ballot box, a teacher’s guide to running mock elections, and Angela Amber Kelly templates for the school’s own electoral roll. The Commission Roxanne Ben Rosemary Douglas Sam Eden Leeroy Brent Ma cke also has teaching resources available that are aligned with nz ie Cooper Jacob Shaun Cody Alice Douglas Jane Jet Levels 3 to 5 of the New Zealand Curriculum and Level 5 of Te Karen Alan Jacinda Esther Carl Malcolm Miriam Harper Marautanga o Aotearoa. The teaching units can be adapted for Jo hn Shannon !! Lauren Taylor Alesha Alisha Andrew different levels of the curriculum. Elizabeth Ashley Rebecca Amy Connor Mackenzie The Your Voice, Your Choice teaching units have been Joe Melanie Mitchell ? Alan Claire Christine Karen developed in line with the social inquiry approach outlined in Samantha Daniel Sarah Anthea Bruce Christopher Tania Vanessa the New Zealand curriculum. They are designed to enable young Stephanie Erin Riley Marilu !! Daniel Helen Lucy Elease James people to ask questions, gather information and explore others’ Nathan Christoper Liam Suzanne George Melissa values and perspectives so they can form their own positions on Fletcher Nicole the issues that matter to them and their communities. For more information and to register for Kids Voting go to www.kidsvoting.co.nz
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Sir Ken Robinson – A Daring Rev Liz Hawes
Editor
His TED Talks have reached hundreds of thousands of viewers. ‘Governments got interested in education for economic He is heralded as the great hope of all educationalists trapped in reasons,’ he said, ‘and that was mostly counter-productive.’ The the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM). His counter cry was for standards to be raised and teachers and students had to the GERM is a grassroots revolution to transform education to be told what to do. After standardisation came the competition through allowing natural creativity to thrive. such as the OECD league tables. Robinson described the likes At the recent International Association for Scholastic of PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) Excellence (INTASE) conference in Singapore, Robinson was administered by the OECD as being very limited. He saw it in the the star attraction. Twelve hundred school leaders from across same league as ‘The Eurovision Song Quest’, only for Education. the globe had flocked to Singapore to be inspired, and to be Competition from above is unhelpful, he said, and what we given hope by the man who would show them a different way. should have is investment at the grass roots. He talked of the three premises There is no disputing that we for the GERM all of which he live in revolutionary times with said stifle creativity. The first technology and demography of these, he said, is conformity. which have no precedents. Just ‘Conformity is at the heart of sixty years ago, technology the standardisation movement,’ comprised the radio, record he said. It is the lowest common player, telephone and television, denominator, whereas diversity said Robinson. Now we live in of ability is what we want. If there the world of the internet, laptops, are two children in a family, he tablets, social media and smart said, you won’t confuse them. phones, which we can’t possibly They are different. They each are live without, even though smart unique and have talent, potential phones were invented barely ten and possibilities. That diversity years ago. Technology for the of talent will improve all of our merging of machine intelligence lives. and human intelligence has The second premise for already arrived. The pace of GERM, he said, is compliance technological advancement is and this is where the testing and frightening. Sir Ken Robinson connecting with the audience high stakes come in to play. It Population explosion is equally is the minimalist way, and it’s easy to process the results. This concerning. On present rates we could reach a population of ten puts children under pressure. We now have the most stressed billion by the end of the century. Looking at what we need to out generation in history, he said. We must look for the opposite sustain ourselves – drinking water, food and fuel to energise and that is creativity, which is what sets us apart as a species. our activities – how many people can we sustain? If everyone The third premise he listed as linearity – as if you can plan your drank water, consumed food and used fuel at the same rate as life ahead. ‘No you can’t,’ he said emphatically. ‘It’s organic!’ To in India, then the planet could support fifteen billion people. illustrate his point he said that he had recently tweeted ‘Can you But if we consume at the rate of North Americans then we can summarise your life in forty characters?’ There was an answer to sustain only one and a half billion. We have already surpassed that from a complete stranger who tweeted back, ‘I had a lifetime that five times over. So, one might hypothesise that we will need in theatre and now run a Dutch cheese shop in the Scottish five new planets by the middle of this century. ‘These,’ he opined, Highlands.’ Point taken. ‘are big existential challenges.’ Not wishing to plumb the depths ‘Schools must fundamentally change,’ said Robinson. He of existentialism, he said the planet will sustain us but only if we referred to the culture of schools which means creating the live collaboratively and creatively. conditions under which creativity is more likely to happen. Passion, he said, changes everything. We need to encourage His own inspiration, he said, comes from ideas generated one people to find the things they are naturally good at. If we love hundred and fifty years ago when Montessori was solving some what we do and get satisfaction from it then we never work of these issues at the turn of the century. These problems included again, he said. managing educational practices to scale and managing political To illustrate his point, Robinson told the story of Bart Conner ‘headwinds’. from Illinois. When Bart was five or six years old, he could walk 16
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Revolutionist
on his hands just as readily as on his feet. This didn’t seem like a talent that would be of any great use to him although it did have its entertainment value. When Bart was ten years old rather than dismiss this unusual ability, his mother requested of his school that he be admitted to the gymnastics centre. Bart later said that he will never forget walking into that gym for the first time. He described it as a mix of Disneyland and Santa’s Grotto. It was an exhilarating experience for him to see the trapeze, the bars and the rings. Eight years later he was in the World Gym Squad and winning Olympic medals. By the end of his career as a gymnastics competitor he had become the most decorated gymnast in American history. He is now married to Nadia Comăneci, made famous by her perfect ‘ten’ scores in Olympic gymnastics. Today they are world leaders for the Special Olympics and run their own gymnastics business. As Robinson said, by the time Bart was ten, his mother might well have said, ‘Stop it, we’re over it!’, but instead she recognised that this is what got Bart’s energy going. At the same time she couldn’t possibly have seen what gymnastics would lead to or that her son would one day be married to a Romanian super-star gymnast because life is not linear, but organic. ‘You create life as you live it,’ said Robinson. His message was clear. Not many people end up doing what they thought about at age fifteen. Everyone is unique. We must believe in the power of creativity, recognise talent and work on that. It is a mistake, he said, to ‘raise standards’ in school and
generate competition, because that is what stifles creativity. Robinson then made the distinction between learning, education and school. Learning, he said, is the most natural process for us. We want to learn new skills and gain new understandings. Humans are intensely curious creatures. ‘Think,’ he said, ‘how babies learn to speak in the first eighteen months of life. No one teaches them. You can’t. It’s too complicated. Children, he said, learn to speak by listening to you speak, no matter where they are. It is a natural process.’ Education on the other hand he described as an organised programme of learning. Whilst most children have no problem with learning, they might have problems with education. School, he described as a community of learners, which has institutional features. He warned that schools can be less about learning and more about efficiencies and cost. Such a system, he said, creates problems. ‘When I talk to politicians about how to solve the problem of disengaged students with low grades who are unemployed, I say to them, stop causing the problems!’ The problems in Robinson’s view are endless testing and school itself. ‘We have what we need to improve education but need to reframe the culture of testing and efficiency,’ he said. Returning to education, he said that in his experience most people say they know what education is until they start talking about it, because it can be controversial. Robinson on the other hand has very clear ideas about what education is for and proceeded to define what he sees as the overall aims for education. His definition is as follows: ‘To enable students to understand the world around them and the talents within them so that they can become fulfilled individuals and active, compassionate citizens’
Sir Ken Robinson’s latest book
He said there are four big purposes for education and the first of these is economic. Education should enable students to become economically responsible and independent, he said. The question is what type of education is needed to achieve this? There was a time, said Robinson, when a university degree was a passport for a job. That is not true now because there is no guarantee. Well qualified students can’t necessarily find work to match their qualifications and some employers are not interested in degrees. The workplace has changed dramatically. Even in the creative industries, robots are about to take over. Social and emotional learning is more important now, he said and students need to be adaptable and creative and bring new ideas that they can put into practice. The emphasis on national standards and testing ironically works against them. Add to that the idea that N Z Principal | J u n e 2 0 17
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life is not linear and collaboration and creativity become even more crowded and more connected. Living multi-culturally more important, he said. That is why countries like Singapore provides new opportunities for students to be enriched although and South Korea that have valued standards and testing for differences in belief systems can also create hostility. Schools so long are now rethinking then need to promote their strategies. They are healthy attitudes to living looking to collaboration respectfully with diversity. and creativity which they The third purpose recognise has been absent for education is social from their educational according to Robinson. agenda which has been more Education should enable about drilling their students young people to become in rote learning to succeed active and compassionate in the tests. He noted citizens. Schools should Yong Zhao has previously provide a gateway to pointed out, that there is fulfilment irrespective of an inverse relationship class or race. But today between countries that do we see many inequities well on standardised tests in society with huge gaps and those that demonstrate between rich and poor. entrepreneurial flair. T h e s e i n e qu it i e s are Entertainment at the INTASE conference break The second purpose for reflected in schools. In education he said is to appreciate culture. ‘Education should enable Robinson’s view standards education makes this worse. What students to understand and appreciate their own cultures and to is needed is collaboration within schools so that students can respect the diversity of others,’ he said. That includes promoting learn from and with each other, he said. The second aspect of a sense of cultural tolerance and coexistence. He defined culture teaching students to be active citizens is also critical. ‘Students,’ as the values and forms of behaviour that characterise different he said, ‘have to live the democratic process. He said they have social groups. ‘It’s the way we do things around here,’ he said. to practice the principles of democracy every day at school and Cultures include belief systems, patterns of work, relationships, democracy has to be reinvented for every generation of students. food, dress, artistic expression and language all interwoven. In that way democratic societies will grow strong and we will Our world is culturally complex now as we have become see improvements in numbers at the ballot box during elections.
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The last purpose for education, he said is personal. Education should enable young people to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them. Teachers, he said, have a huge impact on kids. They can lift them or they can crush them. They have the job of enriching the minds and hearts of these living people. Engaging students as individuals is at the heart of succeeding he said. What people in the end will contribute to the world around them has everything to do with how they engage with the world within them. The challenge for educators is to pay attention to the individual student’s aptitudes, interests and dispositions, he said. If teachers are ever to draw out individual student’s talents and fulfil the four purposes for education they need access to a broad curriculum, to create the conditions under which students can learn effectively and build relationships with their students, said Robinson. The Global Education Reforms work the other way, he said. They are about telling teachers what to teach and then testing the kids to see if they have retained it. We have reduced the importance of the humanities and physical education with compliance and testing, he said and that is what must change. Narrowing the curriculum is the opposite of what will lead to student success. ‘If you have flexibility in the curriculum, get the school culture right and build a collaborative climate then engagement will increase and students will succeed. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are not enough, he said. Students need equal doses of the arts, the humanities, physical exercise and play. But more important than any subject content is school culture. It’s all about moving from the industrial mind set to the organic, he said. That means leaving the GERM behind.
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MOOT 2017 Liz Hawes
Editor
The NZPF Moot is always a highly anticipated event on the NZPF calendar. It is the opportunity for regional representatives to make their contribution to the work programme of NZPF. This year, high profile television journalist, Jehan Casinader chaired the day linking the sessions with his wonderful repertoire of stories and humour. He also made his own contributions through insightful interpretation of the day’s debates. The President’s Opening As is tradition, the Moot was declared open with a speech from the NZPF president. This year, President Whetu Cormick told his audience, the theme of the Moot was change and how to navigate it. He opened with the question, ‘What’s new about change in
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Similarly, he said the Curriculum Review of the 1990s was welcomed and embraced by schools and communities. Again, good reasons drove the changes and the process was deliberately slow to allow for meaningful consultation with communities, so that strong relationships between school and community could be fostered and changes could be properly embedded. ‘NZ today has a world class curriculum that is both rich in values and competencies and broad based academically and we are immensely proud of it,’ he said. The next tranche of changes came in 2008 and these have continued unabated for the past nine years, he said. Changes began with the standardisation of assessment – the introduction of national standards. What was different about this and subsequent changes, he said, was that there appeared to be no
NZPF President Whetu Cormick captures the room’s attention with his opening speech
Whetu Cormick, NZPF President, gives the opening address
education?’ He went on to explain that the world of education is in never ending flux and that was fine, if change had meaning and was prompted by professional and academic rationale or by new research. Change was normal and expected. Equally worthy of consideration were ideas for change prompted by our school communities, he said. He then traced educational change from the time of ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’, noting that this period provided the most radical transformation of the school system since its inception in the 1800s. It was not supported by all at the time, he said, but there were aspects which were thoroughly embraced including giving governance of local schools to communities through establishing Boards of Trustees and making schools self-managing. ‘Underneath some of the turbulence,’ he said, ‘sat some good practical ideas as the old school Boards had become heavily bureaucratic and controlling.’ In other words, there were some good sound reasons for ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ changes.
call for these educational changes from the profession, from the academics, from new research or from the public. They were just announced and the profession was expected to accept them. Whilst it was clear that assessment through national standards would never address any genuine concerns for students struggling with learning, national standards were consistent with moves towards standardisation and testing by many other OECD countries. They would create a data source for measuring school performance so that schools could be publicly compared. This notion of comparing school performance on a narrow set of measures became central to so many more changes that followed. It took some time for people to realise, he said, that what was driving the most recent changes was an ideological shift associated with what is commonly known as the Global Education Reform Movement. It is a movement by which education is viewed purely in economic terms. The next changes he described were tied up with the ‘Investing
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The political panel in action
in Educational Success’ policy. The policy was presented as supporting collaboration across clusters (later to become Communities of Learning or CoL) of schools to improve learning and teaching through the sharing of teaching and leadership expertise. Three years later, Cormick told us, it seems the CoL are intended for much more. The goal posts have been expanded into the administration arena and the idea of saving money has been introduced to the mix. He assured the gathering that these issues and other regional concerns would be debated in the course of the day. He said NZPF would also present their educational manifesto to political candidates in this year’s election. The manifesto priorities, he said, are designed to give the young people of New Zealand the best opportunity for a successful future. Minister of Education Hon Hekia Parata As this would be her last address to an NZPF audience, the Minister was introduced by President Whetu Cormick who thanked her for her unfailing support of the NZPF Moot and annual conferences throughout her tenure as Minister. ‘Minister Parata has always responded positively to our invitations to speak at NZPF events’, he said, ‘and we are grateful for that.’ In keeping with the Moot’s theme, Minister Parata opened her
MC for the day, Jehan Casinader kept the day flowing with his insightful observations and pertinent stories
address saying that, ‘Change is a constant [in education] and our challenge is how we respond to that.’ She proudly told her audience, ‘I am not in parliament just for the sake of change.’ Rather, she said, ‘I am driven by analysis [to create] a robust [education] system fit for the twentieth century.’ She addressed four issues in her final speech to principals. These were Communities of Learning (CoL); the funding review; property; and digital connection. The 1989 ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’, she said, could not have anticipated the speed of development of social media platforms and the collapse of distance and time. Previous [education] systems were about what is best for teachers, whereas she wanted a system where students and their individual pathways were at the centre. ‘Sectors are functional ways of organising how adults work,’ she said, ‘but they create barriers for parents and kids navigating transitions.’ She went on to say that Communities of Learning (CoL) were designed so that transitions would be smooth because they focus on the whole pathway. On the funding review she said, ‘We want to know what it costs to deliver a year of curriculum because we know kids can be behind a whole year.’ She acknowledged that some kids carry risks of disadvantage and that while the decile system helped,
Minister Hon Hekia Parata addresses principals for the last time
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it was too blunt. ‘We need to better target those kids,’ she said. is a pilot running in Waiariki, a triangulated assessment with the Her answer to working out how to target funding for specialists, the parents and the child. It is an IEP (independent disadvantage was to use data because data would point to education programme) approach, and how to provide wrap meaningful pedagogical decisions. around services with one person liaising between the family the On property she was direct. ‘It may seem like a crisis for an school and the specialist. We are looking for early intervention individual school but five billion dollars are going into property because this makes the difference now,’ she said, ‘which is one third more.’ Question: The cold hard reality is that it can take twelve She went on to explain that there has been phenomenal months to get an assessment for a child with Fetal Alcohol growth and so decisions about individual property requests have Syndrome or with ADHD. We have an increase in these and to be judged against other severe behaviour national priorities. disorders in kids. We She a ls o note d can have behaviourally that our schools are disordered kids turning the most digitally up at school with knives. connected in the The interim relief fund world w it h $700 is far too small to keep million spent on these and the rest of our digital connections. children safe. What is ‘How you use it,’ she the Government doing said, ‘is the measure about this? of the true value of Answer: We spend digital connection.’ $630 million on special The Minister education. It is true that said that the core more kids are presenting challenge for leaders with challenges and of schools was to health issues. We looked Principals share their regional concerns know whether you at Northland and used a are causing change and ask yourself, how do you know? social investment approach. We now have a team up there. We do not have an endless pipeline of money. It has to be balanced Questions to the Minister against demands for roads in Auckland and health. That’s the Question: Please elaborate on the ‘right data’ that Government context. To suggest that we are doing nothing is not right. We has collected to give you confidence that you can target funding are improving the system. I cannot speak for the District Health for human and material resources to deliver the curriculum. Board about assessments for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome kids. Answer: No, we don’t know [how to target funding to deliver Question: [As Minister] you espouse passion for collaborative the curriculum]. There are two separate things. There are schools practice. I am in a CoL and we want to collaborate. The model and curriculum and success. Kids are persistently not learning needs more flexibility. How do we change the model? [Secondly] on criteria used for all schools. It’s about learning outcomes. We want the Government to build a high trust model with We are funding for quality teaching and learning for good life teachers and principals. It is too ‘top down’. choices. The NZ Curriculum is fabulous in theory with values Answer: I don’t agree it is ‘top down’. I established inclusive and competencies and too often we do not see enough about policy development through the Cross Sector Forums. That never delivering that curriculum. How much does it cost for a year? existed before. This involves the sector voice. We didn’t consult There are many variables like the strength of the teacher and with you on national standards because that was a [National whānau and community and the aptitude of the kids. Party] manifesto commitment. Parties put up policies. That’s I have a technical reference group to advise me on this and what elections are about. I have been available to any organisation people in the group say it is hard. There is a second [aspect] and and met every invitation. In all these processes it doesn’t mean that is the extra supplementary funding for those at risk of not we agree on everything. I have also taken delegations overseas. succeeding because of disadvantage. We know that if ten kids Secondly on the [CoL] model, adjustments are being made but have the exact same factors, three will not succeed. So that’s an as with ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ we didn’t say you could opt out of indicator. Looking to disabilities, what do we have to supplement having Boards of Trustees. We have put over $300 million aside there? And [then there are] rural kids and what we know is that for CoL. There are not limitless resources. Until Achievement operations money for water, light and heating has not always challenges are endorsed we cannot appoint positions. There is gone to that and property maintenance has not always been kept $300 million waiting for those roles to be approved. up to date, so tax payers pay twice because it still has to be done. Question: I don’t want lead teachers out of my school, replaced Question: Our biggest problem is highly challenging students. with relievers. There just aren’t the relievers there anyway. How does the Education Update help with special education? Answer: That is a system issue. Teacher supply is a big problem Trying to work with parents who are not always supportive is especially attracting good teachers into the system. I spoke a problem. to twelve secondary schools and asked how many of the year Answer: There is no one set answer. It’s not all about the thirteen students were encouraged into teacher training. The Education Update. It’s [what you do] in schools. It’s PB4L answer was none. I am told there are particular issues in Auckland and having better relationships. When you say, ‘how has the with teacher supply. The number of teachers that left Auckland Education Update helped? We are still in the process of it. There in the last year is 2.1 per cent. The vacancy rate is 1.5 per cent
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which is half of what it was in 2007. were followed by principal, teacher and student wellbeing, issues Question: I want to know what it is that the government values specifically affecting Auckland, school property and the shortage about what we do for kids in our role. of quality teachers and relievers across the country. Answer: I don’t know any other Government that has put The regional presidents were clear that they wanted some $300 million extra into education. We may not agree on a action from their national federation on special education and whole lot of things but we have the issues associated with CoL. increased funding to education As this issue of NZ Principal by 35 per cent over seven years. goes to print, the NZPF The number of kids in school President, Whetu Cormick has increased 3.5 per cent. has met with the Secretary for The operations grant has gone Education and other Ministry up 16 per cent and the CPI officials to raise concerns about 10.9 per cent. We have spent both issues. He has also issued $5 billion on property and in a media release on the state of Christchurch we spent $1.37 special education showing that billion to rebuild the network. across the country principals We absolutely value education. are at breaking point trying to President Whetu Cormick accommodate students with thanked the Minister for her very challenging behaviour address and for answering the disorders. Since then the Education Spokesperson for the New Zealand First Party, questions. He wished her well newly appointed Minister Tracey Martin, delivers a hard hitting suite of policies which for her future in retirement. for Education Nikky Kaye, in would see an end to Charter schools and national standards and conjunction with the Minister reaffirmation of the New Zealand Curriculum Top Issues from the for Social Development, has Regions announced new funding of $34.7 million, specifically to address The regional presidents, as is tradition, shared with each other problems schools are facing as they try to accommodate students the most pressing issues for schools in their regions. This year with these very challenging behaviours. there were no surprises with special education and Communities A survey designed to provide a comprehensive representation of Learning (CoL) rating as the most critical topics by far. These of CoL has also been disseminated to all schools. It is expected
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that an analysis of the survey data will be available mid-May. The findings will be shared with all principals. Further action will be taken commensurate with the findings.
parties – who all vowed to get rid of Charter schools if they were elected to Government. What became clear was that the opposition parties present, given the chance, would change the direction of education. It Political Panel would no longer follow the Global Education Reform Movement As is customary in an election year, political party representatives (GERM) agenda which has dominated in New Zealand for the were invited to briefly last nine years. address the regional Anot he r pl e as i ng pr i nc ip a ls w ho ha d aspect of listening to the submitted questions to political debate was that MC Jehan Casinader. We many of the priorities for acknowledge and thank education listed in the Chris Hipkins, Labour; NZPF manifesto were Catherine Delahunty, endorsed by the political Greens; Tracey Martin, representatives present. NZ First and David Squeezed in between S e y m o u r, A C T f o r what was other wise responding positively to heavy political debate our invitation. were two sessions on The panel provided how principals might lively debate w hich look after themselves was skilfully chaired by and become more Principals debate their regional concerns in groups the astute Casinader. It resilient. These sessions quickly became clear that were presented by Sven all of the representatives found the current Government direction Hansen and Declan Scott of the ‘Resilience Institute’. for education lacking and surprisingly found more in common The closing of another very successful Moot was led by NZPF with each other than not. The outlier was Seymour and his Kaumatua, Haterei Temo. determination to support the Charter School alternative which found no favour with the audience or any of the opposition
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THE NEW ZEALAND PRINCIPALS’ FEDERATION (NZPF)
2017 GENERAL ELECTION MANIFESTO Introduction The New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF), established in 1982, is the largest principals’ organisation in the country, with 2,178 members. The organisation’s focus is school leadership and it is the only organisation working solely on behalf of all New Zealand school principals. Principles: 1. A successful public education system will lead to a more equitable and prosperous country 2. Positive, collaborative and constructive working relationships between the education sector and government are critical to the implementation of education policy 3. State and state integrated schools receive fair, equitable and adequate resourcing to enable them to achieve agreed educational aims and outcomes 4. Students leave school with the appropriate lifelong competencies and skills to succeed in the 21st century world 5. The governance and management of New Zealand schools are vested in local communities and Boards of Trustees 6. New Zealanders can expect teachers to provide a high quality, relevant, inclusive education system
Core beliefs and values NZPF adheres to the values of Rangatiratanga; Manaakitanga; Kotahitanga and whanaungatanga and operates from a set of core beliefs shared by its members. These include: 1. That the educational interests of the nation’s students are central to any position held by NZPF. 2. That through empowering and supporting principals in their leadership roles, the quality of education for New Zealand’s young people will be enhanced. 3. That equity of access to quality professional life-long learning for all principals is essential for maintaining a quality education system
NZPF wants every young person in New Zealand to have the best education, to succeed at school and to succeed in life NZPF believes that education is the lynchpin to achieving the nation’s ambitions socially, environmentally and economically. Because of its importance NZPF believes education policy should be developed by a cross-party accord in collaboration with the profession. Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand celebrate the diversity of young people, of communities and of the different contexts within which they operate. They strive to be inclusive and equitable and to produce well rounded citizens who will contribute to fostering a democratic, tolerant, caring, fair and
prosperous society. They are ambitious for every young person to reach their learning potential. That means educating young people to be creative problem solvers, critical, reflective thinkers, and cooperative team players. It means young people learn to manage their own learning and their own lives with resilience and persistence and they learn to participate and contribute to their society. What do schools need for young people to succeed? ■■
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A system of education that provides structures, processes and procedures to facilitate world class teaching and learning A profession of high quality, publicly trusted, well trained teachers who provide safe, stimulating, relevant learning experiences High quality experienced school leadership Access to specialised experts and professionals to support the learning and behavioural needs of all young people who require these services Sufficient teachers and teacher aides to meet the needs of all students in the school Fair, reasonable and equitable funding of schools Access to affordable modern technology Well maintained schools that are local, modern and central to the communities they serve A competent well trained Board of Trustees to provide school governance functions
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A broad, rich curriculum that provides multiple pathways and approaches to learning, a set of key competencies and plentiful learning experiences both inside and outside the class room A school environment that is culturally attuned and allows Māori students to succeed as Māori Social conditions that motivate every young person to turn up at school every day Relevant, timely and adequately funded Professional Learning Development for teachers and principals such as the Māori Achievement Collaborations (MACs) and Principal Leadership Advisory Service Learning and Assessment tools that are developed in collaboration with the profession and show learning progress and next learning steps across a broad curriculum A National Education Monitoring Programme to show progress at a national level High levels of interaction between teachers, and high levels of engagement with parent community
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Class sizes that maximise the learning potential of all students Opportunities for collaboration and networking both within and between schools Self-managing schools which allow for timely and innovative response to individual students’ needs Quality training opportunities for Boards of Trustees A competent well-funded property unit in the Ministry that responds in a timely fashion to property requests Ready access to social and justice system support, welfare, health, dental health and other educational supports for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
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Continual distractions as changes are introduced that are not necessarily supported or understood by the profession and which are draining resources from areas of need Lack of collaboration with the profession in developing educational policies Lack of attention to democratic principles for example as applied to the governance board of the Education Council where Teachers cannot elect their own representatives School operations funding not keeping pace with real costs Inadequate funding and insufficient access to specialists and teacher aides for young people with special learning needs, health, behavioural and social needs Insufficient funding for school property expansions and maintenance
Relentless changes to the Education Act, education policies and procedures over the past nine years Government’s dependence on education models from the UK and the USA which do not fit New Zealand’s diverse cultural make up or New Zealand parents’ desire for local control over their local schools Government’s support for the Global Education Reform Movement and its privatisation agenda Government dedicating funds to policies with low uptake such as IES Government expenditure on unpopular initiatives such as Charter Schools which neither parents nor the education sector have invited
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South Taranaki schools committed to exploring new technologies Lorraine Williamson
Principal of Opunake Primary
A group of four rural schools in the South Taranaki region have made a commitment to explore new technologies and how to best implement them in their schools. The MOA Kluster, as they call the group, attended the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference to learn new technologies and forms of collaboration that will impact what and how their students learn. Read about their experience of attending the ISTE Conference, and how they have implemented changes since, as written by Lorraine Williamson, Principal of Opunake Primary. In 2014, we formed a group called the MOA Kluster, comprised of four rural South Taranaki schools – Matapu School, Opunake Primary, Auroa School and Kaponga Primary. Since this time, all four of our schools have been on a journey led by the principals to implement e-learning in our schools effectively. During 2016, our cluster was fortunate to receive $8,000 in funding from InternetNZ’s community grants scheme, for each
of the four principals to attend the ISTE Conference in Denver USA. We were astounded and extremely excited to be amongst 16,000 educators from over 50 different countries at this amazing conference. With digital technology becoming such an integral part of the New Zealand curriculum it was important to us that we kept up with best practice, not only for our own professional development but also for the benefit of our students. With the information technology sector as one of the fastest growing sectors in New Zealand, and with such a high demand for skilled graduates, we needed to ensure we were on track to provide our students with the necessary dispositions they require to succeed in this world. The ISTE Conference and Expo is recognised globally as the most comprehensive educational technology conference in the world. For more than three decades, educators and education
MOA Kluster teachers attending the conference. (l to r) Kelly Ogle – Senior Teacher Opunake, Jarad Chittenden – Principal Auroa, Lorraine Williamson – Principal Opunake, Shane Downs – Principal of Kaponga, Heath Chittenden – Principal Ashhurst, Kerry Nancarrow – Principal Matapu
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leaders have gathered at the ISTE conference to engage in handson learning, exchange ideas and network with like-minded thinkers seeking to transform learning and teaching. We attended an enormous array of workshops over the four days. What I found stunning was the level of expertise and the availability of the presenters. I attended a workshop with Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergman, on ‘Flipping Your Classroom’ which is a new model reversing classroom and homework elements. Short video lectures are watched at home before class, with classroom time devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions. This presentation got me thinking – this is a highly effective strategy for immersing students in their learning. It allows students to access a lesson several times to clarify their
begun to be immersed in. The bulk of the workshops, playgrounds, participating and sharing forums, lectures, and ignite sessions that I attended, grew my knowledge and understanding of STEM, computational thinking, flipped classrooms, coding and robotics, makerspaces and Google classroom. Attending this conference has enabled myself and the other principals to further develop many initiatives in our schools. As a cluster we have been focussing on moving our schools forward using a digital platform. Until we attended this conference, “we didn’t know what we didn’t know,” but after spending several days listening to amazing speakers and attending useful workshops, we were literally mind blown. Since attending this conference, my thoughts about the
Ozobots with Cayless and Jazzhara
Code Osmo with Nikau and Essina
learning. Some of my colleagues have decided to follow up on this teaching technique, and we are taking 9 teachers and 2 principals to Wellington later on this year to consolidate our learning. We have started to “flip” our classrooms and now we want to build greater capability in our teaching staff. We attended workshops on robotics, computer science, and using Google tools effectively in the classroom to name a few. As a result, we now have a systematic plan where we start introducing these skills and knowledge to our students when they first join us at five years old and continue to grow this knowledge through their whole journey with us. Our plan also looks at how we involve our parents in a meaningful way and provide them with the knowledge and skills so that they can support their child’s learning process. We gained valuable insight into the future direction of STEM, digital literacy, and technology. We have since purchased resources such as “DOT and Dash” and “Ozobots” to enable our students to learn through doing. We have also begun to investigate code.org after meeting Hadi Partovi, the launcher of the programme, during his presentation at the conference. Meeting and listening to Hadi confirmed that this is an amazing resource which we will use quite widely in our school. When we returned from ISTE, I asked my teachers to complete code.org’s The Hour of Code – an introduction to computer science and computer programming. Today teachers at my school undertake self-paced professional development based on teaching the Hour of Code effectively. The most powerful aspect of the conference was that it reinforced and extended on the pedagogies that we had already
strategic direction of our school have changed dramatically. With technology and digital literacy developing at such a rapid rate, it’s important that as a school we remain relevant and at the leading edge. We have now developed an overview of where we were at and where we wanted to be heading in light of our new learning. We have since introduced many new technologies into the school on a trial basis. We have tinkered (a computational thinking skill) and we have pushed some students to see what they are capable of achieving and teaching others. We have invested in employing a staff member whose role is to support teachers when they are trying a new approach to technology and help to troubleshoot any issues while scaffolding new learning. An example of something we are working on is teaching students how to use Tinkercad for 3D printing. We are currently building our own version of a home base on Mars. Students have been watching videos, reading articles, and conducting their own research about the planet. They then have to plan what they think they would need to survive on Mars. They are given a template of the planet and they design their buildings to fit. As an unplugged activity, they have been provided with a motor, some ping pong balls, a battery holder and some batteries to design a Mars Rover. They had to use engineering processes to design, test and modify their Rovers. The activity resulted in some fantastic designs, and the children really embraced and enjoyed the concept. I could spend hours going through the awesome projects we have started on as a result of the learning opportunities that ISTE provided. I would urge readers to find out about the
N Z P r i n c i p a l | J u n e 2 0 17
conference for yourself by visiting the About the author ISTE website. The 2017 conference I am currently Principal at Opunake will be held in San Antonio Texas. This Primary School and have been the principal would singularly be one of the best of this school for over 12 years. I have professional development opportunities been a principal for 22 years and have been teaching for over 40 years. This is I have attended in my time as principal. singularly one of the most interesting It was made even more powerful by and exciting times to be an educator. I being able to attend with my colleagues regularly work with students, particularly and interact and build ongoing working in the area of STEM, and I am constantly relationships with a number of ISTE wowed by the wealth of opportunities to presenters and other attendees from make learning authentic, challenging and all around the world, all facing similar engaging through the variety of material technology based challenges in their and support for teachers. The technology schools. available in schools, also makes this a very I would like to sincerely thank exciting time to be a teacher. I am part of the Internet New Zealand for enabling MOA Kluster. This an absolutely amazing cluster that enables me to work alongside the MOA Kluster to attend the ISTE my colleagues. This is a hugely progressive Conference. This has definitely changed cluster which both challenges and supports my pedagogy and, as a result, changed me to stay abreast of the rapid changes the learning opportunities for teachers in learning and teaching. To be provided and students at Opunake Primary with opportunities to work alongside the School. most innovative and inspiring teachers InternetNZ offers a range of community and principals, has enabled me to continue grants to help maintain or extend the to grow my pedagogy in a way that I have A better world through a better Internet. use and accessibility of the Internet for 3D Printing with Rylan never done in any other time in my career. I New Zealanders. Grant rounds include am also fortunate to be employed by a Board community projects, conference attendance, and Internet research. of Trustee that are willing to embrace and support change that supports For more information on funding visit internetnz.nz/community- student learning and engagement in school. grants.
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School Lines Education Policy Dogma and Obsessive-Compulsive Ideology: Wonderful or Wonky? Virtuous or Vexatious? Lester Flockton
lester.flockton@otago.ac.nz
Wonderful: marvellous, glorious, superb Wonky: not straight; off-centre, lopsided, skew-whiff
cause arises out of tensions between intent (often ideological) and reality (or achievability), and the ability or inability to make insightfully critical distinctions between the means to Virtuous: correct, praiseworthy, right-minded, worthy the espoused ends. While most would willingly subscribe Vexatious: bothersome, tiresome, troublesome, problematic, to the intent behind many policy packages as virtuous (e.g. lamentable raising student achievement), many have been shown to have serious misgivings about the means (e.g. National Standards) Over the past five or so years, schools, their principals, because of the serious lack of robust evidence of efficacy, and boards and teachers have been the constant targets of a barrage of the dubious likelihood of the realisation of decreed outcomes. double-barrelled dogma from former Education Minister Parata So they desist (although in the case of National Standards, they and her servants, who have repeatedly given the impression that weren’t allowed to). Others, however, will enthusiastically enter they alone have been ordained with into practice or a package dangled the privilege of knowing what is best To take a further example: before them, believing that they are for their subjects (i.e. those subjected professionally obliged because the to their ideological dogma). Any communities of learners intent is virtuous (or wonderful if collaboration has been strictly on – a policy package that was you’re the excitable type). their terms – and no recording To take a further example: devices allowed in the room! communities of learners – a policy designed by Government Moreover, since the high and package that was designed by mighty hold the guns (make the and senior bureaucrats for Government and senior bureaucrats rules, decide where the money goes, the declared purpose of raising for the declared purpose of raising who gets how much, and who is student achievement, and most chosen to step up to the footlight student achievement, and particularly in National Standards parade for celebratory medals), and NCEA. Thinking outside of the there has been an expectation that most particularly in National Government’s square, communities the sheeple will come to fall in line Standards and NCEA. of learners are known to be as old for fear of consequences from falling as the hills. They are nothing new. out of line. On one occasion, for example, when the high-and- Done well, they are intrinsically virtuous! But ‘heighdy, heighdy, mighty addressed a meeting of principals, it was said that if they misery me, lackaday dee’, they have been cast by Government couldn’t ‘hack it’ they should get out! She is always right. They are into a wonky and vexatious formulaic paradigm riddled with invariably wrong. Such is the climate that has been created in the bureaucratic rules and intrusiveness. midst of the relentless chime of ‘raising student achievement’ and Take yet another example (and there are many): school decile ‘improving the quality of teaching’, albeit according to ill-proven rankings. ideas typically imported and reconstituted from others’ systems. The once-upon-a-time education minister was intent on One of the most disastrous consequences of this ‘rule and scrapping them. Justification? They have created an offensive conquer’ dictum has been what we might call professional stigma for lower ranked schools and failed to more accurately divisionism. There are those who gladly put their hand up target discretionary money where it is needed. Again, on the (for whatever reasons – and I’m being polite), those who surface, this seems virtuous. And that’s the level at which most of reluctantly and unbelievingly put their hand up (life involves policy rationale has been formulated – on the surface. After all, compromises), and others who steadfastly keep their thumbs most are ignorant of what sits below the surface and underlying pointing resolutely down (they are not convinced, and it’s not a causation, particularly the all-important voting sheeple and matter of disobedience). This spiraling trend towards divisionism media people. So what does sit beneath the surface in this matter? among principals must be of very considerable concern to David Lange, former Prime Minister and Minister of Education, those charged with leading their professional organisations. It had a determined commitment to equity in his Tomorrow’s puts them on a tight rope. Indeed, this whole degeneration is Schools reforms. He understood that some communities in ripe for a revelationary and award winning PhD dissertation, if our society are severely disadvantaged while others are highly you’re keen! advantaged. The evidence was clear. Those in advantaged areas An analysis of this parlous state suggests that the underlying prospered in education, whereas those in disadvantage struggled. N Z Principal | J u n e 2 0 17
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To help redress this imbalance of opportunity to succeed, there would be a new provision of ‘equity funding’ under the reformed administration of education. Those with less should get more. But a system requires an administrative mechanism for this to be put into practice, hence the ranking of schools according to deciles. Moreover, additional funding would need to be sourced for the scheme, so his solution was the considerable down sizing of Government and quasi Government bureaucracies then redirecting the money to schools. The Ministry of Education was honed down to around 800 staff, giving huge savings. (Today, the bloated Ministry has over 3000 staff. They're everywhere. They even needed a much bigger building in Wellington. The number of servants required to serve the Minister is clearly out of control.) So equity funding was born. Deciles were the administrative arbiter or tool for this form of funding allocation. They were expressly intended for administrative purposes. But then the rot started to set in. ERO Chief Reviewer Judith Aiken ‘discovered’ that students in lower decile schools were performing poorly relative to those in higher decile communities. Their schools needed to be publicly admonished, shamed, and reviewed over and over and over again. And as a result of mindless and misleading media stories arising from all of this, the public started to associate low decile schools with low quality and poor teaching. The seemingly irreversible corruption of the administrative purpose of decile assignments was set alight, only to be further weakened by cries from higher deciles schools bemoaning that they were missing out. So now Treasury has cooked up a replacement for school deciles, presumably with every encouragement from Minister
of Education, Hon Hekia Parata. Paradoxically, their ‘targeted funding’ policy package would disallow schools from knowing the identity of their students who are to be the recipients, whereas the designation of a school’s decile has been published at every opportunity. What an extraordinarily odd affair. What a totally wonky scheme. As many have correctly observed and as endless irrefutable evidence has repeatedly shown, children living in disadvantaged communities struggle to achieve to the levels of those enjoying advantage. It’s not just those whose mother was poorly educated, or whose dad is in prison. It’s much more complex and deep rooted than that. But alas, the deciles have been an absolutely invaluable index for gauging and revealing where additional support is needed and the success or otherwise of Government interventions – which for the most part have failed because they have failed to understand and address underlying causation. I suspect that this kind of evidence has been of great inconvenience to the former Minister – so let’s get rid of these deciles! Virtue and Vexation is the unpalatable stew that the previous Minister of Education has left for us to sup on! Her claim that the system is much the better for what she has done over the past few years is highly disputable.
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A cup of tea . . . Helen Kinsey-Wightman
As I write it is the day of our school ball – there is not a hair, make-up or nail appointment available anywhere in town and by tomorrow I predict there will be a local shortage of blister plasters as girls recover from some very unwise footwear decisions. As part of the lead up to our ball we hold an assembly when we talk to our senior students about personal safety and – in the last 3 years – the topic of consent. The aftermath of roast busters and more recent discussions of rape culture following social media posts by boys at a single sex Wellington school have made it more apparent that high schools need to put in place programmes to educate and support both male and female students around issues of consent. The most effective resource I have found on this subject is a You Tube clip entitled A Cup of Tea – the British voice over version is my personal favourite. It likens sex to a cup of tea and talks about how you can offer someone a cup of tea, but if they decide they don’t want to drink it you shouldn’t pour it down their throat – similarly if they say they would like a cup of tea and then change their mind that is OK. Despite the fact you have boiled the kettle, set out the cup and added the milk you do not have the right to force them to drink the tea. It also makes it very clear that unconscious people never want tea . . . The clip made our students laugh and more importantly it also made them think. Of course, as with everything, teaching about consent needs to start much earlier – there is another great You Tube clip called Consent for Kids which talks to primary school age students about consent in terms of hugs. During the lead up to the ball a great many of our students watched the Netflix series ‘13 Reasons Why . . .’ The series tells the story of a group of students whose classmate, a young woman, has died by suicide. The story focuses on a tape sent by the teen before she died and gives the 13 reasons why she decided to commit suicide. The final episodes show the teenager being raped and her subsequent suicide in graphic detail.
Changes in the way entertainment is available means that challenging content such as this is available to young people of any age, can be viewed by them alone on their computers in the privacy of their bedrooms, often without their parents and caregivers having any idea what they are watching and can be ‘binge-watched’ for hours at a time without any support or adult perspective on the content. This particular series led us, and several other schools locally, to send a letter home encouraging parents whose teens had watched the series to use it as the basis for a conversation about some of the areas the series did not tackle well such as depression and mental health as causes of suicide and the importance of getting expert support should they or their friends ever experience suicidal thoughts. The letter went on to share some of the signals or warning signs which parents should look out for as indicating the need for further support. The response from our parent community following this letter was unprecedented – 25 emails within the next 24 hours, confirming that our students – their teenagers – were watching the series and thanking us for being so proactive in bringing this to their attention. Whilst I feel strongly that we have a responsibility for the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of the young people in our school, I do wonder how much responsibility we can take on for their behaviour and the opinions they express outside of our school gates. There has been much media discussion following social media comments by students at a Wellington boys’ school, suggesting that taking sexual advantage of drunk girls is acceptable male behaviour. In the March 10 issue of the Dominion Post there was a report on the protest march organised by Wellington East students. The Editorial claimed that we need, “a curriculum that delivers information about the mechanics of sex and reproduction but is centred around the ethics of sex.” I cannot disagree.
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A PD package for educational centres A critical guide to Māori and Pākehā histories of Aotearoa
This curriculum programme resource (CPR) is now available for all educators. Is your school still struggling to effectively meet the wider goals of the Ministry and other policies, to provide responsive education for Māori as Māori with Te Tiriti o Waitangi as part of the context? Or to teach NZ histories to all ethnicities effectively? The CPR can practically support implementing these policies and NZ histories curriculum more effectively. Mainstream and Māori pathways can successfully use the CPR. Schools can choose from a range of timeframes for reading & delivery. The CPR covers these topics in 6 Unit Booklets for staff to read and create their own unit plans, lesson plans, and assessments to deliver.
The editor went on to say, “Some kind of punishment is needed even if the comments were made outside of school time and fall into a jurisdictional grey zone. No student can expect to horrify the school he attends and escape sanction just because what he did was in his own time far from the school grounds.” Given the nature of the comments I understand this response and I strongly believe we as school leaders should be prepared to take responsibility for the curriculum our schools deliver based on the values that we espouse and promote. However, is it right and reasonable to expect schools to sanction students for expressing their opinions – however horrifying – via their personal social media accounts? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7Nii5w2FaI A cup of tea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3nhM9UlJjc Consent for Kids http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/90251361/ editorial-schools-need-to-show-young-males-that-rape-jokesare-intolerable
For PD information, rave testimonials and costings view www.criticalhistories.nz or contact tamsinhanly@xtra.co.nz at 09 630 2188 The CPR is a single programme to help schools plan and teach their approach to New Zealand’s Māori and Pākehā cultures and histories in a cohesive way.
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