tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438349.post191108137487432996..comments2024-03-28T00:28:06.035+13:00Comments on leading and learning: New Zealand Education is at risk - it is time to make a stand!!Bruce Hammondshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07031065790535111400noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438349.post-11689656388889000712016-03-17T13:38:03.294+13:002016-03-17T13:38:03.294+13:00The two comments are the tip of an iceberg and re...The two comments are the tip of an iceberg and reflect the feelings of many teachers I meet. Teachers responses may well be apathetic but can easily be seen as resignation - simply worn down by compliance requirements.<br /><br />Everybody seems to know more about teaching than teachers and the further away from the classroom the 'louder' the advice - advice that bears no relationship to the reality of the classroom.<br /><br />As a result it becomes easier to go along to get along. To make it worse there are principals who have bought into the top down management ethic reflecting their lack of pedagogical understanding and their desire to please.<br /><br />Those who give up, who can no longer put up with the nonsense, are like the canaries in the coal mines of old. They are a warning to others. But with all the ideological pressure being placed on schools maybe people aren't able to hear the warnings?<br /><br />The paradox is That IEs is trying to impose collaboration on competitive schools; it is the kind of collaboration seen in occupied France during WW2 The IES is, as mentioned, is 'a pig with lipstick'. Some call them 'communities of finance'.Bruce Hammondshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07031065790535111400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438349.post-2845837263519755492016-03-17T09:05:00.059+13:002016-03-17T09:05:00.059+13:00I, too, have left teaching as I could see where th...I, too, have left teaching as I could see where things have been heading and did not want to be paid based on the achievement of my students. The push for compliance by schools has been frightening and working in environments where the desire to please and look good and be compliant, both up to the ministry and across to parent desires, was a HUGE motivator for my departure. When schools resisted National Standards they were told to join up or they wouldn't get their operational grants. And, yet, this government promotes anti bullying! Yeah, right. But, as stated in various places, we teachers are part of the problem. The level of apathy I witnessed shocked me as I recall the strength we had when primary teachers fought and marched for pay equity. That fervour has been squashed and people feel powerless or they fear losing their livelihoods if they kick up a fuss. Just what is wanted it would seem. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8438349.post-5545268036390740172015-09-27T16:26:42.620+13:002015-09-27T16:26:42.620+13:00I completely agree Bruce.
I made the decision fi...I completely agree Bruce. <br />I made the decision five weeks ago not to be a classroom teacher in 2016. I confirmed my decision not to reapply for my current position when I found the school had signed up for the IES Community of Schools ("It's only an expression of interest" - yeah right). And my decision became firmer on Thursday evening when I realised that 78% of people who attended the NZEI PUMs voted for the Joint Initiative, which really is the IES pig with lipstick.<br />I will no longer be party to an educational system that is infected by GERM. I want to be part of the antedote, which means stepping outside the system to advocate for change. I am ineffective within the system if I have to toe a line I don't agree with to keep my job.melulaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00912265739435105092noreply@blogger.com