In recent
years politicians from the ‘right’ have given the impression that our schools
are failing – our current Minister is fond of saying ‘one in five of our
children are failing’ and that the
introduction of National Standards will solve the situation. ‘We so often hear stories about how standards have fallen,’ said Latta, ‘that you would be forgiven for thinking the sky has fallen in’.
introduction of National Standards will solve the situation. ‘We so often hear stories about how standards have fallen,’ said Latta, ‘that you would be forgiven for thinking the sky has fallen in’.
With this in
mind I was very curious about the conclusions Nigel Latta would come to after
returning to school classrooms to see for himself. .
The two schools chosen to visit were Pakuranga College, a co-ed secondary school, and Point England, a low
decile primary school. He wanted to get a grasp of how things like the basics
were being taught.
What he
found out was that schools were very different from his own school days.
Today
it is about helping students discover meaning while in his day, teachers had the
‘knowledge’ and they passed it on to their students. Nigel reflected that he hated his own
secondary schooling which ‘was boring. You sat down and shut up’. Nigel was to be very impressed with the involvement of students in their own learning during his
class visits.
He wanted to find out about NCEA (National
Certificate of Educational Achievement) which, even after a decade, many parents
are still confused about. Many older parents sat School Certificate. Why had
things changed? The principal, Michael Williams, answered by saying ‘with SC half
the students failed’ and that in the past ‘school was a very effective sifting
system and that NCEA changed the mold’.
So Nigel
thought it might be fairer, but was it better? Prof Stuart McNaughton reported
to Nigel ‘that NCEA gives a full picture of what a student can do….ranking
exams like SC give a hard-nosed high stakes assessment…NCEA is fairer’. The introduction of NCEA had changed the
curriculum and the way things were taught, ‘education was once about
replication today it is about problem solving’.
Nigel sat in
a number of classrooms to see for himself, much to the amusement of the
students. His experience of Design
Technology left him amazed when he observed students experiencing ‘
a
range of complex skills relevant to the real world.’ Sitting in on physics was
another powerful lesson for Nigel as was English
Maths lesson |
He wondered
if in this exploratory process was academic knowledge being lost?
For an
answer he turned to Prof John Hattie a world recognised authority on
educational research. Nigel wanted to know how well we were doing in education
and ‘why we are always led to believe there is a crisis? Hattie replied that ‘fundamentally we have a
very good system and this is entirely credited to the quality of the teaching
profession’. This is in contrast to what some politicians tell us!
Prof Hattie
told Nigel that ‘the purpose of education is to help students exceed their
potential’ and that good teachers ‘care passionately to see something in their students’and added ‘luckily we have a lot of passionate teachers’.
Nigel sat in
a maths lesson to see if students were being taught maths properly. The maths
teacher explained that today maths is about learning strategies and that in the
past, maths was about getting the right answer. In the past
few people experienced mathematical thinking and as a result ended up hating maths.
‘Students need to play with maths to solve problems rather than follow
procedures without understanding’. The students were learning and enjoying
maths in a way that Nigel never experienced in his school days.
Another mind
changing experience was physical education which Nigel, in his day, did his best
to avoid. Today it is all about ‘fostering a joy in physical education’.
What about
private schools? Do these schools provide a better education? John Hattie's
research indicated ‘that they offer little advantage but it is what parents
believe’.
John
Hattie’s advice for parents selecting a school for their children is to walk
around and see if the school is an inviting one; schools that focus on students
learning in a safe environment.
What about
Maori and Pacifica kids – the kids who are lagging at the tail end’? What
does being in a lower decile school mean?
Many parents equate decile rating with
the quality of learning in the school. ‘Is this true?’ wondered Nigel. John Hattie, if he had his way, would
do away with the deciles. ‘They are criminal if seen by the parents as a proxy
for quality. They have become league tables and this is 100% wrong. Some of
the best schools are low decile schools.’
A culture of high expecataions |
Russell Burt |
Nigel’s
first primary lesson was maths where he observed kids working in small groups
solving problems. The teacher explained that as children worked at different
levels they work collaboratively, making use of computers, helping each other;
‘kids are enjoying maths – it makes maths not such a big brick wall’.
Point
England is a school determined not to be defined by its decile level.
Technology is integrated into all activities and the school is networked with
11 other schools, which Nigel thought ‘pretty amazing’.The whole community is
linked with WIFI so children can learn at home.
Children have the opportunity to acquire their own digital device –
something the parents wanted for their children and they contribute $3.50 a
week do so.
Nigel was
reassured by the principal that computers and group work do not come at the
expense of ‘real’ learning. The school works closely with its parents who are
supportive and know their children’s achievement levels and progress.
Achievement levels have picked up with the introduction of digital devices,
technology and open space learning. Technology has enabled the students to
share in a way that it is hard to do with pencil and paper. Individuals can
even learn with their computers in the holidays.
Point
England is a school with high expectations – expectations the students have
internalised.
As an aside Nigel saw no behavioural issues and this he felt was
because of the culture of learning they have built up – the ‘students are able
to manage themselves’. It’s the culture, the expectations, the teachers, not
the decile rating that makes the difference.
Nigel wished
he had been a student at Point England School when he was a kid.
With regard to National Standards the school struggles despite enormous success. Students
who start a couple of years behind do catch up at year 6; they have made great gains
but it is not reflected in the Standards. The standards, comments Latta, ‘are too narrow and don’t reflect the huge strides the children at Point England have made’ ‘There is a need to rethink the National Standards.
Point
England is a school respected and visited by other educators – Google even
visited to make a documentary about the school! The big thing
is ‘that the kids are not limited by what others think they should achieve’.
Nigel’s last
lessons were back at Pakuranga College.
There is, he said, a lot of talk about the so called ‘soft subjects’ of the NCEA. He took part in a dance class and observed year 12 students panel beating. The dance class involved Nigel in an area beyond his expertise and he found it absorbing. In the panel shop he observed students who otherwise might have left school – students who like hands- on practical things.
Dance and
panel beating – essential learning for those students who are attracted to such
diverse learning experiences- are both respected as areas of valuable learning.
Nigel struggles in the dance class! |
John Hattie
commented to Nigel that traditional schooling privileged a certain group of
students and that in contrast the
diversity of NCEA is a way to develop entrepreneurs, musicians and people
equipped to work in the service industries. ‘There are lots of ways of being
excellent’.
There is no
doubt Nigel’s return to see schools in action for himself was a revelation. ‘It is not schooling as I knew school…it is
about creating citizens’; students who will be well equipped to thrive in an
unknown but exciting future.
There is no
crisis.
No need to
worry.
Foot note.
Russell Burt from Point England was appreciative of the above but to clarify the issue over National Standards sent me this to clarify the position re standards.
Foot note.
Russell Burt from Point England was appreciative of the above but to clarify the issue over National Standards sent me this to clarify the position re standards.
'With respect to your commentary regarding Pt England and the National
Standards;
-Our gains are reflected in the standards and are very significant.
Its just that what the public sees at early and often only glance of National
Standards data, is position rather than progress. If we were
judged more by progress than position we would be judged (and were so by ERO) as
a very high performing school.
Our concern as a learning community is more about how judgements are made,
than about the standards themselves'.
3 comments:
Having visited Point England School recently I have to say that I was really impressed. The students were thoroughly engaged in their learning, and were using technology in an integrated context. I agree with the principal that National Standard "high stakes" assessment and reporting in no way reflects the progress of the students or even more importantly the engagement of students in their learning.
Thanks Lorraine
I value your opinion highly so if you were impressed it must have been impressive!!
I totally agree with John Hattie.
We have one of the best education systems in the world on all levels. The countries that score higher than us are mainly monocultures and so have high societal expectations that support the education system. As New Zealand is such a multicultural country, we have devised a system that not only caters for different societal expectations but also different cultures and beliefs.
We are not there yet but we are well on our way to developing a system that allows all students to excel. All parents, families and whanua need to do to help their children achieve at school, is make sure their children get to school every day and create a settled consistent home environment. Schools, families and community working together ensures that children will not fail.
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