Why do so many students fail to achieve at school?

School is irrelevant for too many students. The age of knowledge transmission is over - students need to be helped to 'seek, use and create their own knowledge' ( NZ Curriculum 2007)

In her '70's book, Children’s Minds, Margaret Donaldson asks, ‘whether the school experience is advantageous for our children - as good as we can make it?’

 ‘We are faced’, she writes, ‘with something of a puzzle.  In the first years at school, all appears to go very well.  The children seem eager, lively, and happy.  There is commonly an atmosphere of spontaneity in which they are encouraged to explore and create…. However, by the time the children reach adolescence, we are forced to recognise that the promise of early years frequently remains unfulfilled.  Large numbers leave schools with a bitter taste of failure in them, not having mastered moderately well those basic skills which society demands…’  The  problem then is to consider how something that begins so well can often end so badly.

Little has changed since Donaldson wrote this, but the clearly wrong remedy is the current imposition of arbitrary standards on schools.  The real solution is not to blame teachers by imposing narrow accountability measures but to take advantage of the way young people spontaneously learn.  Teachers must respect the learning process that begins from birth and create conditions to amplify these innate learning dispositions.  At best schools should be careful not to destroy young children’s curiosity and should make meaning lie at the heart of all learning.

With this in mind, it is time for educators to consider learning from the child’s perspective, to challenge some widely-held beliefs about learning and what a revision of them implies.

When children come to school it is widely recognised that there is a wide gap between those who are well-prepared and those who are less so.  The question is how to close this ‘achievement gap’ exaggerated by the home circumstances between the rich and the poor - created by the market forces ideology of past decades.  As a result of increasing poverty, an increasing number of young children need more support than others to make a decent start, to become actively involved and regain their desire to learn.

It is essential for educators to believe that all students are born with a fundamental human urge to make sense of their world.  Encouraging these learning dispositions, rather than recording achievement in limited arbitrary standards, must be the focus for learning for students of all ages.  The teacher’s role in sustaining children’s desire to learn is vital.  If teachers keep in their mind  the premise of all children being capable of being competent, self determining, responsible beings then the risk of rejection of schooling is diminished.   Less fortunate students will need help, but this must be given with a light touch and respect for each learner’s individuality.

A standards approach, in contrast, simply escalates the winning and losing culture; identifing low performing schools most always in disadvantaged socio-economic areas, which can be ‘fixed’ by external interventions.  Overseas efforts to reduce inequalities through a standards and testing approach has often lead to burdensome and counterproductive compliance requirements and micro-management that stifles innovative teaching with little real, lasting impact.

A recent book, The Scientist in the Crib (Gopnik, Metzoff and Kuhl) the authors write, ‘One has to ask what happens to the innate learning power for many children?  If we are all born to discover the secrets of the universe, why are so many children lose this love of learning; this infinite capacity to wonder and  to examine and explore?’

If children are seen as born to learn, the challenge for teachers, at all levels, is to create the conditions to ensure that this desire to make sense of their experiences is not lost. 

Educationalist Jerome Bruner has wisely written that teaching is the, ‘canny art of intellectual temptation’.  Tempting children to learn redefines the role of the teacher and is the very opposite to the technocratic, standardised teaching that schools  currently are required to implement.

None of the above will be new to creative teachers or those who teach in early education centres.  In the ‘70’s educational critic John Holt answered the question how he would change schools in his book The Underachieving School by saying, ‘It would be to let every child be the planner, director and assessor of his own education, to allow and encourage him, with the experience and guidance of more experienced and expert people, and as much help as he asked for, to decide what he has to learn, when he has to learn it, how he is to learn it, and how well he is learning it.’  Today modern technology has provided students with this very environment.  Holt’s response is implicit in the philosophy of the now sidelined 2007 New Zealand Curriculum which states that students should be ‘seekers, users and creators of their own knowledge’.

In contrast, those who determine the direction of education in New Zealand have decided to take schools down a standardised pathway and do not appreciate that all learners make sense of the world in a personal way.  They do not recognise that there can no standardised 'off the shelf' solution to equip students for future challenges - rather we need to tap the intelligence and creativity of all our citizens.

Holt makes the point that, ‘almost every child, on the first day he sets foot in a school building is smarter, more curious, less afraid of what he does not know, better at finding and figuring out things, more confident, more resourceful, resolute and independent than will ever happen again in his schooling’.

It is the amplification of these innate learning dispositions that schools need to protect and amplify, rather than be distracted by obsessive testing of students in a narrow range of traditional skills.  Hard as they may be to measure, these are the dispositions that ultimately count if students are to become life long learners.

Teachers should appreciate that the most powerful form of motivation stems from a child’s sense of purpose and mastery of self-chosen tasks. Tapping student’s interests and ‘tempting’ them with new ones becomes the teachers challenge.  As Jerome Bruner writes, ‘we get good at what we get good at’.  From the student’s concerns and questions curriculums ‘emerge’ - the approach followed so successfully by the early education Emilio Reggio approach and past and present creative teachers.

Children, being innately curious, are tempted by new experiences that lead naturally into exploring relevant aspects of adult disciplines.  Insightful teachers are skilled at linking student inquiries into curriculum requirements and naturally integrate literacy and numeracy expectations in realistic contexts.  ‘Learnacy’, Guy Claxton writes in his book What’s the Point of School, ‘is more important than literacy or numeracy’.  What is unquestionably required is for students to be encouraged to investigate deeply into what attracts their attention, to do fewer things well, to persevere through difficulties and confusion, and in the process gain as complete an understanding as their age allows.  Teachers’ task is to help their students focus on chosen tasks, cultivate their skills of perception and observation and, to challenge their thinking.

For students to feel free enough to express their thoughts, teachers must provide a safe learning environment where students learn through enlightened trial and error - as do adult scientists.  Teachers, who create such inquiry-based learning communities, follow educationalist John Dewey’s maxim that ‘children are people they grow into tomorrow as they live today’.  For students who arrive in class with negative learning attitudes due to difficult home circumstances, teachers must provide tempting learning experiences to compensate.  Personalising learning, not standardising teaching, is the answer.

It is a sad commentary that currently teaching is dominated by a standards approach and an corresponding accountability culture. 

The wisdom  of creative teachers has been all but obliterated by the flood of ‘expert’ advice’ delivered by those with little experience of the reality of  classroom practice.  

There seems little understanding that every classroom comes with a dynamic range of very different individuals.  Teaching that respects and celebrates the thinking and reality of a diversity of students is the ultimate act of creativity -  creativity that is easily dulled by both school and Ministry compliance requirements.  

The need to celebrate NZ's educational success.

School ought to be a place to amplify the  innate learning dispositions  of their students and to develop their gifts and talents  - not a place to be sorted and standardized by political ideology.

Biased politicians have done a good job in convincing the public that our school system is failing  our students but isn't it is time teachers began to fight back? The trouble is confronting a populist   government, Ministry minions, and paid " best practice" contract deliverers of the official message, is not an easy task. Most schools seem to be content to getting on doing what others expect of them. This is a shame.

Rather than negative politicians endless repeating that one in five students are failing in our primary schools, without recourse to linking this with poverty and difficult home backgrounds, teachers need to celebrate the positive aspects of our school system. 

In last weeks Sunday Times Gordon Dryden did just this writing that the answer is not relying on standardized  measurable approaches and performance pay - failed concepts from the business world -   but in 'celebrating the incredible achievements of New Zealand's best primary schools'. In his experience , 'they lead the world in interactive technology as the catalyst to reinvent chalk and talk teaching.'

The government's approach , recently expressed by the new Treasury Secretary,  Dryden writes,  'is completely the opposite to how Finland the world's best performing school and early childhood system - is achieving its results'.

Let's get one thing straight New Zealand performs impressively in OECD PISA testing. PISA's four year achievements show country by country comparisons.In  the four surveys since 2000  the four leaders are Finland with  543; South Korea ( 532); Canada ( 531); New Zealand (526); and Australia ( 523). And Dryden writes, 'Finland  became the global leader  doing the opposite to what Treasury now recommends'. In Finland teaching is valued and teachers highly qualified and paid, and nearly all classrooms have three teachers, one charged with personalizing tuition.

As an aside the United States and the UK are well back in the PISA listings - and the UK is where our highly paid Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Education come from! The blind following the blind!

The government, following biased ideological research, believe in the myth that standardized measurable approaches are the sole key to economic growth. 'Try telling that to Silicon Valley leaders,' Dryden continues. '  where  non-standardized innovation has become Americas finest gift'.....'Or Peter Jackson and his multi - talented team '. 'Everyone', Dryden says, 'has the  potential talent to succeed - but in different ways'.

An opinion piece in a recent Auckland Herald  wrote, 'Education is  is where politics rule and facts come second.But it is , notoriously, where instant solutions always fail.

The dirty secret of education is, as an academic once put it, is middle class advantage and working class failure. Exceptional kids will always break the pattern.but the pattern remains.

Why that is, and how we fix it are the central unsolved mysterious'.

Act's solution, backed by National, is more choice and competition. In its devotion to these strikingly middle class values, Act looks nothing so much as the comfortable Victorian ladies who visited slums in an attested to teach the poor manners and a work ethic and how to become bourgeois. It would be laughable if it wasn't so offensive.'

'What is being contested', according to Massey University's John Clark ( NZ Principal Magazine March 2012), '  is the claim that the National Standards in reading, writing and mathematics will close the gap to any significant extent. Despite the Minister's deeply held political convictions they will, there are a number of compelling reasons that they will not.'

' The causes of the achievement gap, in large part lie well beyond the four walls of the classroom and the gates of the school. Even if there are some school based causes they pale into insignificance compared to the far more powerful out-of-school forces which have such an overwhelming effect on children's lives'.

Schools face a stark choice writes David Stewart in the latest Education Aotearoa, saying 'Principals, along with their boards and staff, have the broad choice of basing their plans .. between a focus which gives absolute priority to currently mandated practices, such as National Standards - or basing their school development initiatives around proven whole-of-child philosophies incorporating aspects such as empathy, fairness, acceptance of competing viewpoints, trust and social responsibility alongside the 3Rs'

He continues, 'This second view would emphasize teaching over testing, collaboration over competition, and give high value to a continuing  whole- of- school development of teacher judgment. Compliance of mandated structures would , of course, be woven into such a model.'

Delivering on both agendas will not be an easy task but at all costs schools must not sell out on the educationl philosophies that earned them such a high place on PISA testing - a position gained well before the technocratic reforms of  Tomorrow's Schools

It is time for some real leadership in our schools to combat imposed ideological approach of our current private enterprise government.

A ‘new’ fair creative New Zealand for all – or National’s ‘brighter future’ for the wealthy.

Time for 'new' thinking?

A few thoughts about future directions.

David Shearer, leader of the opposition, recently outlined his vision for a ‘new’ New Zealand saying it was time to challenge assumptions about all aspects of life that we take for granted.

It was a start but it needs to move beyond rhetoric.

The big question is what sort of country do we want to seen as?  England of the South Pacific – but better, fairer and more egalitarian? These were the thoughts of early colonists escaping a class society of the very rich and very poor.

At the turn of the last century New Zealand was seen as leading the world in liberal causes - the first country to give woman the vote. After the great depression, when conservative thinking was unable to solve the difficulties that had emerged, new thinking emerged represented by a reforming Labour Government and, once again, New Zealand led the way in developing a society that gave a fair deal to all citizens with its welfare reforms.

By the end of the 70s winds of change were in the air and worldwide governments broke away from the political consensus that had developed since WW2. Voices were spreading the message that the ‘socialist’ state philosophies ('nanny states') had run their course and new vitality was required – the introduction of free market ideology in the US and the UK led to its introduction in New Zealand – ironically by a Labour Government – ‘Rogernomics’ had arrived.

And this philosophy is still in place and being pursued with a renewed enthusiasm by the National Government with its asset sales and public/private enterprises in areas such as prisons and schooling.

David Shearer needs to outline a real alternative to this individualistic capitalism and move New Zealand back to valuing the common good; to create a New Zealand where all people feel part of, and are able to contribute, to rather than just the extreme rich.

The growing gap between rich and poor, making solidarity and a sense of community more difficult, cannot continue without unfortunate consequences resulting.  The time has come for some new thinking. While the few rich lives of luxury the burden is falling on the bottom ranks of taxpayers. New Zealand is moving back to the rich poor divide of the Victorian Era early colonists sailed 12000 miles to escape from. Now they escape to Australia.

New Zealand is now one of the most unequal countries in the OECD backed up by some of the worst social statistics of any country. We are no longer ‘Godzone’.  It is now common for our politician to talk of an ‘underclass’ without accepting their part in its development – or taking responsibility for the school ‘achievement tail’ by simply blaming teachers. People it seems are almost accepting of such an underclass as a natural situation – part of the price ‘we’ have to pay.

This  inequality needs to be considered alongside  the findings of the book ‘The Spirit Level’ which links inequality to higher crime, ill health and a range of negative social issues. Northern European countries, where well-being of all people is achieved by paying tax as a price for civilization, needs to be studied – Finland in education for example.

It is now time for politicians to debate again the need for the just distribution of income and wealth that has been lost since the 1970s. It is time to fight for democratic rights of all people to feel part of New Zealand - and not just for the extreme rich, the corporate society, to have all the advantages – the very situation the early colonists sought to escape from. The rich now live in a world of their own making – one that excludes the less fortunate who have to pay for shrinking services they once received of as a benefit of living in this country.

The quality of life for the vast majority has been hollowed out by the policies of the last few decades. The shared sense of community has all but gone – revived only by the brief but exciting Rugby World Cup – a modern day version of the Roman Circus. One can only imagine the consequences if we had lost!

We do need a ‘new’ New Zealand for all not just a ‘brighter future’ for the rich.

I think we are talking about culture.  Culture can amplify or limit our potentials. Not all cultures are equal. What sort of culture, or society, do we want to become? At the moment an individualistic inspirational ‘market forces’ thinking has become our default culture.

A ‘new’ New Zealand culture needs to keep the best of the virtues and values of the past and down play selfish individualistic beliefs that are distorting our current culture. We need to work towards develops greater social cohesion and sense of shared community.  We are not as relentlessly self centred as we have been encouraged to be; we also have a need to work with and help others.  Selfish individualism will end up by destroying the best in us.

First we need to appreciate what it is we want to replace. ‘Neo conservative’ market forces beliefs are all about liberating the individual to be entrepreneurial, to create the wealth that would ‘trickle down’ to assist all. The welfare society had to be replaced to allow this release of energy  based on the primacy of private property and influence over state ‘straightjackets’.

And at the time it seemed ‘there was no alternative’ (TINA).

What eventuated were businesses being freed from regulations to create enterprises to be judged by share market value not contribution to society. Businesses themselves became commodities to be bought and stripped. Financial deals became more important than manufacturing something. Executive became overpaid and increasingly unethical.

Competition was seen to be the key not cooperation and collaboration

Collective state organisations were sold off and privatized – railways, post offices and now power companies again.

Minimal regulation allowed financial organisations and banks to loan money unwisely. Private debt soared.

Working practices favoured the employers and trade unions were demonized. Job security was lost and part time work became the norm for many – or unemployment.

Tax cuts favoured the rich – tax shifted to the poor to support the rich. Tax was seen as the state stealing from us rather than the price we pay for civilization.

In schools, and other organizations, under the guise of efficiency and choice, a culture of performance and comparison developed creating ‘winners and losers’ on doubtful data.

All this created a culture of greed and ‘me first’ – an obsession with winning.

The ‘trickle down’ theory is now a myth. Real wages fell and mums and dads had to both work to keep up with the rampant consumerism required by the market forces ideology. Materialist values (along with debt) became central to our identity – supported by a flood of advertising.

Working together for the common good has been downplayed – if only because people have little spare time.

So it seems David Shearer has a lot to do if he is to present an alternative vision to give us all something to buy into.

But the time is right as free market beliefs are losing their gloss. The dark side of a National’s selfish ‘aspirational’ society’ is showing its cracks. A society of few winner and growing losers is worrying. The wellbeing of the many must be placed ahead of the wealthy few. The promised ‘level playing field’ was another failed myth. Do we want to return to the Victorian class society again?

There must more to purpose in life that to get ahead at the cost of others.  There is a growing sympathy for those who lack the opportunity and social capital of the rich to make a full contribution to tap into. The ‘aspirational’ middle income families have not realized the riches they were promised.

An understanding that education is the key to developing a caring, tolerant society – and an education premised on realizing the gifts and talents of all students not just the academic students from acceptable backgrounds is vital. We need an education that is ‘personalized’ not ‘standardized’; one based on collaboration and sharing not narrow school comparison on doubtful data. We need a strong emphasis on ensuring all children are given every opportunity in the first years of their lives.

A new culture must balance the energy of entrepreneurial individuals and organisations with respect for the common good.

Infrastructure need to be developed to encourage the creative and innovative to develop sustainable and high touch industries

The tired state public service must be revived (or re-established) with only one goal to create conditions for all citizens to be respected and to grow. Free market philosophers were right - the welfare state had become encased in red tape but an enlightened public bureaucracy is still necessary to protect citizens from the ravages of the rich. The world left to the whim of the corporate ‘wizards’ has come to an end with the 2008 financial crisis when social welfare had to be provided to bail them out.

We need to create healthy communities based on caring, creativity, relationship and connections.

Maybe it is even time to re-look at the balance between local and central government? Provincial government lost impetus when communications improved in New Zealand and also because the resources of provinces was unfair. Market forces ideology believes in small government and increased private enterprise. Perhaps it all needs looking at. We need more local self determination  by pushing decision making down to the lowest levels within agree national guidelines. Maybe more integrated regional government which integrates (to a degree at least) fragmented services such as health, education, welfare, fire services, police and other central state agencies.  This is in opposition of current moves by central government to restrict local government to essential services only. Of course all this would require the tax base to be shared. It would certainly liven up local politics!

What a reforming opposition/government should consider is creating a three horizon vision (1) an ideal but too difficult to achieve now vision (2)   a second horizon of possible vision ideas that could work and lead to an ideal with time, and (3) actions that are possible now – also leading to a changed future. Without an ideal horizon immediate actions are too heavily influenced by the stultifying power of the present.

What David Shearer should be articulating is a new form of ‘caring capitalism’ that ‘allows all boats to float on a rising tide’.  Free market ‘selfish’ capitalism has had its turn, at least, like cod liver oil, it cleaned out the system!

A good start might be to set up a non political (or mixed political) group of respected citizens to develop a range of future scenarios outlining the consequences and costs of each and then to become involved in series of national conversations about New Zealand’s’ future. The late Sir Paul Callaghan would have made an idea leader of such a group.

Political parties could then take a stand on the scenarios they would want to implement.

It is time to renew our culture once again.

We need new thinking, old communal  values, new perceptions and new priorities – a culture of responsibility for others and our environment.

We need to create a vision of New Zealand as a country that liberates the gifts and talents of all citizens in a fair, caring, creative and tolerant society

It’s time for a creative, ‘caring’ capitalism to return to New Zealand.

Just  thoughts.

Standardization of America and democratic Finland.

The cartoon sums up what is happening in education!

I  was sent links to a couple of interesting links recently by my friend Allan.

The first was written by veteran American educator Marion Brady who writes for the Washington Post and printed in the Florida Today.

Brady writes about the current test based education reform movement  saying that the  so-called education reforms is being put in place by business leaders and politicians who believe that current system had become soft and lax and that educators weren't motivated to do their best - what was needed was discipline, rigor, tighten the screws, clamp down.

Rigor in the American scene is cutting recess and replace with instruction. Cut the frills., cut art, cut music, cut everything except reading and math.And then turn the school day into a reading and maths drill and reading and math exercises , and get those scores up.

Brady writes that Linda Darling Hammond who was Obama's primary education adviser was seen as unacceptable to corporate interests because she didn't buy into the assumption that what was needed was rigor. As corporate interests wanted someone to sort out the unions. As a result non educators ate now responsible for setting polices - educators are excluded from the debate.

He says that any country that teaches it's kids only what standardized scored tests can measure is doomed.It puts a cap on education, a cap on intellectual performance that is far too low.

The only alternative if for teacher evaluation , because he says, teachers see kids every day, all day. They hear the dialogue, they can evaluate the intellectual processes that are taking place as kids try to solve problems and figure out answers to difficult questions.

Unfortunately, he says,  the general public have been convinced this is not acceptable.

And we are busy following the Americans and the English!!!

The second link came from the Guardian and compared the English International scores with Finland.

Finland seems the country of choice at the moment so it was interesting to see the English take on the subject.

In 2009 the UK's policy directors suffered a significant blow. The  OECD International PISA tests ranked UK well down the international league tables in reading maths and science scoring 25th in reading, 28th in maths and 16th  in science. ( New Zealand by the way places in the top 5 for such tests). To confuse the issue te UK is ranked 8th in the table for educational spending per pupil but had a 23rd position average overall.!!

Only one Western country has excelled in PISA ratings consistently over the years - Finland. Their sustained success has for many years prompted educationalists to consider how they have achieved this.

The reasons for Finland's success is complex but a number of interdependent complementary factors are involved including teaching is a prestigious career- teachers are highly trained paid and respected.

Teachers assessment are used to by schools to monitor progress and these are not graded, scored or compared; but instructed are descriptive and util zed in a formative manner to inform feedback and assessment for learning.Ironically the Finnish curriculum is far less 'academic' than you would expect  and the Finnish students do the least number of class hours per week in the developed world. Study's in Finland it no exams until the age of 17-19.

Great emphasis is placed on pupil and teacher trust and well being.Outdoor, practical learning opportunities and healthy related physical activity sessions are a regular feature in the curriculum; helping to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Finnish schools receive full autonomy, with head teachers and teachers experience considerable independence when developing their own individual curricula: suited to their settings. Combinations of alternative pedagogic approaches, rather than mrer instructional methods are utilized by the teachers. The pedagogical freedoms experienced facilitates greater creativity, pro-activity and innovation. ( The premise of the now sidelined 2007 New Zealand National Curriculum!!)

Finland's Minister of Educations philosophy has been to trust the professionals. The Finnish system prides itself on positively evolving with pupil's needs and interests at heart.  Professional Learning Communities are integral to the  sharing and spreading of good practices.

All students receive a free education from when the start school at seven until they complete university studies - receiving schools meals and resources on the way.

All classes contain a mixture of ability level pupils, with most classes containing two or more teachers who focus on those needing additional support. Many teachers also stay with a single class for many years, moving with them through the school. Many primary and secondary schools are combined avoiding unsettling transitions allowing a consistent ethos and common language to pervade. Study's address teachers by their Christian names , do not wear uniforms and are encouraged to relax in their surrounding.


The Finnish system is built on the idea that 'less can be more' and could appear counter intuitive to other countries in which standards an effectiveness are measured in standardization data.

It is worth remembering the Finland is a homogeneous society and lacks the corrosive competitive ethos of many Western countries but also that Finland ended WW2 exhausted after fighting Russia to a standstill and has developed economically since then by challenging outworn assumptions in education along with other areas.

New Zealand business oriented politicians and  policy makes are taking down the path being followed by the United States and England ( and Australia). Recently the Leader of the Opposition suggest Finley was a country we could do well to emulate.

With 4 million people, a high GDP and high well being, Finland is worth the attention.

Those with longer memories  will appreciate that the student centred  approach Finland has developed was at the heart of  the New Zealand Education system until the market led forces of  educational reforms of the 1980s.

In the meantime we blindly follow failed approaches of the USA and the UK - the new Secretary of Education comes to us from England having never been a teacher.

Time to take a new path - or to return to successes of the past - success that gave up our high rating on PISA tests!

Political ideology trumps educational philosophy

The church used the inquisition to ensure heretics toed the line. Sounds familiar?
Society today is being directed by the financial wizards of corporate greed and few school voices are brave enough to stand up for what they know is best for their students.

Even the  Secretary of the Treasury  Gabriel Makhouf is using his position to support the corporate ideals  of the current government  to push stronger for  the current ideological influences. That the ideology  of  the market know  best and the importance of competition and self interest led to the state bail outs of American Banks and once powerful capitalist businesses ( too big to let fail!) and the string of failed finance businesses in New Zealand hasn't dented their enthusiasm. Somehow ethics and corporate  needs/greed just don't mix!

Two agendas are competing to influence the future directions of schools (and society); the business world’s standardization agenda based around school competition and the humanistic personalized learning approach best exemplified by the 2007 New Zealand Curriculum.

Currently schools are scrambling to comply with the narrow demands scientific management being pushed on schools by what American educator Diane Ravitch, once a supporter of standardized testing, calls the ‘Master (and Mistresses) of the universe types’. ‘Such corporate executives’, she writes, ‘seem to believe schools can achieve miracles by relying on competition, deregulation and management by data’ Through such approaches schools ‘ can inspire societies less fortunate to aspire to similar success - no poverty excuses allowed’.

To such corporate reformers, who are detached from the reality of schooling and indifferent to important influences of family and poverty, the problem lies with poor teaching. It is worth reflecting that in countries that have imposed such a market based approach it has resulted in a narrowing of the curriculum, teaching to the tests and the ignoring of the need to tap into students’ dreams, interests, passion and talents. To make things worse the countries that follow such an approach, such as the UK and the US, are well down in international ‘league tables’.  Diane Ravitch admits ‘I was wrong. Testing has been a disaster and has done nothing to change the conditions that cause those gaps’. Ravitch also reminds us that the strategies they want to impose are ‘similar to the ones that helped produce the economic crash of 2008’.

 Professor  Linda Darling Hammond , former adviser to Barrack Obama, extends the debate writing, ' the profession of teaching and our system of public education are under siege from another wave of scientific managers, who have forgotten that education is about opening minds to inquiry and imagination....that teaching is about enabling children to make sense of their experience, to use knowledge for their own ends, and to learn to learn, rather than spend their childhoods...feeding the voracious data banks that govern ever more decisions from the bowels of the bureaucracy.'

Such scientific management she says provides mandates that 'would "choke a horse" and 'threaten to replace the opportunities for teachable moments that expert teachers know how to create with their students'.

'These new scientific managers...like to rank and sort students, teachers, and our schools - rewarding those at the top and punishing those at the bottom, something high achieving countries don't do but often forbid'.

'And the new scientific managers cleverly construct systems that solve the problems of the poor by blaming the teachers and schools that seek to serve them, calling the deepening levels of severe poverty an  " excuse"

...this is the equivalent of deciding that if the banks are failing, we should fire the tellers’.

Getting back to important things!

My attic studio. A good friend designed IT for me in the 1980s - in use at last. The painting on right  of  a stream , vines and bush is my attempt to revive an earlier effort. Top left is a new painting of Paritutu volcanic plug - heavily influenced by Dick Frizzell. Below is a bird image and out of sight a figure composition and the beginnings of a portrait of a very important woman in my life. I have no idea how any (except the bush painting) will turn out - a metaphor for life.

After years/decades of being distracted by educational issues I have decided to return to having go at painting. In the mid sixties I completed a series of paintings but since then I have only dabbled, mostly unsuccessfully.

Anyway the time now seems right as I have lost interest in school visiting because most of what I see doesn't impress me that much what with the emphasis and time being spent on literacy and numeracy to the exclusions of other equally important learning areas. Inquiry learning I see lacks the real depth I used to admire in classrooms that placed inquiry central and most of the art these  days is formulaic and conformist - more illustration than creative art. This is a shame because inquiry  and creative expression are the  basis of all learning and obviously is inclusive of various forms  of literacy and authentic aspects of numercay.

Most of all the absence of a wide range of creative arts means students are missing out some important lessons in life - lessons I am now experiencing as I begin to become involved in painting. First there is the issue of inspiration to create something personal, and then there is the even more difficult job of mastering the various techniques involved - which can only be acquired as the work progresses.

The most important lesson learnt from any creative activity is that realizing a piece of art is an evolving and sometimes messy process where each stroke of paint creates a new decision about what to do next. In this respect completing a piece of art is a metaphor for life itself -  which more often than not  unfolds in unplanned and unexpected ways.

This creative - or learning process -  made me think of an American  Junior school teacher Marion Diamond. Diamond writes with insight gained from experience  about the importance of 'unknowablity' in art with five year old -and how it is important to take advantage of whatever evolves - a form of constant decision making. And, at the end of the process ( which is not aways easy to determine) , the feelings of great satisfaction that any creator gets. And to complicate things even more the thoughts that will have arisen that will lead to further acts of creativity.

This is what Marion had to say: 'A critical component of art work....is an acceptance of the unknowability of the end product....I have had to learn that mistakes are not only inevitable but necessary and useful, and that dealing with them - untangling some knot- takes us somewhere unexpected.'

Once again this is  in contrast with all the 'intentional teaching' now seen as 'best practice' in our schools resulting in a conformity of product devoid of personality. And as well the importance of art as a form of expression is demeaned.

'Teaching art has to do with the difference between trusting children and believing you must teach them everything about a subject or they won't know'. This brings in the role of the teacher. Julie writes that teachers must leave space for their work - children must make the decisions, do the thinking, use their imagination, and take responsibility for their own work.

Teachers must be careful not to impose their ideas on students. Julie writes that teacher's role is subtle. Explorations can be guided, parameters set but still open enough 'to permit each child's experience and unique preferences to inform' their work.

'The aim is help children to develop their abilities, to see, design, use colour, to help them extend their visual vocabularies, to help them gain clarity and conviction, while making something that is authentically theirs'.

'I aways put the children's expressiveness first.Art activities were valued because the class environment was rich in art, part of all content areas, they illustrated poems, drew the classroom animals and plants, printed with the leaves we'd collected in the park, and made collages to illustrate children's information about the animals they were studying. They used maths material to make elaborate and beautiful patterns'.

 Couldn't have expressed the importance of creativity better myself.

And already I know the feelings of frustration and achievement beyond anything that can be measured.

The need for a positive vision for New Zealand

Recently David Shearer , the Leader of the Labour Party, presented  his long awaited vision for a 'new' New Zealand. The Sunday Times ( March 25th) responded saying that 'The Labour Party is finally pushing its new leader to the front of the stage' and continued Shearer 'has to do more' and that 'a Labour Party that genuinely wanted to transform New Zealand could grow a constituency for itself' as 'people are suddenly questioning capitalism and the free market model, they're discussing issues of inequality and there's more hostility towards higher socio-economic groups'. Labour's challenge is 'give a very clear definition of what progressive Labour stands for'. Shearers vision speech was seen as 'reasonable first step' - further speeches need to 'paint a clear picture' - it looked  like Shearer was saying 'I'm not going to scare the horses'.

I wanted to be positive about Shearer's speech but  his sorting out 'good teacher from bad teacher' emphasis put me off. Read what Kelvin Smythe had to say and also his follow up. Kelvin wasn't pleased!

Lets look at Shearer's speech.

Shearer made it clear that we can't just keep on doing what we've been doing.  The 'market forces ideology' which has been centre stage in New Zealand politics for decades ( no matter the party in power) has run its course. The issue now is to develop a  new set of coherent ideas to replace its dominance.

'Anyone who thinks we can make things better here without making big changes is dreaming'  'What is missing', Shearer said, 'was vision'.  People, he said, 'want  leaders to have a clear idea of where we are going, and how we are going to get there, and what we're going to do to make it happen'.

His vision, he said, was straightforward , 'New Zealand should be a place where people know that they can get ahead, a place where the rest of the world wants to live and a place we can all be proud of'.

All a little vague to my mind.

In an attempt to clarify his vision Shearer referred to Finland a country that fought Russia to a standstill in WW2 and since then has transformed itself by appreciating that only 'brains and talent were going to take them forwards'. They had, Shearer said, 'transformed their economy through innovation and talent. They put at the centre of everything they had great teachers and schools and great science research and development'.

At this point I could see a real vision emerging: 'A 'new'  inclusive New Zealand based on realising the talents and gifts of all citizens' - not one valuing only those who  reap the rewards of such gifts - the current world of the rich and growing poor.

The philosophy of one of New Zealand's great thinkers seemed to coming through loud and clear - the late Sir Paul Callaghan. Shearer, echoing Sir Paul, said  we need 'a completely new New Zealand'  not 'a bit of tinkering here and some adjusting there and leaving the rest to the market'. Shearer, reflecting Sir Paul, wants to 'achieve a shift to a new job-rich, high value economy'.

This, he said, 'means looking at everything through new lens.Everything. It means questioning the comfortable assumptions we make'.

We aren't as clean and green as we think we are - we 'fall well behind environmental standards of many European countries. Our environment should be seen as a driver of our economic success rather than a hindrance. We have a smart creative people and a clean , green branding...My aim is make that branding a reality.'

At this point Shearer turned his attention to education:

'I want this new New Zealand to be built on our skills and talents', but then added, 'I frankly doubt the education system we have today can do what we'll be asking of it. Education is everything.We know that. Get that right, and everything flows from it.'

Rather questioning the sorting and classifying aspects of industrial age antiquated system Shearer turns his attention to at best a distraction - the importance of quality teaching rather that the culture of standardized  secondary system which does so poorly in realizing less academic students talents. Of course the  quality of the teachers is important  but to lay blame for lack of achievement on them avoids more important issues and is right wing educational thinking at best. Hardly challenging basic assumptions - only 'tinkering'.

It is a shame Shearer didn't have a conversation with Steve Maharey Minister of education when Labour was last in Government. Maharey was keen on the ideas of personalising learning rather than continuing with the standardised model that is being enforced by the current government. It is also a shame  that Shearer didn't resurrect the 2007 New Zealand National Curriculum  with it philosophy of all students to becoming 'lifelong, connected  learners - all able to 'seek , use, and create their own knowledge'. And it was shame that he didn't talk about what Finland is really doing in education which is the opposite of what is being imposed in New Zealand ( and in the UK, USA and Australia - all counties well behind Finland and New Zealand in International testing,)

No, Mr Shearer it is not about giving our 16 year old students 'training before they drop out' to give them 'a chance of of an entirely different life'.  Shearer is right though in saying that students 'need to be equipped to do the job we're going to ask them to do' but it is not 'training'.. instead what all students need are strong learning identities,  with their talents identified,  and equipped with all the  necessary skills and dispositions in place for them to realise their dreams.

Shearer is right though to  'focus on education because it is fundamental to making the country' - only his answer is wrong!  He is right to  say he has 'chosen education because it's such a good example of something we imagine we're doing right, but where we need to excel and lead the world' but he is wrong in saying it needs overhauling - it needs transformation.

 He lost a great opportunity to revive the 2007 National Curriculum.He lost a chance to push a vision of education of a means to identify  and amplify the talents and gifts of all students from the very first days they enter formal schooling. He lost the  chance to personalise learning - to revive the vision of Peter Fraser  who wanted education to provide every learner the chance to realise their innate gifts.

I think Shearer needs to really study how Finland has developed its education system before sorting out 'best and poor' teachers teaching in an antiquated system.

Maybe a re-read of Sir Paul Callaghan's book 'Wool to Weta' is required by him to clarify his educational vision.

If we want to develop New Zealand as a creative and entrepreneurial country then the place to start this creative culture is in schools. Sir Paul's advice was to 'look to where the talents lie' - what better place than in early education before students dreams are neglected by the desire by schools to prove traditional achievement.

It is in school where young kiwis should see their future - the school culture should focus on ensuring all students can stand tall. The potential  assets of New Zealand lie latent within the heads of our young - that many students leave alienated is our fault not theirs.

Good teachers don't 'teach' or 'train'; they create the conditions for students to take a growing responsibility for their own learning; they provide a stimulating and challenging learning environments; they provide authentic learning projects  to spark their curiosity; and they develop positive and respectful relationships so as to provide timely advice and feedback.

Good teacher build on their  students 'default' dispositions -  their  need to make meaning of their experiences. Schools ought to be about giving real creative opportunities for all students so as to tap into their student's interests;  'to excite kids and to get some passion about what they're learning', writes another contributor.

We need to ensure all students leave the school system with their passion and enthusiasm for learning intact - and with a desire to give things a go, to learn through their mistakes and to continually improve. Entrepreneurs.

Sir Richard Taylor (Weta Workshops)  when asked how do you find the talent you need replied to Sir Paul that it 'bubbles out' in the right environment .The attributes Sir Richards looks for  'in order of importance are, passion, enthusiasm, tenacity and the talent. Talent  of course is a very  important thing ...but without passion and without enthusiasm ,and of course the great New Zealand "stickability"  you have nothing'.

Sound like a good kindergarten class to me. Teachers in such environments are 'shaping young minds' - as another contributor to book says, 'you've got to get kids engaged at seven or eight years of age' - he was referring to science activities and continued 'if you don't it's hard to get them to pursue science type subjects at secondary school.' I would add start from birth and change how science is taught to complete the picture.

I think if David Shearer had outlined a more transformational model of education he would've begun the development of the beginning of a bold  new vision for our future prosperity.

David Skilling ( chief Executive of  New Zealand Institute)  believes we have the 'raw DNA to do it'. 'It is ecosystem you create around that'....'New Zealand has an existing leadership position by virtue of the talent we have or could have prospectively have'. He says 'we don't have a clear sense of what sort of economy we really want to build.'...'We haven't gone beyond the rhetoric'.

Hopefully this is the vision David Shearer has begun to articulate?

Whatever he needs to come up with a vision we can all buy into.

Education is central to such a vision but so far Shearer hasn't seen its true potential.

Sir Paul finishes his book  by saying 'talent is a reource' and that the 'transformative culture shift' will come when New Zealand is seen as the  'most beautiful , stimulating and exciting place to live and work.

That's a dream worth having.

Great blog to read by Tony Gurr

If you want a good read then take the time to read this blog posting by Tony Gurr - and also enjoy the graphics.

  Link : Allthingsunlearning

And read the learning skills students will need from the Committed Sardine blog

And another great article about 21stC fluencies from Ian Jukes of the Committed Sardine.

Another expert on teacher quality? Disruptive or dangerous?

Gabriel Makhlouf  - the new secretary to the Treasury, according to an article in the latest Listener, has 'pounced on teacher quality as the big idea that Treasury will push under his leadership'.

Three out of ten students leave school without NCEA level 2 ( sixth form) and this level , it is believed, is the level of education required to get on in life. So ensuring as many students achieve this level ( one of John Keys's new goals) is linked to the prosperity to the whole country.

The whole issue of failure Makhlouf, along with other right wing ideologues, is one of teacher quality. His answer is to sort out the good teachers from the bad and recognise and reward ( or punish) teachers through performance pay.

Makhlouf's advice to the government is to increase student teacher ratios and spend money saved on improving teacher quality. The issue of the relative unimportance of class size is based on research of John Hattie whose mega research ( of American education!!) indicated smaller class sizes have little effect on progress ; what really boosts achievement is how teachers teach, how they engage with pupils and how much detailed feedback students receive.

However, the Listener article states, that Makhlouf does not have the backing of Hattie on the alleged failure of the New Zealand system. In the forward to his book Hattie says, 'We have a nation of excellent teachers' as shown by New Zealand ranking in the top half dozen nations in reading, mathematics and science. If our scores rose higher, according to Treasury ' pretty powerful research' we could increase our GDP 3-15%.

No one would challenge Makhlouf's assertion that education is the key to economic success but how one defines achievement ( in a narrow literacy / numeracy sense, or the development of student's talent and gifts) needs debating. And as for Makhloufs enthusiasm for performance pay, once again, this depends on what is counted as achievement. Performance pay has had a checkered career in the US. Makhlouf , being an economist, believes it is all about collecting data to measure success. Simplistic stuff - important learning  attributes defy easy measurement.

Makhlouf's image of a good teacher is one , 'who stand up in front of a classrooms and inspire children to do great things'. Now I am all for inspiring teachers but  teachers who inspire students to do their own learning, not to transfer accepted wisdom to large classes of willing listeners.

I think Makhlouf's views on education reflects his British boarding school background. There is no doubt he is a bright individual but one wonders how in touch he is  with the reality of classrooms and modern educational thinking. I wonder if he is as keen for his own children to be taught in a state school in a class with a large numbers of students?

Evidently Makhlouf was appointed to provide some 'disruptive thinking' in the public service - which is to say cost cutting thinking along the lines of the current government.It is  interesting to note that another English import has been appointed Secretary of Education - her expertise is in establishing charter schools ( called academies in the UK). Not that the UK economy, or their educational results, are much to admire. As mentioned  New Zealand  has been at the top of  international surveys for decades.

The socio economic influence on achievement gap is downplayed  by thinkers such as Makhlouf. The Listener article  said that the one question that made Makhlouf uncomfortable was the question of inequality. The Listener article correctly states that  that the Treasury policy direction for the past thirty years, one of promoting market forces in the economy, has been a factor in creating  widening income inequalities and, in turn, the worrying achievement tail.

And Makhlouf is dismissive  of the thesis of the book 'The Spirit Level'  that societies with greater levels of income inequality have poorer social, crime and health outcomes. Such ideas he cavalierly dismisses as 'simplistic'.

Makhloud concludes his interview by saying, 'I'm passionate about organisations having a purpose' - the trouble is that his purpose might not be a positive one for the development of education in our country.

Maybe he should a take a trip to Finland - but that is a country, admired by the author of 'The Spirit Level',  which wouldn't welcome his market forces simplistic approaches to education.

Makhloud may be 'disruptive' but he is also destructive to the inclusive  values we hold ( or used to)  in New Zealand.

A link about teacher evaluation

WOMAD - World of Music Art and Dance

New Plymouth  hosts the 2012 World Festival of  Music Art and Dance.

WOMAD is an international festival of music, arts and dance bringing together artists from all over the world. The aim of WOMAD  is to celebrate the world many forms of music art and dance.

The festival features performance events, educational experiences, workshops all  to develop an awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society.

The first festival was held in the UK in 1982 and since then there have been more than 160 festivals held in 27 countries.

New Plymouth's Bowl of Brooklands and surrounds provides an ideal setting and featured five stages, craft and food stall.

Well over 10000 attend on each day and this year the weather was superb.

I attended with members of family and friends and enjoyed experience.

Exploring the immediate environment

Yesterday I was 'invited' to act as a parent helper for a team of three classes walking the Te Henui track which begins near their school  and finishes at End Beach New Plymouth.

It turned out to be a very pleasant day and it was fun just to be helper to watch the three teachers organise a very successful outing. Most of my own teaching career was as a science adviser assisting with such trips and at one point I was deputy principal of nearby school and the Te Henui was a favourite study area for my class. One of the teachers was a good friend of one of my ex pupils!

I was very impressed with the teachers organisation for the trip and the enthusiasm of the students.

The walk begins with a bush track winding along the side of the Te Henui River. The students had photos of plants to recognise and this provide popular activity. Digital cameras make such a simple worksheet  no trouble to prepare.

To be honest I don't think many of the students could recognise many plants but by the time they had reached their destination I am sure they could identify quite a few -  but most of all I think that they had become very aware of the range of native plants that grow along side the track.

Studying the plants was just one of the activities undertaken.The main aim of their walk was to discover the potential of the Te Henui as a tourist walk and to think of ways to make the walk more popular but there is no doubt that, later, the classes could follow up on their introduction to plant life. The walk included excellent areas of coastal rain forest as well areas of introduced trees planted by friends of the Te Henui  as part of ongoing Arbor day plantings. Another area of interest was an awareness of the range of weed plants that had colonised the bush areas.

To add  greater understanding of the plant life  Ms Valda Polletti, from the Friends of the Te Henui, provided insight into the development of the Te Henui and the ongoing problem of weed control. The students were very attentive and asked good questions -a study of garden escapee plants ( now seen as weeds) could be another future study?

During a morning tea break one of the teachers gave a potted history of the meaning of Te Henui. Students acted out a small battle scene of an unfortunate incident when local Maori were involved in repulsing invading Waikatos. Evidently a friendly local tribe  decided to join the defender in the night and were mistaken as the enemy. Te Henui means the big mistake! The Te Henui has a number of important Maori pa sites - once again another possible future study?

The  walk  finished at the river mouth where  pizzas were delivered for lunch.

After lunch, my assistance  no longer required, I walked back to school.

In the afternoon the students were to make Maori pas in the sand and to go roller skating at the rink before returning to school by bus.

The weather was fine  and we all enjoyed our day. It was great to see how involved the students were in learning outside their classrooms.

Garden plants gone wild!!

'Teaching', wrote Jerome Bruner, 'is the canny art of intellectual temptation.'   A creative teacher is aways on the alert for ideas to introduce to his or her class to 'temp' students into learning about things they may not other wise notice.

I  recently picked up a copy of the New Zealand Gardener (April 2008)  and an article on New Zealand's  20 worst weeds caught my attention. If I was a teacher  it would make an interesting inquiry/research/integrated study for my class.

The article set out to 'name and shame' 20 of the worst weeds in the nation - most of which were introduced originally as popular garden plants. That they have 'escaped' to now be seen as weeds is in itself is a good lesson to the students about unintended consequences.

I wonder if students were asked how many weeds of any sort  they could name? Their answers would show the 'prior' knowledge they would bring to such a study. I doubt if very many students could think of more than a few -even if they worked as  group to pool ideas!

These days strict bio security and  quarantine regulations  do their best to keep unwanted plants out of the country.  The students might think of how early weeds were brought to New Zealand. Some were garden plants that thrived too much in our climate while others were introduced by accident. Why does New Zealand have such strict bio security rules?

It is interesting to know that New Zealand natives can turn into weeds in other countries - the Karaka tree is seen as a weed plant in Hawaii as an aggressive coloniser suppressing the growth of Hawaiian natives. Manuka is another coloniser in Hawaii. Native flax is seen as an invasive plant on the Atlantic islands of St Helena Tristan da Cuna - it was originally introduced as a plant to make rope from. Even our Pohutakawa is a nuisance in South Africa and is seen as an alien!

Students only have to visit any waste area , or neglected garden, to see how weeds soon take over.

It would be worth thinking of a definition of a weed -a  very successful plant that has way of growing where it is not wanted. Research would show how individual weed plants are adapted for success. 75% of our weeds are escaped garden plants.

If I were a teacher I might bring a few weed plants along to school to research. In earlier days this was called a 'single plant study'. Students would observe, draw, measure and describe  and do their best find out common and scientific names. Most of all they would consider why the plants was successful - and how it ensured its survival.

The work of Darwin and early naturalists like Sir Joseph Banks could be introduced.  Using the Internet other famous naturalist, international and New Zealand  based, could also be researched.

Gardening parents could be called on to suggest weed plants - or help with identification.Digital or phone cameras are excellent for gathering images. Local councils,  conservation or garden centres could assist with identification and where  plants originated from.

All weed plants are highly successful in ensuring their spreading and surviving

Some of the plants mentioned in the article that had escaped form our gardens were:

Moth plant - a banned plant also known as kapok plant,  milk vine, cruel plant, or wild choko.
Montbretia  - bright orange flowers.
Blue morning glory - a smothering convulvulus.
Mexican daisy -  a pretty daisy flower that crowds out other plants.
Jasmine vine- grows rapidly up native  trees
Ivy - one of the worst threats to native bush
Honeysuckle - another smothering vine.
Aapanthus -  now regarded as an invasive weed in many areas.
Ginger plant -  -  from India  - wild ginger is another smothering plant.
Wandering Jew -from South America. Forms dense smothering mats.
Periwinkle  another scrambler .
Pampas grass ( not to be mistaken by smaller native toi  toi)
Arum Lily - also called death lily. Poisonous.
Old Man's Beard -  introduced clematis that smothers native bush.

Some students may like to research how to kill/ control plants but should not be involved in handling sprays.

The March 2007 magazine featured another 20 lawn and garden weeds including:

onion weed, dandelions, fennel, oxalis, lawn diasies, groundsel. plantains, fathen , thistles, buttercups, milkweed, cleavers,  dock,  grass weeds.

So if someone calls you a 'weed' - say thanks it's a compliment - a plant that can survive.

At the end of such a study it would be interesting to know how many plants students could name -and why such plants are so successful.