Open Letter to Mr John Key on Education
February 6, 2010 in Uncategorized
I am sure that the other day you received a personal letter from our Prime Minister, John Key. The letter was an introduction into the new learning standards which must be implemented in schools this year. Personally this was the first letter I have received from John Key and I was very excited and I have therefore sent a reply back to him about the new standards. For your interest I have included the letter below.
Dearest Mr John Key
Thanks for the heartfelt letter I received in the post the other day. As fate would have it happen it was also the same day that you announced that 30% of teachers were useless and not fit for teaching. Being a teacher of 7 years I wondered if you included me in this number. As I had taken off early and left work at 4:00pm I assume you probably did.
John, I am a supporter of National Standards as a principle. I believe if they are used correctly they would provide a good framework that could benefit students as they progress through primary school. I would even advocate a national test at Year 8 as I think this would benefit students. However, as they currently stand I am not a fan of the standards you are attempting to implement. To me they seem to be ill thought through, implemented quickly and without any vision for the future.
Firstly, Mr Key, I see very little difference in the National Standards to what many schools are currently doing for their assessment. If you look at the new requirements many schools are providing much more information to their communities through the current reporting system. However, if you look at the letter people received the other day you would think you have reinvented the wheel and are trying to trick everyone into believing it was your idea. I feel you are misleading the people of New Zealand.
An important fact which I believe many parents fail to understand is that there is no one assessment that is used to determine if a student is reaching the new National Standards. This means it is left up to teacher’s judgement to determine where kids sit on the levels. Perhaps we should look at the Year 7 Reading Standard as an example. The standard states that
By the end of year 7, students will read, respond to, and think critically about texts in order to meet the reading demands of the New Zealand Curriculum as they work towards level 4. Students will locate, evaluate, and synthesise information and ideas within and across a range of texts appropriate to this level as they generate and answer questions to meet specific learning purposes across the curriculum.
Compare this to the expectation that the National Standards have with Year 8.
The difference in the standard for year 8 is the students’ increased accuracy and speed in reading a variety of texts from across the curriculum, their level of control and independence in selecting strategies for using texts to support their learning, and the range of texts they engage with. In particular, by the end of year 8, students need to be confidently and deliberately choosing the most appropriate strategies for reading in different learning areas.
So how does a teacher work out the difference between someone working at the year 7 standard or the year 8 standard? Well according to the Ministry website
“Teachers will use a range of assessments to make an overall teacher judgment to work out where each child is at, what their next learning steps are and to set goals.”
Basically as a teacher I have to use my professional judgment and rank students against the National Standards. Ironically this is what I am already doing against the achievement objectives within the curriculum. I will have to be able to justify my judgments, but, at the end of the day it is still a call based on opinion and not facts.
Do you really think that there is going to be a fair Standard across all of New Zealand if we leave it up to teachers to decide what level students are working at?
So your promotion that the National Standards will bring about greater information about where your child is working at is not true. Essentially we are doing the same thing as we have always done but you have sugar coated the outside just to keep people happy.
You also stated in your letter that as a teacher I am able to use plain language reports. This apparently means I can use straight forward language and I don’t have to ‘sugar coat’ my words or phrases. This is fantastic;
“Cody has had an awful start to the year. He is an obnoxious in class and has few friends. He seldom comes to school but when he does he does he has no lunch and is working well below the Year 3 standard for reading, writing, (except graffiti which he excels in) and Mathematics.”
This was actually my toned down version. My first draft I called the Honi Harawera and included some differentiated adjectives. Is this the kind of reporting you had in mind Don? Plain language reporting in my view is just another laying of sugar you are coating on our education system. It might look good to the masses but it wont change much
I am also concerned about where the National Standards will go. There have been rumours that you will force schools to publicize their results or even use the results to identify under performing teachers. I do hope that you think very carefully before you go down this track. Our current system is far from perfect but implementing something similar to league tables, I believe, will have devastating effects on many schools, communities and teachers. It hasn’t worked overseas so what makes you think it would work here?
Mr Key I would like to finish with two final points. To me they are the most important and I hope you take them on board. Firstly, you seem to think that the National Standards will help students. I can tell you now, and I would happily put my house on it if you put your Hawaii beach house up, that New Zealand will have the same educational problems and be reaching the same educational standards in 10 years time. To me National Standards could be good in a few years time. Before that there are other strategies and policies that should be in place before these are attempted. I sometimes wonder if the people who make policy in New Zealand have been within an ants willy of a classroom, so strange are their ideas. Don have you spent extended time in a low decile school and seen the rubbish that many of those teacher have to put up with daily? Have you been to a small rural schools and seen the limited resources that they have to work with? A little time invested at all levels of education in New Zealand may surprise you with many of the good work being done and the REAL issues many have to deal with.
Second up on my list of frustrations is your leadership and the leadership of your wing lady Anne Tolley. To me leadership is about imparting your vision onto the people you lead. It is about inspiring those who work around you to follow you. As a teacher who essentially follows your lead it would be nice to have some vision, guidance and honesty about where you are heading with New Zealand’s education system. Honest answer around league tables, funding and standards would be a nice beginning. I might not agree with your answers but at least I would have the opportunity to hear your vision and where you believe education is heading. It is from that point that I think robust debate and
Thanks for taking the time to listen to my ranting Mr Key. In reference to your comment about under performing teachers I have taken note and am about to do a little prep for my classes next week, on a Saturday.
Yours sincerely
Ozy Mandias
Struth said on February 7, 2010
Fair calls there Ozy.
As a fellow teacher, I too am concerned with the implications of these enforced national standards. You are right to say that questions will be asked in relation to the fairness of teacher judgement as a way to assess if a child is meeting ‘national standards.’ So what will happen? … the government will then realise they need a way to combat the inequity and introduce a national test. And the implications of this? Teachers will then teach to test in order for their students to meet national standards and to cover their own back and thus not be part of the ‘useless 30%.’
In my opinion, the problem lies at in the child’s home. According to John Hattie (professor at Auckland Uni), 30% of a child’s learning occurs at school yet 70% occurs in their home. For some bizarre reason, Don Key and his sidekick Anne Tolley seem to think that miracles can happen in that 30% of time at school…making children reach national standards…despite the fact the there are many children who are coming from homes where that are not being set up for successful learning.
joe said on February 7, 2010
I think you summed it all up here;
“It might look good to the masses but it wont change much”
As far as I’m concerned that is the goal, this is little more than a smoke screen to cover National’s desire to cut funding for education. They are wiping around $1000 million from education in the next 4 years, but its this thats makes the news.
According to this press release they’ve swept the parents off their feet by reinventing the wheel.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/huge+support+national+standards
I can’t stand statements like this;
“We know that parents want the plain language reporting on their child’s progress that National Standards will deliver at least twice a year,” says Mrs Tolley.
‘Plain language reporting on their child’s progress’ has probably never been at the top of parents wish lists for their child’s education.
My guess is parents want schools to be well funded at every level, so all children have a fair shot at having a positive start to life.
“…despite the fact the there are many children who are coming from homes where that are not being set up for successful learning.”
If you combine Paula Bennett’s attack on poor people and Anne Tolly’s cuts in education, with our growing knowledge based economy, it creates an environment where poor will stay poor and inequality will increase.
I will always take a cynical view on any Government’s press release. This issue may be important to teachers, but to most of the country this is done as a diversion to the cuts they have, or are going to implement. 73% of parents are happy with National Standards, which would probably translate to well over 50% of parents having a positive view of where National and Tolly are taking New Zealand’s education. This is after taking about $1000 million from the country’s education.
Well done National, you’ve done it again. They distract with one hand, while they take with the other, its politicking at its best
Ozy Mandias said on February 7, 2010
Thanks for the link joe
I love the line
“They also want us to identify the one in five children who are currently being failed by the system, so we can target resources at those schools that need extra support.”
What does she think we are stupid??? I have had my students back a week and I can tell you now the ones that are below standards.
John said on February 8, 2010
Hi Ozy,
Good article. Would be better for schools to hire more volunteers to help disadvantaged primary kids improve their reading and writing skills then try to change the system to improve childrens learning.
Uncle Honky said on February 8, 2010
The problem with the 70 / 30 rule is that some kids are not learning anything at home. In fact I would go as far to say for some kids, their learning is done 120% of the time at school and -20% of the time at home.
I think there has been a slight over-reaction by people on the National Standards. Everyone is saying that there is already a form of national standards – so if National are simply formalising this what then is the issue. Making the process more formal, providing further information for teachers, parents and the Government to use should they so choose, setting high goals for both teachers and students alike to give them something to aim for is not a bad thing.
I’m not saying the National Standards are the perfect solution, but I just don’t think it deserves as much bagging as a number of people have been giving it. Managing the education system is a extremely difficult and challenging role the Government has, let alone having to balance the needs of the education system with the needs of the wider country and economy. I for one do not envy them ….