Zombie Educationalists
Zombie Economics (2010) is a worthwhile and challenging book because author John Quiggin paces theory and actual events through the previous 100 years.
New Zealand has “Zombie Educationalists” who deserve nothing like the same level of respect. As soon as someone – other than Labour – releases an education policy they stir into action thrust limbs upwards through the dank earth to make proclamations that make me feel as despondent for them, and the people they may influence, as Solomon was in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes.
“All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
The background to the reanimation of two such EdZombies was National having the temerity to acknowledge that our education system (i.e. bureaucracy, schools, teachers) are currently failing to lift ability and outcomes for students – with huge personal and societal consequences. The first of their proposals – and I am sure there will be more – is a policy that in our primary schools students get to spend an hour a day on Math, Reading and Writing. Accompanying that is a progression-based testing programme that will take a teacher all of five hours – total – per year and provide accurate data/information to teachers and parents (remember those people?).
For Peter O’Connor (Professor of Education and Director of the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation – don’t giggle – it is a real position) this is just too much, and he is reanimated. He hadn’t been heard of since Charter Schools were succeeding and he hated that.
He states (about a curriculum that hasn’t even been written yet – yet another non-evidence based “academic”):
What he fails to see is that he is outright bagging the quality and competence of every primary school teacher in NZ. He is telling us that they cannot make teaching the basics and then, thoroughly, expanding upwards, exciting and worthwhile. Frankly – he is calling the primary teacher work-force a bunch of unimaginative dullards. He claims the position of Professor of some form of the Arts but cannot see the excitement of reading and writing.
What he also fails to see is that in many areas of learning – music, tennis and all sports, Maths, driving, … the list is endless – that a huge amount of significant, purposeful, practice is required. I love watching great musicians – e.g. RHCP guitarist John Fruciante. These people literally play faster than thinking as they have drilled their skill set, through hours or purposeful practice, into the highly efficient long term memory part of the brain. That then enables to be creative and keep learning in the conscious thinking part of the brain. This should be very well known to anyone genuinely interested in high quality education.
From deeper within the earth comes someone called David Cooke. His key statement is:
If that was the case our education system would be flying. No decline against international standards, much more than 50% of students fully attending school, no MASSIVE gaps between ethnicities and demographics, no significant failure in testing towards new and required NCEA credits for reading, writing and math, no schools – like Papakura High – having to send classes home on an afternoon as they are 10 teachers under being fully staffed. By the way – O’Connor calls all of this a “manufactured crisis” which I presume means he is comfortable with the problems just stated and examples such as 33% of South Auckland Maori boys leaving school, after 13,200 funded hours, with no qualifications at all. Maybe when a significant amount of our youth cannot land a well-paid job, rent a home, etc, O’Connor will host them and take care of them.
In reference to testing Cooke states:
“[Luxon] proposes standardised testing for benchmarks stating “explicit expectations of achievement and knowledge dissemination for each year group”. He doesn’t explain how these standards square with children learning at different speeds, but perhaps we can’t have all these mysteries revealed in a single media stand-up.”
This is plainly nonsensical. If testing shows that someone has progressed very well through the levels – then you provide teaching at that higher level. If someone is behind expectations, then you skillfully work with the child to improve their knowledge and processes. It is not rocket-science but perhaps Luxon figured anyone who actually understood teaching and learning would know this stuff and that he did not need to spell it out.
Fortunately, the are people highly invested on a day-to-day basis on education in the land of the living such as Dr Michael Johnston of the NZ Initiative. The man privileged to make it into Michael Wood’s sub-urbane lexicon of insults when the Honourable Minister referred to Johnston as a “right wing hack” on the AM Show.
In the NZ Herald today Dr Johnston nails it with this comment:
This is a good start from National on a crucial aspect of our nation’s issues. Cameron Bagrie’s comments about the education system today being the best predictor on the state of our nation in 30 years is both frightening and highly motivating. Luxon may not have the charisma of Paul Newman in his prime – but maybe that is a good thing in this moment. His party NEEDS to produce outstanding policy that the nation sees will bring improvement. I hope there is a lot more to come on education (but not “Charter Schools” there is a better way to skin that cat) and, also on policies for good parenting. The two go hand in hand. Why was our education system comparatively strong in the 1970s – 80s? Largely because our family and social institutions were strong, and our schooling system (with some notable exceptions) has not pivoted to the societal changes/decline. Both parenting and education can, and must, become world class in NZ.
Alwyn Poole
Innovative Education Consultants
alwyn.poole@gmail.com