Former Auckland Grammar School headmaster Sir John Graham has died. His successor, John Morris, pays tribute. Sir John Graham was a great New Zealander whose impact and legacy extended well beyond his 20 years as headmaster of Auckland Grammar School. John’s time at Grammar was what he was particularly known for but his involvement in … Read more
A moving address on the subject of suicide, caring and love, delivered during assembly at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, Te Kura Tamatane Ongamotu, by headmaster Paul Verić, has been creating waves online. Here we republish it in full, with permission. I have been thinking about this topic for some time, boys, and, to be really honest … Read more
Following an outcry, the NZQA has agreed to a review of its policy of publishing exemplar answers that students have been memorising and reproducing. It’s all part of a larger problem, writes AUT lecturer Peter Gilderdale, of ‘academic obedience’ over actual learning. Think of a place where doping is both prevalent and systemic in a … Read more
What Catholic high schools teach teenage girls about sex affects them for years to come. 21-year-old Lucy Kelly looks back on her Catholic education. So here’s me aged 14. We’ve just been handed our forms for the Gardasil vaccine. A public health nurse explains that the vaccine is most effective for HPV contracted by sexual … Read more
As the debate around the value of private tertiary education providers sharpens with Labour’s immigration policy release, a new bill proposes substantial changes to the wider sector. Nicola Gaston has some serious reservations. “Increase funding flexibility in the tertiary education system, strengthen the accountability, and monitoring of tertiary education organisations, and ensure consistent treatment of … Read more
A high school debate tournament highlighted the unconscious Euro-centric bias at the heart of the New Zealand education system, writes Nadine Millar. Here they are. The Hato Pāora College debating team, about to take part in the annual O’Shea Shield a couple of weekends ago. The room is prickly with anticipation. This prestigious speech and … Read more
A prominent partnership schools manager has claimed that government partnership school champion David Seymour attempted to dissuade him from airing his concerns about the sector in writing to avoid their reaching the public domain. In an opinion piece published today on The Spinoff, Alwyn Poole, academic manager of Mt Hobson Middle School, says that David … Read more
New Zealand charter schools are achieving extraordinary things despite their tiny scale, says Alwyn Poole, academic manager at Mt Hobson Middle School. The main challenge is that opposition to the sector and governmental indifference is stalling growth just as it’s gaining traction. Further reading – Charter schools: the case against from the NZEI If education … Read more
Instead of pouring money into charter schools that on average achieve only middling results, the government should be supporting educators who know what works, writes Lynda Stuart, the president of the teacher’s union NZEI Te Riu Roa. Further reading – Charter schools: the case for from charter school provider Villa Education Trust . If you … Read more
I only started studying te reo at Te Ataarangi this year, but I knew straight away that there was something different about it – and not just the fact that we use cuisenaire rods instead of pen and paper, writes Nadine Millar. Shame is one of the biggest barriers many of us face in learning … Read more
Two women teachers who were sexually harassed by male students have resigned following ‘considerable distress’. Here a parent writes of her dismay at the way the college has dealt with the incident and the message it sends to young men. Two women teachers at St Patrick’s Silverstream who were sexually harassed by male students who … Read more
Education in New Zealand is obsessed with assessment and ticking the right boxes, and not doing the Wrong Thing. A new book argues in favour of positive disobedience as practised and taught by that apparent figure of authority: the teacher. It’s late at night. Outside you can hear the hum of commuters as they make their … Read more
Christian Religious Instruction is given in around 40 percent of New Zealand primary schools – not as an optional class, but one which parents must opt out of. Most of us believe in the separation of church and state, writes Tina Carlson, so why do we continue to give Christianity such prominence within our schools? … Read more
School libraries are a sanctuary and safe place for many children. Here Sarah Forster, co-creator of the amazing children’s literature website The Sapling, lists the things all parents should know about school librarians. I spent a LOT of time in school libraries as a kid. Remember the index cards in those fit-for-purpose filing cabinets? Remember … Read more
Sonya Nagels needed a community and she found one in Playcentre. Here she talks about why Playcentre was the perfect choice for her family. We had our son overseas. It was cold and I missed my mum. My boyfriend worked all of the hours. I wanted to come home. I had nostalgic memories of sun, … Read more
Contrary to media reports, a new study by policy thinktank the NZ Initiative does not recommend performance pay for high achieving teachers, says its author Martine Udahemuka. But still, she asks, shouldn’t parents and educators at least be having the conversation? First, let’s set the record straight. A couple of weeks ago we released a … Read more
Do we have our priorities right when it comes to the emphasis on economic ‘usefulness’ of education? In a companion piece to her article Why scientists need to go to the barricades against Trump – and for the humanities, Nicola Gaston asks if NZ is in danger of plunging into a culture war of its … Read more
What do you do when your child is being graded poorly in a system that doesn’t feel set up for kids like them? Emmaline Matagi writes of her hopes and dreams for a child who is smart, gentle, and ‘below standard’ in literacy. Albert Einstein once said: “Everybody is a genius, but if you judge … Read more
Starting a new school can be daunting for both parent and child. Janette Roberts is a mother of four, now adult children, and has been teaching for 30 years. She’s been there, done that – and she’s got some tips for you. My firstborn set off for his first day of school cheerfully with his dad, … Read more
For many parents, the new school term marks the beginning of a new era in the life of their child. Mum and kindergarten teacher Donna Eden has some words of encouragement for parents whose children are starting school. Starting school is a big milestone in the life of our littlies and us as parents. Often … Read more
The real value of assessments such as TIMSS and PISA lies not so much in the crude comparisons as the painstaking analysis of particular strengths and weaknesses that revealed in our students’ performance in particular areas of the curriculum, writes John O’Neill. The last fortnight has seen the release of results in the 2015 Trends … Read more
‘Business is Boring’ is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. Making it in the modern economy is no easy thing. Traditional career … Read more
Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas brave the Spinoff stairwell of doom to join Toby Manhire for another Gone By Lunchtime, the hi-energy Zumba workout of political podcasting. The Spinoff political podcast trio abandon all good sense and attempt to analyse the auditor-general’s report into the Saudi sheep farrago and what it means for Murray McCully … Read more
The Nobel Committee’s recognition of Bob Dylan shines a light on the transformative power of songwriting – a craft that very much belongs in New Zealand schools, writes Mike Chunn. Listening to a song is like taking a journey. The mechanics of that trip depend on the song, in the main. That is, words and … Read more
When it was scrapped in 2000, teachers and parents thought they’d seen the last of bulk funding, the hugely unpopular scheme for funding schools. Now it might be back. Donna Eden, a teacher with 20 years’ experience and a mother of two, explains why that’s a terrible idea. The first I knew about this bulk … Read more
In the second post from our new collaboration with Figure.NZ, a glance at the proportion of women bosses in New Zealand, plus how the numbers look in higher education. Last week Alex Casey spoke to Tara Moss, “activist, author, journalist and very cool legend” about her book Speaking Out, and why women have been so … Read more
Test yourself on our new weekly quiz immediately, so you can say you were there before it was cool. Earlier in the week, we launched the first Spinoff-Figure.NZ feature, in the form of the Chart of the Week. Today, the chart’s evil twin: the quiz. And in a week that the government announced plans to … Read more
We’re in the middle of the single biggest democratic act in the land and there’s hardly been a ripple about it. Paul Brislen issues a clarion call to New Zealanders – or at least those with kids at school Every three years we, as a nation, get to make this decision and what we decide … Read more
Victoria University Chancellor Sir Neville Jordan is in a fight with Salient magazine over a “disgusting” 96-word satirical article about him, but is his anger evidence of a deeper issue? Sir Neville Jordan’s life story is inspiring. He started his working life at age 13 as a child labourer at a freezing works, and went on … Read more