Back to School 2010

I don't like beginning a new school year on a negative note, but recent comments by the Prime Minister, John Keys about school teachers being only concerned about themselves to the detriment of our children has really riled me!
Mr Keys is adamant we must introduce "National Standards" into our schools, claiming that if we set standards, test children against them, and report on them to parents, this will somehow mysteriously improve their skills in reading writing and maths.
Now I'm not a farmer, but I know that if you keep on weighing the pig without feeding it, it will not get any fatter.
I will always support an initiative that will increase standards of achievement in our schools. Mr Keys & the Minister of Education are flying against opinions and advice from NZ & around the world (given by people who have already forgotten much more about education than they will ever know) that this is not a good system. Unfortunately, they are hell-bent on implementing it. It is my intention to look again at how we report to our parents. It is not my intention to blindly follow the edicts of people who don't know wha they are talking about!