President Speaks

First, welcome to the New Year and a big thank you to every principal who put trust in me to lead you in 2012.  I want you to have a clear idea of the course I intend to take this year and will outline that path for you.  Every decision I take will be based on the fundamental principle of doing what is in the best interests of the children of New Zealand.  

I want our children to have a bright future and to grow up in a society that is truly Kiwi, is tolerant, inclusive, fair and just and I want our children to express joy in their learning experiences alongside you as the leaders of their learning. 

For over a century, we have been delivering free secular and compulsory education to New Zealand children. Equal access to a quality public education system is fundamental to our purpose. We have fewer resources than most world leading countries have, but we are motivated and we are innovators who are passionate about education.  Despite this lower than average investment by Government in education, we rank right up there amongst those world leading countries in our achievement rankings. We have had to develop our own unique style over the years at the core of which is a healthy culture of collaboration, self- management and sharing. We have to share our resources because they are scarce and we want the very best learning opportunities for all NZ children, whether they are in our own school class, another teacher’s class or belong to the school down the road. 

Our New Zealand communities are strong and with the administrative changes that occurred in education in the 1980s the voice of our communities became even stronger.  Together schools and communities have now developed a world class curriculum which is being implemented with huge enthusiasm. The curriculum is sufficiently broad that it allows the opportunity for every child to participate, irrespective of their level of ability or disability, their ethnicity, whether they come from the town or country and whether they are from high or low socio-economic groups. It allows the basic tools of learning such as reading, writing and maths to be accessed in a variety of authentic contexts according to the individual child’s circumstances. It is creative, innovative, and challenges children to think critically.  These are skills which have been identified by world education experts as key to success and prosperity in the 21st century.  This curriculum is the envy of our overseas colleagues.

The NZ curriculum is central to our country’s success and on-going prosperity. It is first and last the Kiwi way of teaching and learning.  It is our Kiwi way of doing things that has also led innovation in areas of learning support. There are always some children who do not find an easy pathway to learning, despite our best efforts.  Kiwi educators also lead the way in developing special programmes for helping those children.  Reading recovery, for example, developed by New Zealander Dame Marie Clay some 40 years ago, continues to be the first choice reading support programme not just of NZ professional teachers but of teachers world-wide.

We have programmes targeted to support our Maori and Pacific Island children succeed as Maori and Pacific Islanders. We have programmes targeted to address the learning difficulties of our behaviourally challenged children and programmes to support our talented and gifted children. These programmes are as diverse as our curriculum and as varied as the children who present with special learning needs. When these programmes are well supported we have seen some outstanding progress for those children academically, socially and physically. It is important that we view achievement within a broad context and definition, to take account of all progress which contributes to educating children to take their place as engaged members of society.

Most of us are so busy getting on with the job it does not occur to us that these success stories should be told. We forget that the public don’t necessarily understand how we teach, that what we are doing makes a difference for children’s learning and that the excellent system we have now shouldn’t be taken for granted.  We have never been a profession that readily trumpets its own success stories.  

I suggest to you that it is time we did tell these stories publicly so that the virtues of our education system are widely understood.  In the current climate of global economic recession, it is not unusual for countries such as ours to look for global solutions.  Observing the likes of the UK and USA and establishing that they have reduced Government spending through privatisation of public services, including education, may entice our Government to follow suit. Whilst there would be some short-term gain from such action, the inevitable culture of competition and high stakes accountability are not sustainable or effective drivers for education excellence. Long-term privatisation of education would not serve our nation well.  

We are not the UK or the USA. We are New Zealand and we succeed best when we do things the Kiwi way. We do not need to import a corporate agenda from abroad and apply it to Kiwi schools. Our communities want to retain their own voice alongside yours and continue to build on our already excellent education system.  

You need their support and they need yours. My goal this year is to work with you to communicate this message to the public of NZ; to help them appreciate the excellent standards of educational achievement we already have and that we are ambitious to achieve even greater heights. It is my aim to keep NZ education in the hands of local communities and Kiwi teaching professionalswho have Kiwi values and principles and are devoted to the achievement of Kiwi kids.

Paul
President