A bit of a rant.

I just feel the need to rant about something I feel very passionately about - teaching and education.  My old principal who has been an educator in NZ for over 30 years recently wrote this on one of our weekly admin papers.

Please remember this as our education system is in turmoil. It is an honour to be in this profession.

“In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less, because passing civilisation along from one generation to the next ought to be the highest honour and the highest responsibility anyone could have!” Lee Lacocca, Automobile Executive-I think General Motors? JJ

Yes, the NZ education system is in turmoil which is so sad because it is one of the world's best education systems.  First, the national government quickly introduce National Standards without consulting the education profession, stating that 1 in 5 students are failing and National Standards would ensure that no child is left behind.  When teachers heard this, we heard alarm bells and echoes of other education systems that have introduced national standards, such as the US and the UK.  The truth of the matter is this, when you tell a child that they are not meeting the standard, automatically you hear words like, 'failure', 'stupid', 'dumb', 'can't achieve'.  I get very angry here because that is exactly what we don't want children to feel.  Most passionate teachers want children to LOVE learning even if they struggle with it.    National Standards maybe be great for the 4 out of 5 kids, but for that 1 in 5, they need something different.  Some may argue that National Standards help identify those children who struggle, but any decent educator would know!  Most schools already have tried and tested assessments that benchmark student achievement.  

Ok, so we now have National Standards - whoop dee doo!  Next, the national government say that they are going to increase class sizes in order to create quality teachers.  Many teachers are going to lose their jobs because of this, yet they are still pumping out student teachers through the universities - bums on seats, profit, profit, profit for the fat cats!  I just don't get it.

Right, so going back to the 1 in 5 students who are struggling argument - how is increasing the number of children in the classroom going to impact on those who struggle?  Oh, the answer is so clear - why can't the government see it??  I wish those politicians would spend time in a classroom and help rather than spending millions on introducing standards and then cutting funding in areas where it is most needed.

Here are some interesting videos.  They will give you a better idea of what's going on.

http://www.3news.co.nz/More-than-1000-teachers-could-lose-jobs/tabid/367/articleID/255609/Default.aspx

http://www.3news.co.nz/Education-changes-bigger-classes-performance-pay/tabid/309/articleID/254412/Default.aspx

http://www.3news.co.nz/Concern-over-teacher-performance-pay-plan/tabid/309/articleID/254583/Default.aspx 

I'd like to end this rant with this lovely video (see Natural Standards) that a colleague sent out.  It sums up what has been happening in NZ from a teachers perspective.

Just heard some news from my old school....6 of my colleagues will lose their jobs next year!!! 6 in just one school!!!  Shocking!!!

UPDATE:  Government did a U-turn on their education policy.  The battle is won, but the war is not won for NZ education.

Natural Standards

Bird Song

I was just folding the clothes, and all I could hear was a chorus of birdsong. I had to post about it because it is something I absolutely treasure about Wellington and New Zealand.

There is a reserve in Wellington called 'Zealandia' - http://www.visitzealandia.com/site/zealandia_home/ (click on this link and you'll hear what I can hear!)  where birds and other native animals of NZ are protected by a magical fence where stouts, possums, cats and rats can't get in to eat the eggs.  Because of this project, Wellington has seen an increase in the native birds of this land.  An absolutely fabulous project and a great place to visit.  I was fortunate enough to meet the man who began this project.  He wanted his grandchildren (who attend my old school..actually got to teach his granddaughter this year!) to be able to enjoy the beautiful birds and thankfully, they can.  Tui birds are now locals to any garden in Wellington.  I can hear them right now, even in the city - fabulous sounds.

Things we love about Wellington - Saigon Taste

Saigon Taste is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant.  They serve fresh, tasty meals that are cheap and healthy.  Robert ALWAYS eats #37.  He never changes his order even when Mai (the manager) encourages him to try something different.  I will go out of my comfort zone and try something different. I'm always rewarded with fine flavours.  My favourite 'go to' is the Rare Beef Pho (noodle soup).

You could call this place our 'second home' in Wellington as we are usually in here for dinner.  Initially, we'd come here twice a week.  Recently, only once a week.  I can imagine as our time in Wellington dwindles away, we'll come here to eat more often.  I can imagine our last taste of Wellington will be here.

Robert's one and only number 37!

Fresh summer rolls - I am hungry just looking at them!

Number 37!

Number 38!

I tired the Hot Beef Soup because it was cold outside.

We have introduced this restaurant to many good friends.  Brigit (on left) has been here many times with me.  It was Laura's first time and guess what she ordered......yep, number 37 :-)  She loved it!  Everyone does.

Things we love about Wellington - Cuba St and Funky Shops

Cuba Street is a hip and happening pedestrianised area in Wellington City.  It is a real hub of activity with a great mix of bars, cafes, restaurants and shops.  We love it because it has a great vibe and is the perfect place to do some people watching.  There are usually buskers playing their music and artists selling their works to the passers by.  I was recently entertained by a magician who played several card tricks on me and then asked for a donation.  I gladly gave him $2.  It's the only change I had and he was lucky I had that.

The picture below is of the famous 'Bucket Fountain'.  Here is a link to the history of the fountain and how it works http://www.bucketfountain.co.nz/history.html

The Plum Cafe is a great place to grab a coffee or a sneaky afternoon pinos gris with friends. A great spot on a hot, sunny day.

The Matterhorn is a wonderful place where business men and skaters fuse together very naturally.  It's a place that is upmarket enough for business meetings and funky enough for skaters.  It has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere and the food is sumptuous. 

The Paper Bag Princess - one of my favourite places to buy cheap, second hand clothes.  Everything here is under $20!!  I love it and have found many wonderful bargains here.  One of the things I love about Wellington is the 'op-shop' culture - second hand clothing and goods.  The beauty is that most people who come to New Zealand have immigrated so we can find a large selection of clothes orginating from the UK, Canada, the US and Europe.  Wellington doesn't have a GAP or Hennes, but we can sometimes find GAP clothing in the op-shops thanks those who have given their clothing to these kinds of shops.

 The Recycle Boutique - a bit more upmarket and more expensive than the Paper Bag Princess.  You can find wonderful vintage clothing in this shop.  I could spend hours in here looking at all the old dresses and thinking to myself, "Would I ever wear that and what on earth would I wear it with?"  I just don't have the courage to wear something vintage.

I randomly took this one because I love the houses on hills in the background - a typical Wellington scene.

Frutti - 80% NZ made clothing.  This shop is DIVINE, but it is very expensive.  I have one beautiful jumper from this shop and people always comment on how funky it is.  I love how they display their products.  It's such a beautiful, colourful shop.

Ooooo, the skirts are SO lovely and there is a BEAUTFUL green coat, too!!

...and the hats!  So lovely.

Indeja - my favourite place to buy ear rings!!  I just love their colourful, unusual designs. The shop has been a regular feature on Cuba Street for 15 years.  They sell exotic, bright fashions from places like India and Thailand.  I only ever go in to look at the ear rings and to sometimes buy a pair!   

Yes, those ear rings, pink ones, purple ones, blues ones, green ones, wooden ones, feather ones, beady ones, dangly ones....I love them all!!!  Such an awesome variety.

Things we love about Wellington - The Schools

You could say that this post could be titled 'Things we love about New Zealand' because the schools and the education system is why we are here to begin with.  I love the NZ education system because of its holistic approach towards learning.  I also love it because there isn't an emphasis on grades, but on progress.  I love sitting down with a parent and sharing their child's successes and progress with them, no matter how great or small.  It is the highlight of my year.  Now, I could go on and on about my teaching philosophy and teaching pedagogy, but I won't.  I want to share with you an idea what the schools look like.

In NZ, schools are given a 'decile' number.  The lower the decile means that the school is given more financial funding from the government because it is in a lower socio-economic area.  The higher the decile means less funding.  Therefore, parents have to pay a bit of money each year to cover certain costs such as stationery and travel costs for school trips.

Since being in NZ, I have been in 3 different decile schools.  Here are some pictures of what each school looks like.  I've only taken photos of displays, but it gives you an idea what goes on in the classroom and what the teacher expects from the students.

Decile 1 school - Year 5 and 6 class

One thing to note about NZ teachers, they are very creative and usually end up making their own resources.  I've spent hours making things for my classroom!

They style of education in NZ is different from the UK, US, Canada or Europe.  It is based on the belief that we learn better when we work together.  Group teaching is huge here.  When I teach, I don't stand in front of the class the tell them what to do.  I have groups.  I teach one small group and the other groups are off doing focused, independent activities that are suited to their learning needs.  You can see from the picture above that this teacher has a 'task board'.  It is common and good practice to have one of these established in the classroom.  I'll teach one group for 15 minutes and then rotate to another group.  It works really well.  I love it!

Decile 10 - Year 1 class

Most junior classrooms have these big tables where children are encouraged to work co-operatively.  This is handwriting time (or writing) so children are focused on their work.

They were learning about the water cycle and were encouraged to ask questions about water.  This was part of an inquiry unit.  Children ask questions at the start of the unit and then throughout the scheme of work, we aim to address these questions.  At the end, we refer back to the questions they asked at the beginning and see if they know the answers.  I love inquiry units!  They are so much fun and kids love it, too.

The children doing a 'water dance'.

In NZ, there is an emphasis on learning Te Reo - the native (Maori) language of New Zealand.  I'm not from NZ, but I am quite confident with speaking basic Te Reo.  I've had to learn quickly.  I enjoy it.

Decile 8 - New Entrant/Year 1 class (my classroom)

                                     

This was my very first classroom!  Room 9.  It was an open plan, shared classroom with another teacher.  I had one half, she had the other half.  It is a lot of fun.

 

 

 

That's all I have for today.  I thought I took more pictures, but I didn't.  

I am glad that Robert and I chose to do our teaching training and teacher registration in New Zealand.  We have been told that NZ trained teachers are highly regarded on the international field of education because we are creative, flexible, professional, positive and have a can do attitude.  Yeah, I'd say we have those qualities, but I'd expect that from most educators.  

We've had a great experience teaching here, and we shall be taking with us many wonderful positive qualities of the NZ education system.We value how children are taught to learn and grow in a very caring, nurturing environment where there isn't pressure to be successful or to make the grades, but to enjoy childhood, discovery, inquiry, learning to be the best you can be and to think for yourself.

Things we love about Wellington - The Embassy Movie Theatre

Robert and I are avid movie goers.  Whenever a new movie is out, you'll find us going to one place and one place only!!  The Embassy - by far the best movie theatre ever!  It has recently upgraded to another 2 movie screens, but they are smaller and not so grand.

When "The Lord of The Rings" (The Return of the King) first came out, it was first premiered here.  They will probably do the same for The Hobbit in December 2012.  I would recommend seeing a Wellington made movie in Wellington's finest movie theatre.

 We love it so much because it is clean, classy, stylish, warm and cosy.  You are given a huge leather seat with a side table so you are able to place a glass of pinot noir next to you.  Robert and I have become some what snobbish now when it comes to watching movies as we will ONLY watch movies here and not at the big complexes.  Coming here is a real treat for us - we just love it!!!

The bar below is called 'Blondinis'.  This is where you can purchase a nice glass of wine and you are allowed to take it with you into the theatre - classy!

It's lovely during the day because there is no one there.  You can read your book, sip on a flat white and relax without being disturbed.

And here she is, the big screen!!!  

Ahhh, The Embassy -  we love you.  You are a treat!