Nationals Own Goal!
I cannot and will not remain silent any longer about the disappointment I have felt, mostly since the last election result about the performance of the National lead government.
No one is going to deny that we have entered difficult economic times in the recent years. Much like Obama National acquired a state that was in some disarray, its economy spending far more than it needed too. But in some ways, its actions were all to predictable. Yet, they offered some hope for the future...now into their second term, I'm still waiting to see some.
To be fair, their relative navigation through the economic storms is one thing to be envied of the rest of the world. There can be little comparison between us and Greece, simply because of population size, basic economy and we of course we retained our own identity whereas they joined the Euro zone.
But enough damage was done that more didn't need doing.
Damage number 1: National Standards.
You know, I've never see two consecutive ministers of education polarise the electorate so fast and so efficiently. Anne Tolley's introduction...no...I take that back...her imposition of National Standards on the primary education sector, he raping of the ECE sector, the confusing funding levels where if an ECE facility had MORE qualified teachers they got LESS funding did little to raise confidence in the minister or ministry.
I'm not bagging National Standards. Totally at least. But I am opposed to a dictatorial approach to how things should be done in our most delicate sector. It would be like tomorrow...3 year degrees become 4 and you have to pay more to do it. Perhaps not the best of examples but snap your finger, impose a policy that still hadn't got all the bugs out or even how the hell it was going to be done in the first place. Bad call. As an educator...that was 2 black marks right there.
Damage Number 2: Increasing GST after black and white promises it wasn't going to happen.
John Key was quoted, and requoted, and requoted...I even heard him myself in a speaking engagement saying it wasn't going to happen. To coin a phrase...nek minute. It goes up. Irrelevant if it was its first increase in years, or it was only a 2.5% increase. The fact is, this was a sneaky move and wasn't a good one to be honest. To me, that was just a slap in the face.
Damage Number 3: The 90 day employment legislation.
There are parts of it I do agree with...however its all to random and gives too much power to the employer to, as Labour said...fire at will. There is no accountability process required...if they don't like you after 90 days they can drop you on the spot. No explanation required...and no evaluation of your performance between your start and you walk out with nothing in the end. Another blip on the radar that potential employers will read as saying 'this person dosen't hang around long' and all your defence will be was, the 90 day thing was applied, and you have nothing to say WHY! I think this one was also forced through under urgency...which even made it more suspect.
But more recently...actions taken post the budget have shaken my confidence in this government.
Hekia Parata's complete bungling of the announced budget changes to schooling. Sure...an increase in teachers and no comparable increase in performance is a concern, but in terms of how shallow this policy is in details and the retractions that already have been made, its made me question another area that I don't think has been taken into consideration. The changes in the dynamics in the classrooms over the same period of comparison.
What do I mean? Well, we all know the variety in students (meaning their backgrounds, existing abilities, and also the ISSUES) in the class room is not the same than when we were in school. Teachers are now also more and more required to be more involved in students lives outside of being just teachers. I know first hand my own daughters teacher is dealing with in her class of 17 students, 7 with special needs requirements. Not severe disabilities however they are students who need more attention than your average. So...she's expected to do all a teacher is supposed to do...but also assist with increased reading, marking, assessing, counselling, class management, but if budgets continue to be cut, her class would likely increase. Does this mean she is a bad teacher if she can't handle it? Hell no. From my 15 years of education experience I consider her a wonder at what she does and the impact she has on my daughter who has learning difficulties is without comparison.
What about other supports? Well, further funding cuts to special education have meant that my girl misses out on any in school support so that means her teacher has to spend more time with her. We appreciate that, but it means another kid misses out.
Now this massive back peddle. Its called pie in the face. Now further that coalition partners are almost at rebellion because if anything I believe they weren't consulted. Of course Parata says they were but right now I consider their consultation as to saying..."this is what is going to happen"...you've been consulted.
The other thing was listening to the debates on a hammered through bill about how aged care payments were going to be changed and asset tested measurements was rushed through under urgency in the house. Personally...it was pathetic and add to the fact it wasn't spoken about in the budget speech but the next thing you know it was on the table and being pushed through under urgency was a big black mark. Paula Bennett's hollow speeches, light on detail and useless in information, her being bombarded by only opposition parties taking calls, Tony Ryall who wasn't in the house had to come down and put his 10cents worth in. He said Grey Power and Aged concern had been consulted...however the leaders of both those groups said they were told only hours before the budget speech was made. Told is very different to being consulted. Consulted implies a two way exchange of ideas and feedback.
Now all I am hearing from the National people is the same wrote responses I heard from Labour at the end of their days in power. It's like the PR people have said to them all...Say this...and thats it. Parata has no answers for straight-forward questions but this is one I notice she's started to blame on the fact there is upcoming CBA talks for the teachers. Shows how shallow she is and how desperate she is going to be to turn this one back on the teachers to make them look like the bad guys. They are still even harping on the state of the economy they got back in 2008 but they say it takes time to fix...well, stop harping about the situation and deal with it...stop passing the buck.
There is no question things need to be tightened up. Maybe MP's should take a pay cut. Maybe all MP's need to put their kids into public schools, especially the schools that will be most affected and see how it impacts on their kids learning. This policy is shallow and is doomed to fail. It already has poliarised the sector against the government and yet more will choose to go off-shore if this is pushed through. Its not about quality. Its about saving some bucks. Its pathetic.
I will not and cannot support a local MP who is a part of a government who thinks these kinds of moves are ok. This is just bad politics and I will not be a part of it.
No one is going to deny that we have entered difficult economic times in the recent years. Much like Obama National acquired a state that was in some disarray, its economy spending far more than it needed too. But in some ways, its actions were all to predictable. Yet, they offered some hope for the future...now into their second term, I'm still waiting to see some.
To be fair, their relative navigation through the economic storms is one thing to be envied of the rest of the world. There can be little comparison between us and Greece, simply because of population size, basic economy and we of course we retained our own identity whereas they joined the Euro zone.
But enough damage was done that more didn't need doing.
Damage number 1: National Standards.
You know, I've never see two consecutive ministers of education polarise the electorate so fast and so efficiently. Anne Tolley's introduction...no...I take that back...her imposition of National Standards on the primary education sector, he raping of the ECE sector, the confusing funding levels where if an ECE facility had MORE qualified teachers they got LESS funding did little to raise confidence in the minister or ministry.
I'm not bagging National Standards. Totally at least. But I am opposed to a dictatorial approach to how things should be done in our most delicate sector. It would be like tomorrow...3 year degrees become 4 and you have to pay more to do it. Perhaps not the best of examples but snap your finger, impose a policy that still hadn't got all the bugs out or even how the hell it was going to be done in the first place. Bad call. As an educator...that was 2 black marks right there.
Damage Number 2: Increasing GST after black and white promises it wasn't going to happen.
John Key was quoted, and requoted, and requoted...I even heard him myself in a speaking engagement saying it wasn't going to happen. To coin a phrase...nek minute. It goes up. Irrelevant if it was its first increase in years, or it was only a 2.5% increase. The fact is, this was a sneaky move and wasn't a good one to be honest. To me, that was just a slap in the face.
Damage Number 3: The 90 day employment legislation.
There are parts of it I do agree with...however its all to random and gives too much power to the employer to, as Labour said...fire at will. There is no accountability process required...if they don't like you after 90 days they can drop you on the spot. No explanation required...and no evaluation of your performance between your start and you walk out with nothing in the end. Another blip on the radar that potential employers will read as saying 'this person dosen't hang around long' and all your defence will be was, the 90 day thing was applied, and you have nothing to say WHY! I think this one was also forced through under urgency...which even made it more suspect.
But more recently...actions taken post the budget have shaken my confidence in this government.
Hekia Parata's complete bungling of the announced budget changes to schooling. Sure...an increase in teachers and no comparable increase in performance is a concern, but in terms of how shallow this policy is in details and the retractions that already have been made, its made me question another area that I don't think has been taken into consideration. The changes in the dynamics in the classrooms over the same period of comparison.
What do I mean? Well, we all know the variety in students (meaning their backgrounds, existing abilities, and also the ISSUES) in the class room is not the same than when we were in school. Teachers are now also more and more required to be more involved in students lives outside of being just teachers. I know first hand my own daughters teacher is dealing with in her class of 17 students, 7 with special needs requirements. Not severe disabilities however they are students who need more attention than your average. So...she's expected to do all a teacher is supposed to do...but also assist with increased reading, marking, assessing, counselling, class management, but if budgets continue to be cut, her class would likely increase. Does this mean she is a bad teacher if she can't handle it? Hell no. From my 15 years of education experience I consider her a wonder at what she does and the impact she has on my daughter who has learning difficulties is without comparison.
What about other supports? Well, further funding cuts to special education have meant that my girl misses out on any in school support so that means her teacher has to spend more time with her. We appreciate that, but it means another kid misses out.
Now this massive back peddle. Its called pie in the face. Now further that coalition partners are almost at rebellion because if anything I believe they weren't consulted. Of course Parata says they were but right now I consider their consultation as to saying..."this is what is going to happen"...you've been consulted.
The other thing was listening to the debates on a hammered through bill about how aged care payments were going to be changed and asset tested measurements was rushed through under urgency in the house. Personally...it was pathetic and add to the fact it wasn't spoken about in the budget speech but the next thing you know it was on the table and being pushed through under urgency was a big black mark. Paula Bennett's hollow speeches, light on detail and useless in information, her being bombarded by only opposition parties taking calls, Tony Ryall who wasn't in the house had to come down and put his 10cents worth in. He said Grey Power and Aged concern had been consulted...however the leaders of both those groups said they were told only hours before the budget speech was made. Told is very different to being consulted. Consulted implies a two way exchange of ideas and feedback.
Now all I am hearing from the National people is the same wrote responses I heard from Labour at the end of their days in power. It's like the PR people have said to them all...Say this...and thats it. Parata has no answers for straight-forward questions but this is one I notice she's started to blame on the fact there is upcoming CBA talks for the teachers. Shows how shallow she is and how desperate she is going to be to turn this one back on the teachers to make them look like the bad guys. They are still even harping on the state of the economy they got back in 2008 but they say it takes time to fix...well, stop harping about the situation and deal with it...stop passing the buck.
There is no question things need to be tightened up. Maybe MP's should take a pay cut. Maybe all MP's need to put their kids into public schools, especially the schools that will be most affected and see how it impacts on their kids learning. This policy is shallow and is doomed to fail. It already has poliarised the sector against the government and yet more will choose to go off-shore if this is pushed through. Its not about quality. Its about saving some bucks. Its pathetic.
I will not and cannot support a local MP who is a part of a government who thinks these kinds of moves are ok. This is just bad politics and I will not be a part of it.
posted by Wiremu Bayliss at
9:11 pm
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