I Nearly Agreed with the PPTA – and then I didn’t
Recently the PPTA begged parents to be far more supportive of teachers and schools re the skyrocketing rates of “stand-downs” in NZ schools ( stand downs up 18% 2023 to 22,000). I agree to a significant degree that parenting is a huge factor in the behaviours of students – or at least those turning up – in our schools. I do not believing parenting skills have declined by 18% so something else must be going on.
Today the PPTA were in the news again. This time bagging David Seymour for suggesting parents might be fined for absent kids and that children with a sniffle should come to school. I happen to agree that both of those proposals have problematic aspects.
But then … PPTA President Abercrombie … outlined all kinds of family based reasons for kids not attending school.
The PPTA need to realise and take responsibility for their own actions:
- strikes.
- paid union meetings.
- moaning about teaching as a job.
- negotiating more teacher only days.
- having a nationwide collective contract that does not recognise the need to incentivize schools and regions that really struggle to staff well.
- they have actively worked against school choice – including pretty much putting all of their resources from 2011 – 2017 opposing 11 small Charter Schools (including spending millions of their members subs on this).
Where President Abercrombie really lost the small part of my brain I allocate to the PPTA is that he neither took any responsibility for the creation of the attendance crises … nor did he propose the two most obvious effective solutions:
- the improvement of teacher quality.
- the improvement of school quality (including a clear purpose for being there and highly credible qualifications pathways).
Knowing the NZ school system as I do … at least half of the high schools I would really struggle to recommend without caveats. At least 100 of our 460 high schools I would simply steer people away from.
If they actually want to make a difference the PPTA need to have a very big look in the mirror.
ps – good to see many voting with their feet – good to see that families are discovering the efficacy of online learning. (NB – no longer involved in Mt Hobson Academy but there fees are incredibly reasonable – as opposed to what was mentioned. They are brilliantly staffed and great curriculum).
Alwyn Poole
Innovative Education Consultants
www.innovativeeducation.co.nz
alwynpoole.substack.com
www.linkedin.com/in/alwyn-poole-16b02151/
www.wood2water.co.nz
www.russellinfo.co.nz