Editorial: Cut back to prove a class divider

I have great respect for teachers. Not only for taking my kids off my hands for the week, but for having the gift to teach - which does not come easy.

I find it hard to manage three kids, so I admire a teacher who can lead a class of up to 30 eight-year-olds of different needs and abilities.

I am not an educational expert, but common sense tells me that the smaller the class size, with a good teacher, the better the learning.

The teacher has more opportunity to attend to all his students. Every little Johnny can have a look in.

I would imagine that every parent in this country would want the smallest teacher-child ratios possible.

When I first read of last week's government proposal to improve the quality of teaching and save costs by increasing class sizes, I thought it was a typo.

The government is basing this proposal on their interpretation of one educational researcher John Hattie, who says that class sizes are not the most important determinant of student achievement.

School principals in the Bay are slamming the government proposal as ludicrous. The government is cherry-picking from selected research to back up claims that fail to stand up to logic.

The Treasury is under pressure to reduce its education budget but it is false economics to cut its most valuable human resource of teachers.

New Zealand children are already failing in numeracy and literacy, with one in five children leaving school without basic skills.

Children's reading abilities are tied more closely to their socio-economic backgrounds in New Zealand than in any other country. Last week the OECD 2011 Education at a Glance report showed New Zealand schools are the worst in the world at helping students overcome the disadvantages of being born into poor families.

The Government's introduction of national standards to raise levels of achievement was welcomed by parents so that we could measure our children's learning.

But it is madness to introduce standards with one hand, then undermine the initiative by slashing the means of achieving these standards with the other.

Increasing class sizes might save money in the short term, but the longer term cost to the economy of a poorly-skilled workforce will be devastating.

Notably, the government increase in class sizes will not affect private schools who will be able to offer parents who can afford it, reasonable class sizes.

It is disturbing to see the public education model insidiously turn an ever plainer vanilla.

Some parents may opt for extra private tuition, adding to the family budget while alleviating the Treasury's.

Those kids left in large classes with teachers under ever more pressure, will suffer.

The government's move to increase class sizes will only add to our fat tale of failure.