"Numeracy testing at each year level is an absolute must and I totally agree with the outlined year-level expectations." Photo / 123rf
A for effort on education
Yes! At last – a ministerial advisory group wants to implement annual “checkpoints” in literacy and numeracy (NZ Herald, June 17).
Handwriting should also include the correct grip on a pencil – it seems teachers these days are too scared to correct their students.
Literacy – up here in the Far North, a new language is evolving. I call it Far North “Manglish”. Adolescents who use pre-schooler language: “brang”, “brung”, “writ” are three of the worst.
My maths students have a maths theory notebook but, in the back of it, I’ve been trying to educate them in correct English so that they don’t make “joes” of themselves when they go out in the world.
Numeracy testing at each year level is an absolute must and I totally agree with the outlined year-level expectations.
Single desks are a “no-brainer”. It’s a ridiculous idea to have students sit at four- to six-person tables! Hopefully no more “teaching barns” either.
The NZEI always talks absolute rubbish, so they should be ignored. It’s not fair that some of our children are receiving the correct standard of education and those less fortunate are not. They are not because: “Oh well, they can’t cope”, “Oh, well, they come from dysfunctional families”, “Oh, well, they learn at different age levels”. What a load of hogwash!
Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are in far more need of passing their literacy and numeracy “checkpoints” than students from advantaged areas. All of our children should be allowed to “Caelum Certe Patet” – reach for the sky – my old high school motto.
Heather Mackay, Kerikeri.
Classroom mistake
Interesting that the ministerial advisory group to the Education Minister has recommended that each student have a desk and a chair.
The design and size of the modern learning environments that I have seen would render this modest ambition impossible. These newly built structures will turn out to be a very expensive mistake indeed.
Who in the Ministry of Education mandated this failed experiment? And why weren’t they built with the option to easily and cheaply convert them back into single-cell classrooms, should the need arise?
Allison Kelly, Mt Eden.
Tragic toll
Normally I would agree with Simeon Brown, but as a father of a daughter killed in a high-speed impact, I must object to the idea of increasing speed limits.
The higher the speed, the worse the chance of fatalities in road accidents. Is it worth the risk to save a few minutes in a journey?
I have driven on the Waikato Expressway and believe 100km/h is plenty fast enough and 50km/h is a far safer speed around town.
Bob Wichman, Botany.
Just fly commercial
The PM should fly commercial at all times anyway – business class is fine obviously, but better than lugging our costly flying wreck everywhere.
I would have no problem doing that, it would be fun, and you would get to mix and mingle with all sorts of people.
Glenn Forsyth, Taupō.
VIP 787
For goodness’ sake. Air New Zealand should buy/lease another 787 with finance from the Government. Have this aircraft available for VIP travel when needed.
Craig Fraser, Mission Bay.
No room for error
I was pleasantly surprised initially reading Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee’s softening stance on the current firearms legislation. However, the article also revealed the minister straddling both sides of her own argument.
I believe McKee is sincere in wanting to create an enduring law, but with such an emotionally charged issue, any compromise could potentially cost lives. One of the biggest red flags is her belief that non-pistol ranges don’t require police oversight. This is a dangerous and naïve assumption that larger, more visible weapons are somehow more benign than pistols, because they’re harder to conceal.
Part of mitigating risk is not creating more and it’s concerning that the minister is basing much of her evidence on anecdotal information.
To date, McKee and the coalition Government haven’t presented a cogent argument about why the Firearms Safety Authority should be removed from police control. The police are best-placed to identify arms being traded illegally, and six data breaches in five years isn’t sufficient evidence to give such a crucial role to another government department.
For the safety of the New Zealand public, I do hope McKee will listen to many informed voices, not just the gun clubs and shooting ranges.
Mary Hearn, Glendowie.
Game on
How can you not be excited for this weekend’s big dance?
A local derby, the battle of the Bombays and a game that deserves a sell-out crowd at Eden Park – and I think it will! Thousands of Chiefs fans will show up to the game this weekend, helping to create an atmosphere that we are not really accustomed to at New Zealand sporting events.
This game could be one of the classics, and I can’t wait.
Tristan Cullen, Wānaka.