Letter of the week: Kevan Leadbeater, Totara Vale
I have been teaching reading and writing to New Zealand school children for 22 years. It is not rocket science. The successful formula is very simple - phonics, reading books (the ones with pages) every day, and parental support every day. Those
children who read every day and have parents helping every day improve without question. As reading underpins everything, writing, grammar, and vocabulary, all improve in unison. Yes, some children take longer, but for the majority, consistent independent reading with support where necessary is vital.
In a lot of instances, it is the laziness of the child and "busy" parents that let them down, along with the proliferation of device use.
Hire learning
Having worked for over 60 years, and still employed part-time, I find myself having the leisure to investigate a bit and reflect on my own experience of hiring and being hired, and find that in one aspect nothing has changed.
Employers generally don't want the trouble and expense of training people. For years, managers resisted taking on apprentices while bemoaning a lack of trained staff.
Go online now and read the job adverts. Most jobs apparently require a range of skills, abilities and experience that I spent most of my working life acquiring. What few entry-level jobs or trainee jobs get advertised still require an artificially high list of attributes, all while offering minimum wage.
How about offering a paid work experience type module with a fixed period and a worthwhile training programme at the end? Sure, minimum wage at first, where applicable, but then a reasonable wage when the training starts. Most importantly, be genuine, not just getting cheap short-term labour.
This doesn't just apply in the trade and industrial area. Teacher and nursing shortages would certainly also be alleviated.
Martin Cleland, Ruakaka.
Manufactured lacking
I was intrigued by Randel Case's suggestion (Weekend Herald, August 20) that people should invest in local manufacturing, rather than residential property. That would be a great idea if it wasn't for the chronic lack of skills and knowledge required to run a successful, competitive, innovative manufacturing company in NZ.
Successive governments haven't exactly supported local manufacturing and have happily seen companies close their doors, whilst encouraging cheap products in from China.
When a major tertiary institution drops all manufacturing-related subjects, from what was a very successful and long-running technology course, then changes it to a design course, we no longer produce students with even the most basic knowledge of the skills required in that industry.
Does any tertiary institution teach accurate production planning? Workplace engineering? Measured incentive schemes?
Ray Green, Birkenhead.
Helping hands
My Americano is often accompanied by my partner's observations of poor hygiene practices at cafes; uncovered muffins on countertops with customers breathing over them (sometimes coughing), and knives and forks in open containers on tables handled by bored children and adults; we've seen staff holding these utensils by their tips.
My partner notices baristas rubbing their noses, and scratching their hair, faces, and ears before grabbing the rim of our coffee cups. Fingers stuck like tentacles to the tops (yes, where our mouths will fasten), get delivered proudly to our tables. Strangely, our coffee never tastes as good when it's delivered with someone else's fingerprints.
Today, at the airport, we saw a barista use their fingers to clasp the top of a straw before plonking it into a smoothie, then they used their finger to tap the top of the straw firmly down (yes, the part of the straw their customer will drink from).
There has been a lot of publicity about the importance of mask-wearing, yet good hand-hygiene practices seem to go unnoticed. Surely this is a time when hand hygiene is important?
Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Rotorua.
