Tim Ellis, Bowentown.
Making first responders safer
The bill to increase penalties for those who offend against first responders will hopefully make life safer for these very essential people. Unfortunately, prison is the last chance saloon with most offenders already treading a dangerous path for some time.
They say because more than 50% of those incarcerated will reoffend within two years that rehabilitation has been a failure. Not so really when one considers that those sentenced to prison are a difficult subject, to say the least. It is a balancing act for authorities as they are challenged to not make prison a holiday camp but a place where respect for authority is learnt and there is a better life on the right side of the law.
It is agreed we must have prisons, even if it’s just to protect society against more pain. However, it is more than obvious it is the feeding grounds where the greatest effort should occur. Easier said than achieved but we all know that’s where the rot starts. Criminals are generally not born but made.
Reg Dempster, Albany.
Time to end rolling mauls?
A rolling maul from a lineout, especially one that is close to the goal line, is the only time in rugby the ball carrier can actually hide behind seven teammates who actively work to stop the defence getting to the ball carrier.
Ridiculous but that is how rugby is slowly but surely killing itself off. Don’t expect World Rugby to change the rules because in the Northern Hemisphere they think a rolling maul is exciting.
Phil Chitty, Albany.
Childcare sleep plan concerning
A number of years ago I had the occasion to be shown around childcare centres in East Auckland. One large, newish centre was a hive of activity with little children, who were grouped according to their age, bustling around happily.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the infants’ room. Cots and some mattresses on the floor, with precious little ones there for sleep time, left me saddened. At that time there wasn’t a staff member in the room checking the babies and toddlers.
To now find out that Regulation Minister David Seymour proposes to change the need for sleep time checks from 10 to 15 minutes in ECE centres is very concerning.
It’s hard enough for parents who, for whatever reason, need to leave their babies and toddlers in the care of others at a childcare centre, without having the added stress of knowing the time between sleeping room checks could be lengthened.
Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.
Teaching for different cultures
When I first became a teacher, I grew to love the profession because of the opportunities to make a real difference to my pupils, the fact that it was a globally transferrable qualification and also the collegial relationships I had with colleagues.
I have since retired and I have been left questioning the teaching profession’s priorities. This is because embedded prominently in the Professional Standards of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand is the statement that a teacher must “demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi” in the learning environment. What has this to do with reading, writing, numeracy and critical thinking? Also, what about learners from Pasifika, Asian, Middle Eastern, African, or European backgrounds whose needs may be different but just as urgent. I was expected to recite a pepeha and a karakia and to greet children in te reo, which made me think that I was more of a performer than an educator in front of one set of learners to the exclusion of others.
Having taught for many years in Southeast Asia to local students, not once was I expected to demonstrate cultural competency in educational outcomes. Make no mistake I respect Māori culture and love the language but there needs to be balance in a country that is becoming increasingly diverse. Every child, regardless of their ethnicity, should be held to high expectations and achievements that do not become second to one cultural identity.
Bernard Walker, Mount Maunganui.
