Chester Borrows: No simple answers to education woes

Most people think that when school holidays arrive all teachers take a break. Not so.
Last weekend and through to Monday, the NZEI Maori education hui met in Wanganui, seeking quality education.
New Zealanders have heard all the negative statistics surrounding under-achievement, especially as it relates to Maori. Sooner or later, we must ask ourselves: "How can we educate better?" The Government has attracted a scrap with the teaching fraternity regarding the implementation of national standards.
I think it is time we recognise that there is a big chunk of our community who do not learn in school. The difference in the past was that the community swallowed these ones up in work that did not expose their lack of education. But as the workforce has become more sophisticated, that lack is more obvious. The previous way we have set up education will not suffice for the modern age. Twenty per cent, or one in five, will leave after 10 years of school and be unable to fully operate in terms of literacy and numeracy..
The answers as to why this is the case are varied. The teacher unions say that whatever the answer is, it is not national standards. The Minister and ministry is saying that we've been trialling not doing national standards until now - with the trends not getting any better, so we will implement the standards and see how we get on.
Recently, I spoke to a principal who, on taking up a new position, found most of his 11-year-old pupils were reading at the standard of children half their age.
He responded and, a few months later, there is a marked improvement. Tests have their place, so does telling parents where their kids' needs are.
The only argument, then, is how we get there and how the tests are constructed. Teachers don't want to duplicate work - meanwhile politicians, parents and employers are sick of excuses as to why failure rates continue.
What does seem to be working are initiatives such as trade training, the gateway project allowing young people to experience the workplace while still at school. In the past few weeks, I have been visiting schools to give out books to low-decile schools as part of the Duffy Books Programme and have witnessed first hand the dedication and commitment teachers have to improving reading skills.
Kids love reading. Kids feel out of it when they can't read and rebel to mask that shortcoming.
Any wonder that the 81 per cent of the prison population can hardly read?
We accept that teachers know the most about education. But this does not mean we can't hold them to account for the results they achieve. None of the answers are simple and no one - occupational, vocational or interest group - is all wise.