Kids will be losers in endless class war

Having been through the education system in Britain and having three school-age children, I've come across my share of teachers.

They were, inevitably, a mixed bunch but generally pretty good and usually marked by the fact that they were in their chosen profession and that helping children actually meant something to them.

Somehow, I missed out on the lazy and complacent, the incompetent and self-serving, and the left-wing rabble-rousers who - according to some reports - make up the bulk of our teachers. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

The endless game of head-butting between the teachers' unions and the education ministers of the National Government has reached new heights with the introduction of National Standards.

I don't mind too much them giving themselves a headache, but I fear it is our children who will end up feeling the pain.

It has got to stop. Time to ring the school bell on this playground scrap; time for them to behave like adults; time, dare I say it, for them to try working together for the betterment of the precious cargo with which they are entrusted.

National Standards has been an expensive policy - expensive in terms of money, teachers' time and goodwill.

It was born out of political dogma, not best practice, and it seems unlikely to provide much of value. For National, it was primarily a vote-getter.

Certainly parents want to know how their kids stack up against others, but there are simpler, less costly ways of doing this. And - most importantly - it needs to be done with the buy-in of the teaching profession.

If the majority of the teachers are not behind it, we are doomed to more of the petty squabbling.

The divisive and ambitious Education Minister Hekia Parata needs to move on with her political career, and the Government should consider introducing a more conciliatory voice to this important position.