Education review seems loaded with problems
THE changes to SIT are only one of the changes proposed by the Government. The other which has the same degree of disaster is that of Tomorrow’s Schools.
Yes, some changes are needed. However the babyandbathwater principle does not need to apply.
The taskforce highlighted the failures, not the successes, of schools. To blame the failure or underachievement of certain pupils on education shows how onesided the report was. Society is reflected in the schools, and its ills and success are mirrored in schools.
Why not provide teacher education pay and support for the teachers, look at more funding for schools, and help them with other issues? Do not dismantle a system that has involved the community at large.
To strip parents of their power in this grab likened to 1984 shows how out of touch the socalled independent taskforce was.
Who will serve on a board of trustees if they are virtually without influence in their children’s education?
The period of consultation is short, and with so many other changes going on, it may be ignored by the public at large.
The period before Tomorrow’s Schools was lacking in parent input, and with the changes proposed, it will be even worse. Godfrey Dodd
St Leonards
Sea levels
SCEPTICS are fond of quoting Dunedin’s apparent modest sealevel rise of 23mm per year (Malcolm MoncriefSpittle, ODT, 2.3.19).
That’s a bit like saying there’s no global warming because nights are cooler in the south. For a start, Dunedin recordkeeping might not be reliable, and sealevel rises are not uniform around the globe, affected locally by ocean currents, water temperatures and the rise and fall of coastlines.
Sea levels around the world have been recorded one way or another for two centuries, showing a consistent and accelerating rise. In the last 20 years, these have been supplemented by satellite measurements.
Sceptics are not really concerned about the climate change evidence and consensus. It’s their libertarian and angry right concerns about government intervention and regulation that’s at issue.
Stuart Mathieson
Palmerston
Clyde
IN reading the letter from James Smith of Queenstown (ODT, 7.3.19) in which he complains about the people of Clyde, I am reminded of a story I was told several years ago in Greytown. A newcomer to the town asked the local grocer what the people in Greytown were like. The grocer asked in reply, ‘‘What were they like in your previous town?’’ The visitor replied that they were moaners, complainers and whiners. ‘‘I think that you will find them the same here,’’ the grocer said.
A second newcomer arrived and asked the same question and was, in turn, asked, ‘‘What were they like where you come from?’’. ‘‘They were great people, open, friendly and helpful,’’ replied the newcomer. ‘‘I think that you will find them the same here,’’ the grocer said.
I have lived in or near Clyde for nearly 15 years and find it a wonderful little town, full of enthusiastic people who cannot do enough to support each other. Perhaps James Smith came from the wrong sort of town.
Rory Butler Promote Dunstan Inc president
Clyde
Reunion
Duthie family: A reunion is planned for Easter weekend 2020, for descendants of Alexander Duthie and his wife Jane (nee Martin), who immigrated to New Zealand on the ship Lady Nugent in March 1841. For information contact Alan, ahduth@slingshot.co.nz, Bruce, bruceduthie@xtra.co.nz, or Gordon, gbduthie@xtra.co.nz.