Open plan schools don’t work
It is unbelievable the Ministry of Education has decided that all schools will eventually be made ‘open plan’ facilities (Class division, Oct 13).
This was trialled in some schools in the 1970s and contained so many fish-hooks that schools abandoned the idea. As the article says, noise levels mitigated against concentration, and teachers had difficulty in getting around individual students, remembering who they were, what they were meant to be doing, and the level they were at.
Studies showed the more talented students did not like the concept and preferred to work on their own, and the more perceptive students quickly realised they could be off-task or miss such classes without being noticed.
And it is of great concern that the article mentions the thoroughly discredited ‘Discovery Learning’. The idea of this was that if students could investigate and inquire with no formal directions from teachers, they would ‘discover’ the rules of grammar, scientific theories, and mathematical techniques by themselves.
The main thing ‘discovered’ was that this didn’t work. As one educationalist remarked, ‘‘students cannot discover Newton’s Three Laws of Motion by playing around with marbles’’.
The ministry, and the department before it, has promulgated ideas and ideologies that have ill-served education.
By all means, continue trialling innovation in teaching and learning, but initiated by the teachers and schools, and not the ministry.
Rob Julian, Wellington [abridged]
SOE remuneration
Salaries of chief executives of stateowned enterprises (SOEs) need to be capped to no more than the prime minister’s (Editorial, Oct 13).
Much has been made by executive search head hunters that organisations must pay the going market rate to attract the best talent.
Chief executives of SOEs do not have to worry about some of the key business risks such as revenue and cash flow as their funding is provided by central government.
The risk of an enterprise becoming insolvent is not there either as the government would bail it out under its statutory obligation.
Remuneration packages for chief executives include payment for the risks they take on. As those risks are not present with the CEOs of SOEs their job is much easier than a director of a listed or private firm and compensation should be adjusted accordingly.
Cancelling the bonuses for SOE bosses is a start but we also need to see the all-up compensation capped at about $500,000 a year. Many large organisations have their own momentum and the CEO’s impact is largely minimal.
Guy Dobson, Levin
Wow, so much plastic
Absolutely Positively Wellington? Maybe not. As recent visitors to the WearableArt show, supported by Absolutely Positively Wellington funding, we chose to pre-order a picnic box. In each picnic box there were 15 separate pieces of plastic, not counting the cellophane wrappers with nuts and cake.
This is an appalling amount of plastic that will eventually end up in the environment in a city supposed to be moving towards a zero-waste policy.
Sure it was claimed on the menu list that some of the plastic was recyclable or compostable, but at the end of the day it is still plastic waste.
Maybe a reusable or refundable container like Japanese bento boxes could be used.
Gwen Lloyd, Takaka [abridged]
Specious arguments
The anonymous compilers of the fullpage advertisement for Victoria University of Wellington (The case for the University of Wellington, Oct 16) are very much ‘whistling in the dark’ over the proposed name change.
If the change was acceptable to alumni (it wasn’t, as about 54 per cent did not want change), such an advertisement would not be needed. By contrast, about 53 per cent of staff were in agreement, so why such special pleading when they are happy?
It is very apparent the change is being pushed through, not without consultation, because there was, but without regard to a majority dissent.
The arguments for and against as set out in the advertisement are specious and smack of desperate justification for the indefensible.
The name is already distinctive (there are no other universities with the name Wellington appended); reputation is built on output and teaching, not names, and spurious arguments about confusion do not do our ‘‘outstanding research and teaching’’ academes any favours; in fact it makes them look silly and desperate.
I hope the minister who is charged with deciding on the name change applies democratic principles more rigorously than have the University Council and vice-chancellor.
Allen Heath, Woburn
Media Council
The Dominion Post is subject to the NZ Media Council. Complaints must be directed to editor@dompost.co.nz. If the complainant is unsatisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the Media Council, PO Box 10-879, Wellington, 6143 or info@mediacouncil.org.nz. Further details at presscouncil.org.nz