Opinions

By Larry Forbes, a School governance specialist

The impressive levels of acceptance and openness that NZ’ers have demonstrated in welcoming Rugby World Cup participants and fans to NZ, should not be overly surprising to any of us who are involved in education.

Opinion piece By Pat Lynch. CEO of the NZ Catholic Education Office

Who would have thought that 2011 would be such a rocky year for the world? Yet this is exactly how it is turning out.

The Arab world’s awakening; the continued aftershocks of the Great Recession; civil disorder in some European countries and fractured politics in various democracies are all illustrations that humanity is on a journey as it seeks better prospects for itself.

The editor of Eduvac needs to shout (excuse the pun...you’ll get why in a sec) the staff at Eduvac a fairly solid round of drinks.

NZQA is confident that its assessment of NCEA is credible and robust and that the increased agreement rates between teachers and moderators reflect credible and robust practices.

We have some very serious issues in regard to your front page item Journalist claims NCEA ‘fudging’ as corrupt in Issue #841, 20th June 2011.

 Teachers may be struggling to get the public behind their cause, says communication expert, Niki Gunning, over the latest strike actions.

At a time when many people in business are facing cutbacks, pay freezes and increasing hours to make ends meet, there may be little sympathy with teachers’ latest attempts for a wage rise.

An opinion piece written by Pat Lynch, CEO, NZ Catholic Education Office

The last two years have witnessed crisis leadership at work in most countries of the world as political and economic leaders have sought to mitigate the worst effects of the ‘great recession’ on their populations.

The extra airport security measures that are being phased in following the Christmas Day scare over the skies of Detroit City, along with the daily stream of reported violence in an increasing range of countries, heighten the awareness of the need to work towards an enduring solution to all international violence.

There is widespread concern about the large number of students who are under achieving in education and leaving school without suitable qualifications for tertiary study or employment.

The boldness of Prime Minister David Lange, who in 1989 initiated the education reforms which we now call, ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’ cannot be overestimated.

September 1st, 2009, marked the 70th anniversary of the commencement of World War II. Representatives of the combatant nations met in Gdansk to commemorate the six year ordeal which saw 65 million people lose their lives. One central political theme which has emerged since 1939 is the ascendancy of the politics of hope.