Editorial: Teachers should follow the rules

OPINION: Nobody wants to see New Zealand children fail. The problem is that there is no agreement on what needs to be done to make sure they succeed.

Prime Minster John Key and Education Minister Anne Tolley believe it is by concentrating on literacy and numeracy. The national standards they unveiled last Friday make that clear. So does the decision to tell schools they will get no help from advisory groups next year in the teaching of anything other than reading, writing and maths.

There are sound reasons for their certainty. According to Mr Key, as many as one-in-five pupils are being left behind. The consequences of that are as inevitable as they are disastrous. Without basic literacy and numeracy, there is little chance of succeeding in 21st century New Zealand society. It is no coincidence that research last year showed 90 per cent of prisoners are "functionally illiterate" – their reading and writing skills are inadequate to cope with the demands of daily life.

The desire of parents to have clear, honest, specific and regular feedback on their children's progress, achievement, and strengths and weaknesses in language the parents understand is reasonable. Parents – and, through them, their children – need to know how they are performing, and in a meaningful way. Despite some teachers' belief that revealing to pupils and their parents that they are performing below the national standard will hurt their motivation, engagement and self-esteem, the alternative is cruelly unfair. Allowing parents and pupils to falsely believe they are performing adequately is a sure step to failure.

However, there is also the risk the Government's strategy will strangle the education of children. Being able to read, write and calculate is vital, but so too are other areas of the curriculum.

British research suggests that putting too much emphasis on literacy and numeracy, and on the achievement of national standards in those areas, can see other parts of the curriculum squeezed into oblivion.

A nation of spellers who can add up but have little grasp of science, small exposure to the arts and only the occasional foray into physical education while at primary school, is not going to enjoy success either.

Defining success for pupils, schools and teachers in terms that are too narrow would be a mistake, and the Government and its advisers will need to work hard to ensure that does not happen.

Just where the balance point comes is a matter for debate, and it is only when the changes announced by Mr Key have been in place for a reasonable period that a sensible assessment can be made.

There is no room for debate in one area, however. The decision by teacher and principal groups to boycott the announcement of the policy cannot be allowed to develop into an undercutting of its implementation. There are still murmurs of inflating assessments so that schools are seen to be performing well.

Teachers are public servants and that means they must follow the policies put in place by those who represent the people, the government of the day, regardless of their own personal views. They cannot simply decide to ignore them.

- © Fairfax NZ News