Tolley's rat tale shocks teachers

The executive of the secondary teachers' union were left in "stunned silence" after Education Minister Anne Tolley read them a children's book about an "incredibly happy rat".

Tolley gave her "light-hearted" reading to the Post-Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) executive meeting in Wellington last Thursday.

"People were shocked. They were surprised and they were trying to be polite, but it was surprising," PPTA president Kate Gainsford said.

"Honestly, it was unusual."

Tolley has been under growing pressure from the PPTA and the primary teachers' union, the New Zealand Educational Institute.

The unions are awaiting details of possible teacher lay-offs.

The Government plans to save $50 million in teacher staff salaries, but has yet to explain how these savings will be achieved.

Gainsford said Tolley could not afford to be light-hearted.

"We were a little surprised that there was anything much to be light-hearted about," she said.

"It wasn't a good call."

The book, The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley, said Riley the rat wanted some fruit "and maybe a couple of slugs" on Tuesday or Friday.

"People, of course, want more than that, which is a shame because it is about all you need apart from a cup of tea and some toast and maybe not the slug," the book had said.

Gainsford said it concluded: "The answer is very simple really, you just have to be happy with a lot less."

Tolley had repeatedly told sector leaders to prepare for tighter budgets, but yesterday denied Riley the rat was a metaphor.

"There was no underlying message, I was trying to share with them a book I had come across in a visit to a school, and I thought they might be interested in it," Tolley said.

"It wasn't intended to be [patronising]," she said. "It was meant to be light-hearted."

Tolley said she had also discussed trades academies, the national standards and the youth guarantee during Thursday's meeting.

Gainsford said it was not credible to suggest Tolley was not trying to send them a message.

"It was stunned silence," Gainsford said.

"We have had many ministers come to the executive table, and I don't think we've ever had that."

Tolley's relationship with the union had been damaged by the reading, she said.

"It relies very heavily on a clear understanding of complex issues and that certainly wasn't shown in the reading of that book," Gainsford said.

New Zealand Educational Institute president Frances Nelson said the reading was "a most unusual thing to do".

"It doesn't sit well with a group of adults," Nelson said.