Martin Paulo: Small Schools New Zealand

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 08:04:38 GMT

There are going to be some changes made...

Over the last few weeks I have had one or two cries of “where are you”? Unbelievable. See, I think that for the time being we have won our battle to save our schools. So this Blog is no longer required. And my writing really wasn't that good!

So for anyone who still visits this very still corner of the Internet I have to have to 'fess up – there are going to be some changes made. There is going to be a new look, a new theme. A new target market as the advertising folks at work would say.

But before that I owe a few words of thanks. Please note that this is entirely subjective and based on my own personal experiences in fighting the school closures.

At the top of my list must be Deborah Coddington.

Deborah Coddington

She worked tirelessly on the national scene, and repeatedly managed to expose how bereft of any logic Trevor Mallard's restructuring was. She always returned phone calls, always gave us a sympathetic hearing and sage advice. If all our members of parliament were as hard working, intelligent and caring as Deborah was on this issue, this country would have a wonderful government. Thank you Deborah.

Murray Smith

Murray might not have achieved much national exposure, but on the local level he was very involved. He was at just about every meeting I attended, even the small school community meetings. His office had an open door and he came up with some good suggestions. It is ironic that as a list MP he was an example to all electorate MPs' . Contrast Paul Swain, our local Labour MP, who was very noticeable by his absence through most of this battle. Murray will be running against Trevor Mallard. If you live in his electorate, vote for Murray Smith. He deserves your support. Thank you Murray

Bill English

Bill was late to the party, but once he got involved he added an extra dimension at the national level. He appeared at a large number of our events and whilst his communication with us was sometimes erratic, considering how his late arrival into the education space occurred I think he is to be commended for his most excellent efforts. Thank you Bill.

Those who cared

And to all the other people who got involved and who cared. Thank you!

What about Trev?

And in a bizarre way I probably owe Trevor Mallard a vote of thanks. His ham handed and thoughtless actions set me off on a journey I never expected to take. Along the way I have met wonderful people, made new friends, and been part of some great events. This battle has bonded our community and made us all much better neighbours. Now we need to work at keeping the community in our neighbourhood.

I know that the Greens were very active in fighting school closures, but our attempts to communicate with them never lead to any dialogue. So I will have to leave it to others to thank them.

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 03:37:14 GMT

Watching TV 'is bad for children'. Children under two should not be allowed to watch TV as it can cause behavioural problems, experts say. [BBC News | Education | UK Edition]

Mon, 05 Apr 2004 08:05:54 GMT

Deja vu, in a different country, in a different style: School closure plans spark row. Parents stage a last-ditch campaign to save rural schools from closure in a centralisation programme. [BBC News | Education | UK Edition]

Thu, 04 Mar 2004 08:41:47 GMT

To Russell Brown, Act II Scene 3.

I am changing things around – I am going to publish this scene in front of all that boring research stuff. Hey – its my Blog, I can do what I want!

In the beginning

I was asked: "how would I prepare the New Zealand education system for a projected decline in student role"?

On the first day:

I believe the following.

School closures are a way of life. As are the opening of new schools. People move, neighbourhoods change, populations grow and decline, educational requirements and theory change. Life is not static. So the process of opening and closing schools should be an ongoing part of the Ministry Of Education (MOE)'s job.
Very small schools are difficult to manage, as they are more subject to the whims of human ability and movement. Bigger schools are more resilient.
Communities that loose their schools suffer. We know this instinctively, as we fight so hard to keep them!
That the latest educational research shows, very strongly, that certain types of communities benefit from small schools, and that certain types of communities benefit from large schools... Note that with modern research we may be on the verge of new understandings of how us humans learn (so let's not destroy our small schools just because we want to save a few dollars).
The expensive part of schooling is not the buildings in which it happens, but rather the cost of the human time and effort that goes into it.
A network of several geographically separated small schools is more resistant to natural disaster that one big school
The affect on society of one big school that goes 'bad' is far worse than to the effect of a small school that goes 'bad'.
It is easier to get community involvement in small schools.
A school is not just about children's education. In this country a lot of schools are used as Civil Defence Centres. They are used for adult education programs. They double as community centres. As sports centres.
It is just about impossible to get rid of bad teachers.

Given the above on the first day I want the MOE to formally define what they want in their educational network. This definition must include factors such as

Assumptions and beliefs like those I listed above
Resistance to disasters
Ability to change with time
Financial requirements
Maximum time children can spend on buses
The size of school best suited to different decile areas
The desired educational outcomes and how they are to be measured
What percentage of classrooms should be empty (Schools can't run at 100% capacity – I feel this is possibly the most expensive way to run a school network. You need slack to accommodate population bumps, lumps, population movement and our gradual new entrant system).
What forms of distance education can be used in rural communities.

On the second day:

Using the above assumptions the MOE would create a formal and public definition what the country's network of schools is supposed to do and to be.

If they had time to burn they could overlay national population projections to get the amount of slack required for different regions.

The MOE would publish this model for debate by any interested party.

On the third day:

The MOE would map the requirements gathered above to the existing school network. On to this mapping the MOE should try to place the reasons why the existing schools were built, and the relevance of those reasons to the network must be understood.

The MOE would publish the result of this mapping. This would allow everyone to see which schools were needed, and which schools didn't fit to the model. It would also allow everyone to understand the rational behind some school closures.

It would more importantly show which schools should not be allowed to close.

On the fourth day:

It must be quite clear that successful schools that do not fit into the model will not be killed. Only failing schools that do not fit into the model should be allowed to die.

Failing schools that are required by the model must be saved. Thus the MOE should develop turnaround teams that know how to bring these schools back from the brink. The MOE must also have the power and skills to turn around failing teachers.

On the fifth day:

Strategies must be developed to help communities that are going loose schools. So, if possible, in closing the school any facilities that can fill the resultant vacuum should be left behind. So, for example, the school hall can be left as a community hall. Or the playground can be turned into a park. The old staff room can be converted into a neighbourhood pub.

On the six day:

I would put in place a process improvement mechanism. This would be subject to review by an outside agency (perhaps ERO?). Its roll is simply to watch the MOE and the schooling network, and to recommend improvements. Much as the schools themselves are judged by ERO.

On the seventh day:

All was sweetness and light. The process is a fair one that does its best for the country. Its assumptions, goals and aims are all clearly defined and on the table. The MOE and the process are constantly under review with continual improvements being made.

Please note that all of the work has been loaded onto the MOE, to be done up front. And that the school system becomes a dynamic one that adapts to ongoing change.

Disclaimer

As with the Bible, one of my days may not be of the same duration as one of yours!

Thu, 26 Feb 2004 10:29:15 GMT

To Russell Brown, Act II Scene 1

I have taken the liberty of moving this response to its own page: My Take On The Network Review Process. My 'friends' have been most helpfull in pointing out a lot that I have left out. So I am going to be expanding on it over the next few days.

Just to recap:

It is the "network review process" that is the festering sore, not "school consolidation". I stand by my claim.

I will answer in three parts. In this part I will explain why I think that the current network review process is a disaster. By understanding my take on it's failings, you can understand how I arrive at the alternate method that you have asked me to produce. In the second part I will explain my understanding of the small school research to date. In my third and final part, I will present my alternate, and better (of course!) process.

The question "just how were network review areas chosen?" still remains.

The rumour that Wellington should be at the top of the list appears to be false. Just another of those red herrings that fall out along the path...

Again, thanks for giving me a good reason to write some of my thoughts down. I had thought my Weblog was almost finished.

Tue, 24 Feb 2004 10:33:23 GMT

Don't close those schools just yet, Minister!

The good folk of Pinehaven were handing out these at the protest:

But I noticed that the one I was given was well past its 'use by' date. Methinks that there may soon be an unexpected boom in the number of children of southern Upper Hutt...

Tue, 24 Feb 2004 10:08:09 GMT

The protest

It was fun: But it is late and I have been polishing up the electronic side of our submission. Based on the fate of our first submission I feel very negative about this effort. But I feel honour bound to do my best. So I still have to verify the cd's and check that the documents on them haven't been corrupted. So in the mean time you can read a little about our day in the sun on the Darkness Network.

Tue, 24 Feb 2004 07:07:55 GMT

To Russell Brown

You commented: "The funny thing about the back-off on school closures is that that policy was probably well-founded too. It just pissed people off at a time when the government found it was pissing off altogether too many people."

This comment shows that you really haven't looked at this issue in any great depth. There well may be a case for closing schools, but the approach chosen by Trevor Mallard created division, friction and opportunism amongst communities.

If you ever take the time to examine his process a little closer you will find that it had almost nothing to do with educational outcomes and everything to do with trying work out which schools Labour could get away with closing. As a result whole communities have been shattered. And those that suffered the most were those least able to defend themselves: the poor, the rural - the small and the weak.

The network review process does Labour no credit. It was (and still is) a festering sore on the New Zealand educational system. The only pity about it juddering to a halt is that people like you who have not taken the time to examine it in detail will never find out just how mired in hypocrisy this awful political process was.

And now they have promoted its chief architect to overseeing race relations in this country. God Help us all.

Mon, 23 Feb 2004 06:58:18 GMT

It Ain't Over

The Minister of education has done a dramatic turn-around: No more network reviews!

However, this is not all good news, as he is going to carry the network reviews already underway to their 'logical' conclusion.

Our protest movement has saved the schools of New Zealand. So New Zealand, help us to save our schools. Join us tomorrow in our National Day of Action (Tuesday 24^th February). We meet at Wellington Railway Station at 12 pm. and march to PARLIAMENT. If you can't be there please e-mail Trevor Mallard or Helen Clark) and let Labour know how you feel about this!

Remember, on this topic, the thin lady hasn't yet sung! This is your chance to make her trill!

Sat, 21 Feb 2004 19:53:34 GMT

Teachers warned against trips. A teaching union has warned its members to avoid school outings after a series of court cases over accidents. [BBC News | Education | UK Edition]