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National wants personality tests for teachers!?

I cannot believe that National is seriously proposing personality tests for teachers. Who gets to decide what type of personality is the best type of teacher? Is this their way of gradually weeding out the non-compliant teachers who refuse to tow the Government line? Personality tests are so nineties, and yet they are still around. It's as if people don't want to trust the interviewing process any more, they want a test to tell them what the person is like.

And National's idea to get 98% of children in early childhood "education", by 2015? More groan. No mention of the fact that the best place for a pre-school child is at home with Mum who teaches their child far more than any early childhood "educator". But if this was acknowledged, then the oh so subtle push to get all women out working for the economy. Yes, Helen Clark, the previous PM voiced it, but National is right on-board with the idea.

However, it seems it will be focused on Maori and Pacific Islanders whose children presumably have less favourable educational outcomes overall. Any child whose parents don't value education, who don't own literature and read to their children when they are very young will produce children with less favourable educational outcomes, and while early childhood education may help alleviate this problem a little, the ultimate fix is to inspire the parents. That's much cheaper than all this spending on early childhood education.

It seems to me that National is putting in place systems that will further erode parental responsibility for their children and will reduce the quality of teachers by limiting the types of personalities that will go into teaching. I'm sure Labour's not much better, but National seems to me to be more corporate in their educational approach. Which would be fine if you were setting up a business, but not so crash hot when you are dealing with the formation of the nation's children.

Related link: National's education policy 'lowest point' of campaign

Comments

  1. Education is the key for making tame little worker bees to support the childless ruling class in their declining years

    ReplyDelete

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