New Zealand schools
I just wrote a long entry about New Zealand schools and the web ate it. It disappeared after I pressed 'Publish'. Fucked if I'm going to rewrite the whole thing. However...
Essentially what I said was that NZ schools are still old-fashioned, conservative disciplinarian institutions. The Human Rights Commission acknowledge that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has not been incorporated into NZ education law. So the NZ child, and I'm thinking more of the secondary school student, basically has no rights. They are not encouraged to voice their views. There is no freedom of expression. They are not permitted to argue with the teachers. 'Shut up and do as you're told' is the prevailing attitude.
New Zealand schools have a very high number of suspensions and expulsions. It's purely the school's decision as to what they regard as 'bad behaviour'. I'll give you two arbitrary examples. A student will be denied his/her right to education if his/her hair is an 'extreme' colour and will be made to stay home until the hair is dyed to a more 'natural' colour. ( How is one to know what particular shade of red is acceptable?) Isn't this just a little ridiculous, denying education because of the colour of ones hair? The other example. No piercings, even if you happen to have a nose piercing and you're Indian. There's no point complaining to the Commission. They do not have the power to rule over school's rules. School rules outweigh human rights. The Ministry of Education unquestioningly accepts the school's judgement over behaviour.
The schools seem to regard discipline as the highest priority. So guess the result. Kids resent their teachers and the arbitrary rules, are treated like young children, don't want to be at school, can't wait to leave, get bored. New Zealand has a very high rate of youth suicide and a very low rate of teenagers in education.
I won't even begin to rant about the quality of education itself. In an environment of petty rules and teachers shouting at you, who wants to learn anything? Spelling is out the window. It's rare to come across anyone who can actually spell properly. In my line of work I deal with university students - supposedly the more intelligent young people. I'm astounded at their lack of skills - in writing, in general knowledge, their narrow thinking. NZ schools are not educating these people - they're just 'controlling' them.
Children and Youth in Aotearoa www.acya.org.nz/
