Joanna Gray: The Social Media Ban for Under-16s Illuminates Our Erroneous Thinking About Children

Is a potential social media ban for the under-16s the ultimate nanny state interference, the beginning of a full-blown censorship state, or a sensible decision to protect tech-addled children? It is probably all of the above. More uncomfortably, it throws much needed light on society’s misunderstanding about what it is to be a child, and even worse, parental neglect on a scale no-one is really prepared to admit.

Kerre Woodham: Schools need to be teaching civics

There are a lot of things parents can teach children without schools needing to get involved. Basic hygiene, reading, physical education, even driving – parents should and could teach their children these skills. And I know schools already have a lot to be dealing with as regards to the needs of our children in their classroom, they've got a lot of changes to the curriculum happening. But one area where I would totally jump on my soapbox and say the schools need to be teaching is civics education.

Mike's Minute: Insights from putting five kids through school

We paid our last school fee last week.

One more term and the high school years at our house are over.

One of the great insights we have been lucky enough to have over the years is in having five kids you see a lot of school and schools.

Heather du Plessis-Allan: All schools in this country should have lower speed limits

I think the hardest news story to read today is of the kindergarten teacher in Victoria who died yesterday afternoon saving children from a truck that smashed into the kindy.  

The truck driver lost control, the truck ploughed into the kindy, the teacher pushed the kids out of the way, but died herself. 

The speed limit outside that kindergarten was supposed to be dropped from 50 to 40 kph – but hadn’t been.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 11/11/24

A sop to the hikoi crowd? Govt finds $20m for work at Rātana Pā and Waitangi (where MPs eagerly trek each year)

The headline written by a Beehive scribbler alerted your Point of Order team to the prospect of a geographical shift in the lower North Island, raising questions about the pace of this shift and the political implications.

How profound might those implications be?

The headline said:

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 22/10/24

Govt moves to safeguard our children at school – and to provide lunches – but victims of abuse will receive an apology

Our well-being is being fostered on many fronts in a raft of government initiatives announced over the past 24 hours.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 16/7/27

Jones brays about plans to host regional development meetings – but Labour is riled by his undeclared dining with miners

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones is making no secret of where he will be – at least on 15 specific occasions – over the next several weeks.

He will be hosting a series of nationwide summits “to discuss regional priorities, aspirations and opportunities…”

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 12/7/24

An OECD report shows why Seymour is intent on shredding red tape

Our daily monitor of ministerial machinations and Beehive braying has been on the blink for the past week, alas. No, not a technical problem. Rather, a matter of ill-health.

Today we are catching up and herewith record the headlines posted on the government’s official website since we last buzzed on July 4.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 3/7/24

Perhaps Tinetti knows how to lift Kiwi kids’ progress in schools – but don’t forget what happened when she was Education Minister

Responding to news that children in their first year of school will undergo phonics checks to help teachers understand their reading progress, former Education Minister Jan Tinetti bleated something about the government taking “another backwards step for education”.

David Farrar: 50 charter schools for less than the cost of moving two schools!

David Seymour announced:

The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 19/12/23

Haste is urged to repeal tax legislation – and to stymie publication of the first IRD report on tax system’s fairness

Political journalists working for the mainstream media have demonstrated since the election that they need scant prompting to go looking for muck to fling at a coalition government they make no secret of disdaining.

On No Right Turn, Idiot/Savant has given them a prompt anyway.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 7/12/23

A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to tell us he has it

It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments official website.

A statement from Police Minister Mark Mitchell says …

Health and education are closely linked – NZ needs to integrate them more in primary schools

Given the health and education challenges many New Zealand children face, it is surprising (and even depressing) how little crossover and collaboration there is between these two vital sectors.

The inequities in health and education are both cause and symptom of the lasting socioeconomic disadvantage experienced by so many young New Zealanders. And yet the known interconnection between health and education rarely translates into policy or action, despite extensive evidence of the reciprocal benefits.

Peter Williams: Reflections

Random thoughts after a week away

London in the autumn is decidedly pleasant. Despite almost annual trips to the British capital from the late nineties till the onset of Covid, I don’t think I’ve been here in September since the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

It’s warm enough to not worry about a sweater or jacket during the day yet the leaves in the abundant green spaces haven’t started to turn.

Adrian Schoone: School of last resort

How to fix NZ’s vital but ignored alternative education system

It wasn’t surprising when last week’s Education Review Office (ERO) report found New Zealand’s alternative education (AE) system suffers from inadequate facilities, a lack of qualified teaching personnel and poor long-term outcomes.

After all, alternative education funding had remained static for its first decade of operation, after which it received only minor increases until this year’s government budget.

Point of Order: Mātauranga Māori will propel Pāpāmoa school kids’ science learning (in te reo)

Two ministerial press statements today draw attention to the Government’s incorporation of mātauranga Māori in its science policies and programmes.

One of these announced the launch of the national space policy, which will oblige our space boffins to bring indigenous knowledge into their considerations.

The national policy document tells us:

Point of Order: Govt will spend $400m on schools and classrooms......

........but Hipkins and Tinetti should be bothered by the quality of the curriculum, too

It looks like there were a couple of stragglers, when ministers of the Crown were mustered to unleash a bundle of pre-Budget press statements under an embargo that was lifted at 10.30am yesterday.

Later in the day, another press release related to the clean-up of damage done by Cyclone Gabrielle was released. It came from Forestry Minister Peeni Henare, who announced $10.15 million from Budget 2023 would be appropriated to clean up of slash and debris in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay and for slash management traps to contain debris from entering waterways in the first place.

Point of Order: Budget 2023 sluice-gates are opened.....

.....$1bn will flow into cyclone recovery

Whoa there. Did Budget Day arrive several days earlier than Point of Order had been led to believe?

Five press statements from the Beehive landed in our email this morning, embargoed for release at 10.30 am.

The PM led the charge, announcing a billion-dollar flood and cyclone recovery package as part of Budget 2023 that covers the basics of rebuilding roads, rail and schools while preparing for future events with a big investment in flood protection measures.

Here’s how the dosh is being distributed.

Don Brash: Foisting the Maori language on kids is a disaster

I’m told that there is evidence that learning a second language has some benefits in terms of brain development, especially for young children, and I understand that this was the rationale in the last National Government’s decision to encourage schools to teach a second language. That Government suggested it would provide funding for the teaching of any one of 10 languages, the choice of which language to be taught being left to individual schools.

Apparently fearing that too few schools would choose te reo Maori as their preferred second language, the incoming Labour-New Zealand First Government scrapped that plan and has driven an active campaign to have schools teach te reo Maori. I’m told that all school teachers are now under huge pressure to learn the Maori language themselves, and to teach it at every opportunity. I have heard anecdotal evidence that new teachers are not permitted to get their teaching certificate until they can show some proficiency in the language.

Guy Hatchard: Ardern and Her Government Tighten Their Hold on Information Access in New Zealand

… and give us a glimpse into their enforcement methods.

Last week the government called for mask wearing to be enforced in New Zealand schools. Many schools have apparently decided to punish students who do not wear masks.

Asked whether she was happy that schools punished students who did not wear masks, Ardern ducked the question, denied the mandate, passed the buck, and still managed to appear happy for students to be punished. Ardern said: