With the recent forming of New Zealand’s new government including The National Party, Act and New Zealand First, the discussions around implementing a one-hour teaching regimen for core subjects have initiated an intense debate. This proposal, is part of the National Party’s new policy to ‘teach the basics brilliantly’, seeks to allocate dedicated time for reading, writing, and maths in primary and intermediate schools, including a yearly test to track success.
Mixed Reactions Among Educators
However there are mixed reactions within the thousands of schools, teachers, principals and other educators on the new policy announced on the 24th of November, when the coalition deal was signed. According to Stuff.co.nz, Riverlands School principal Bradley Roberts expressed that the current curriculum already integrates these subjects differently. Roberts highlighted the potential misalignment of separate one-hour blocks with modern learning methodologies.
“I don’t think National’s plan was anything too different from the curriculum refresh which was being developed under the Labour Government,” he says.
Roberts expresses that he isn’t fond of the new policy, “I don’t think I would like to see it mandated that we had one hour a day that is just reading, one hour a day that is just writing, and one hour for maths.
“That’s not how people learn; that’s not how the curriculum works.”
Striking a Balance
Bohally Intermediate School principal Nicky Cameron-Dunn told Stuff she supports structured lessons for core competencies but emphasised the need for tailored approaches to accommodate individual student needs. At Bohally Intermediate School, they are already implementing reading, writing and maths lessons everyday. The school found that students were missing out on essential skills before implementing the basics.
“Some students need extra support and some need extension.”
A Spark of Debate
Since the initial announcement, a debate centering on whether the proposed new policy will genuinely enhance the foundational skills of students has sparked. Opinions on this matter have been divergent, with some educators agreeing that, as per the National perspective, the implementation of this policy is poised to elevate the educational proficiency of New Zealand’s school-aged children to a significantly higher percentile.
