I am a cage, in search of a bird (Franz Kafka)

In New Zealand, at the moment, our Ministry of Education seems to make stuff up in the morning and announce it later that day on TV news.

Earlier this year, Erica Stanford (our Minister of Education) announced via the media that AI was being used in marking students' scripts for literacy and numeracy credits in NCEA. Who knew? It was never discussed. Apparently, we are world leaders in this, according to Erica. Did I miss something in the fine print? If I did, so did all of my colleagues at school. This has now been accepted as fact.  

Recently, we found out via an official notice and the media at the time that the government was eliminating NCEA. Did I miss the consultation on this as well? Nope. 

Seems Erica will listen to a few Principals when they agree with her, but ignore all the noise from an opposing viewpoint.

Now school boards of trustees are no longer legally required to consider the Treaty of Waitangi ("give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi" in Ministry speak). Where did this come from? It has a strong whiff of David Seymour and his ACT party about it. NZ voters did us no favours lumping us with his smarminess.

Luckily, school boards have a lot more sense than Erica and they are rejecting this instruction in droves. I am proud that Hastings Boys' High School is amongst the schools that are posting letters on social media indicating they'll ignore this nonsense.

Two weeks ago, I attended a Kafkaesque curriculum information session during a Teacher Only Day. We (a hundred or so English teachers) were told by ministry promulgators that 'we don't know what the curriculum will look like [in the senior school], but you should prepare for it anyway'. I laughed. They were serious. The day was given to us by the government to consider the curriculum.  

We live in strange times when quasi government officials join us in the fog, government ministers use Trump's chaos theory to rule us, policy is announced via the media, teachers and nurses and doctors and firefighters have to strike to have any kind of voice, and National supporters wonder what all the fuss is about.

Could we please have some consistency (improve NCEA/don't junk it), normal routines (meaningful consultancy) and order (not chaos) restored to NZ educational practices.

That isn't too much to ask for, is it?

In a school carried on by sheer cruelty, whether it is presided over by a dunce or not, there is not likely to be much learnt (Charles Dickens in David Copperfield))

TV One news 18th November 2025: David Seymour is asked, "Isn't it possible to do both, you can uphold the treaty while also still prioritising academic achievement?" 

His response, "Well actually if you do one thing by definition you can't do another thing at the same time."

Woh. Genius! Standing ovation!

So, it's one thing and that one thing is academic achievement. Full stop. And quite right too!!

It's about time someone like DS spoke the truth.

According to David Seymour (the associate Minister of Education, thank goodness) you can't, by definition, do two things at once.

So, if it's academic achievement full stop - extra-curricular activities must cease, right?

That means getting rid of any activity at a school pursued in addition to the normal course of study. Because, 'you can't do another thing at the same time'. 

That means no music, no sport (NCEA PE is safe for now), no clubs, no cultural activities, no games (debating would be fine but no chess), no fringe hobby subjects like cooking and the like, no art. 

The popular saying - all work and no play makes David a dull boy would have to go, and about time.

Far too many resources, far too much teacher time, and loads of precious student time is spent away from class on sport in New Zealand. Just academic achievement. What an enlightened view - NZ will once again be the envy of the world! Let's make NZ great again!!

I fully support this sincere attempt to bring back a Dickensian style school system.

Oh, and here's an idea - while you're at it Mr Seymour - let's bring back the birch!

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country (Kurt Vonnegut Jr)

Photo by moren hsu on Unsplash

Each school I have worked in has been its own unique world. More accurately, each school has been like a different country.

Each with its own borders, cultures, languages, government, traditions, dress, rituals, and routines.

There are leaders, and an overall leader. There are financial controllers, and there are people to be governed.

When you leave one country and travel to another one, there are protocols to observe.

Schools are endlessly fascinating places. 

Politicians don't really get that. They think every school is the same; they think teachers are all the same; they think students are all the same. They think parents are all the same. 

So, they devise curriculums and rules that are standardised and homogenous. For them - in an effort to control, they think one size fits all.

That's a fatal flaw in their thinking.

Won't you roll away the stone (Mott the Hoople)

Lame duckhood. I'm familiar with the feeling. It's that weird twilight zone area between leaving a job and taking up a new one.

It's about fighting the checked out feeling and planning for the next role. It's also about putting up with a lot of stick. I'm moving from a traditional boys' school to a very prestigious girl's school across town, so the genial banter has been relentless.

As I write this, my senior classes are on study leave, and with only two junior classes to teach I now have time to tidy up all of my resources, start taking my personal stuff home, and looking at how I can safely take down my Beatles, Arsenal, Star Wars posters (my passions have remained constant).

That's happening while completing the junior teaching programme, completing my appraisal for the year, and continuing to be here now.

You can do magic (America)

Photo by Nhia Moua on Unsplash

Senior prizegiving happened last Friday and, as always, it was a terrific way to send the senior students off to their external exams or summer holiday jobs. This was my second one at Hastings Boys' High School.

I'm a big fan of the pomp and ceremony that goes with school prizegivings. Seeing boys going across the stage receiving awards, wearing the academic gown, processing to the stage, the kapa haka performance, hearing the old boy speeches - all that stuff! It's magical. 

Although many walked the stage, prizes went to the most deserving. That makes them personal and meaningful. I've always seen prizegivings as an intrinsic reward for success, rather than a motivating factor for others. Although, healthy competition for prizes isn't a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

Many are called, but few are chosen.

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey (Kenji Miyazawa)

Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis on Unsplash

For Year 13 students, part of leaving school is to indulge in 'pranks' during their last days.

Usually, these are creative and fun jokes at the expense of fellow students and teachers. We get that - it's a release of tension and we sigh with a sense of nostalgia, admiration for their cleverness, and acceptance when they happen. 

Unfortunately, sometimes a prank can start out harmless enough, but then quickly turn things in a nasty and malicious direction. This happened at our school this week. 

The school's values and my pirate code were trashed along with the school as good people did nothing, standing idly by, or were involved in some way. 'Do the right thing, now' was quickly forgotten by people I liked and respected.

No amount of 'they're only teenagers' can repair the hurt delivered to some of my friends and colleagues.

The whole incident has left a sour taste to the end of the year.

So say goodbye - it's independence day (Bruce Springsteen)

Photo by Michael Barnes on Unsplash

This post is for my departing Year 13 students as they head off into their final study break on Friday and then, after external exams, onwards into the rest of their lives away from school.

According to Ryan Holiday we have two tasks in life: to be a good person and to pursue the occupation that you love. Joseph Campbell puts that second one very succinctly - 'follow your bliss'.

They're right. Everything else is a waste of energy and a squandering of your potential.

As teenagers, you're still in the learning to be a good person process. Your teenage years are a time for testing things out. Your next ten years are when you need to figure out both of those tasks for real.

Ryan's advice is worth keeping in mind as you go forth:

• Say no to distractions
• Say no to destructive emotions
• Say no to outside pressure.

I wish you all good luck as you go about figuring out how to live.