Photo:LAWRENCE SMTH

TEACHER ANGER: The President of NZAIMS, Gary Sweeney, outlines possible action schools will be taking following their discussions with Education Minister Hekia Parata yesterday.

Education minister heckled by teachers

The New Zealand Association of Intermediate and Middle Schooling is demanding a moratorium be put in place to stop staffing cuts to front line teaching staff.

President of the NZAIM, Gary Sweeney, said this afternoon the organisation would ask all member schools to stop working with Ministry of Education initiatives until a “working relationship” with the Ministry could be restored.

He called on Education Minister Hekia Parata to put plans to cut staffing levels on hold and work with teachers to examine teaching and learning needs of New Zealand children.

Sweeney said the Ministry of Education has “broken its relationship” with intermediate and primary schools through “savagely attacking staffing levels”.

In last week’s Budget announcement, the Government said it hoped to save $43 million by increasing class sizes and improving teacher quality.

About 245 schools initially stood to lose between one and seven teachers.

The Government backed down this week after outrage from teachers and said no more than two full-time teaching staff would be lost at any school in the next three years.

MEDIA RELEASE 21 May 2012

ADHD Drug Use In Kids Cause For Concern

Family First NZ is alarmed at the number of children being prescribed drugs for hyperactivity and says that better diagnosis with second opinions and treatment of underlying problems should be the highest priority.

“The prescriptions for ADHD drugs have almost doubled in the past decade to a rate where more than 1 in 10 of our children are bring given drugs for their behavior. But we may be just drugging kids up to mask the real issues of the effects of food additives, sleep deprivation, family breakdown and stress, lack of discipline, and under-stimulation for bright children,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“Doctors are under pressure for a quick fix when counselling, better diet, firm discipline and a decent sleep pattern would be better. We are aware of children being sent to doctors where the likelihood of a prognosis of ADHD is most likely. And teachers are putting pressure on pupils or their parents to seek the medication as funding for more expensive solutions are cut.”

“Research is showing that Ritalin use is only a ‘band aid’ and may actually be harmful in the long term. A Study published in American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Journal showed that children treated with Ritalin improved their behaviour in the short term but with no lasting effects,” says Mr McCoskrie.

A 2009 Australian report from the Therapeutic Goods Administration showed at least 30 children have had severe psychotic episodes and wanted to kill themselves. Serious reactions to ADHD drugs have doubled in three years, up to 827. But the report said that the true extent of the side effects was unknown, with many doctors and parents were believed to be under-reporting.

An influential 2007 US study from the University of Buffalo also suggested long-term use of the drugs could stunt children’s growth, and that the benefits of drugs had previously been exaggerated. And a Michigan State University study published in the Journal of Health Economics found that misdiagnosis can have long-lasting effects including headaches, dizziness, and high blood pressure. The NZ Ministry of Health expressed concerns in 2010 over links to heart, brain and psychiatric disorders.

“Some experts have said that rather than drugging children, perhaps we need to give parents a good dose of parenting. Maybe all we’re doing is drugging up naughty kids rather than dealing with the reasons why they’re naughty in the first place,” says Mr McCoskrie.

While acknowledging that there are genuine cases of ADHD requiring medication, Family First believes medication should be a last resort and that at least two doctors should be consulted before any child is prescribed stimulant drugs.

ENDS

For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

Bob McCoskrie – National Director

Mob. 027 55 555 42

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

JOHN HARTEVELT

 

ROSS GIBLIN

HEKIA PARATA: Teacher – student ratios in the mid-years of education would be increased.

The Government’s move to increase class sizes has sparked immediate controversy, with accusations it will have a ”severe impact” on the quality of primary school teaching.

Education Minister Hekia Parata this morning announced the schools funding formula would change, with the student ratios in the mid-years of education changed.

Instead of the existing range of anywhere between one to 23 up to one to 29, there would be a single ratio of one to 27.5, in a change that would save about $43m per year.

Parata said about 90 per cent of schools would either gain or have a net loss of less than one full time equivalent teacher as a result of the combined effect of the changes.

“These more consistent ratios will give schools greater certainty over their resourcing from year to year,” she said.

In the last 10 years, student numbers had grown by 2.52 per cent, but teacher numbers had grown 12.76 per cent over the same period.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/budget-2012/6930082/Bigger-class-sizes-announced

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

Sex offender teacher jailed for four years

KIRSTY JOHNSTON

GRAHAME COX/Fairfax NZ

JAILED: Te Rito Henry Miki.

A sex offender who lied his way into working at six schools will spend four years in jail.

Te Rito Henry Miki, 40, was sentenced today by Judge Claire Ryan at the Auckland District Court after he was caught  deliberately evading an order designed to keep him away from children, who experts said he was likely to treat as prey.

Details of the psychologist’s assessment used to create the order, and Miki’s criminal history, can be revealed now the court case has closed.

Miki pleaded guilty in April to seven charges of using a fake CV and birth certificate to gain employment in the North Island schools, two which have won permanent name suppression.

Read more here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/6948491/Sex-offender-teacher-jailed-for-four-years

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/

The below article talks about truants in Levin being banned from the CBD during school hours.

Our home educated children are not truants. This is the schools way to try to deal with truants.

We need to be proactive and not react to this. I think we all need to prepare our children for being asked questions when in the CBD on their own during school hours. Prepare them to be polite, respectful and know what to say. If they behave well, then they will be believed and treated well, then I don’t think it should be a problem.

Update Saturday morning, 5 May: Someone just emailed a discussion group to say: “The first thing on their list is to check that the children are not homeschooled so it should not be a problem.”

Levin’s centre out of bounds for truants

MATHEW GROCOTT

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/6743351/Levins-centre-out-of-bounds-for-truants

The town’s central business district will be dubbed a truant-free zone from Monday to Friday during school hours.

Businesses in the area will be supplied with resource packs, which include posters and stickers, and guidelines to follow when they see children in town during school hours. The move is the brainchild of the Horowhenua Truancy Sub-group, set up as part of the council’s Levin Community Youth Action Plan.

The group includes representatives from the police, school principals, Neighbourhood Support and the business community.

Project manager Geraldine Grey said keeping young people in class was a priority for the Horowhenua District Council.

“We have an obligation to ensure that our young people are strong, independent and smart,” Ms Grey said.

“Only then will they be able to reach their full potential. It is not OK for students to go shopping during school time.”

Ms Grey said truant-free zones had been implemented in other New Zealand towns.

“[These have] shown some great successes with visibly fewer young people entering the zone without appropriate permission.”

School principals will monitor attendance rates to help assess the success of the plan in Levin, she said.

The zone will be in place by May 7.

– © Fairfax NZ News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Needing help for your home schooling journey:

https://hef.org.nz/2011/needing-help-for-your-home-schooling-journey-2/

And

Here are a couple of links to get you started home schooling:

https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions/

This link is motivational:
https://hef.org.nz/2012/home-schooling-what-is-it-all-about/