Here I sit, at my laptop, listening to music, wondering about the world. It is a miserably wet Sunday afternoon, post election. Out the window, the heavens have let forth and it is pouring down, on and off as if it can’t decide which way to go. One moment there is sun, the next…
Author: Principally Mused
The Voter – Which Type are You?
I have been wondering. Politics is an interesting beast and right now in NZ, its akin to watching a ship that keeps on crashing onto the reef. In the last week or so, I have run into a wide gambit of the public who would be placed all along the political spectrum, and some who,…
National Debt Clock – Whats Your Countries Debt?
As I type, our county owes $86,873,707,076. By the time I finish this post the country will have clocked up an extra $135 a second – thats right a second – in interest alone. It works out to be about nearly $20,000 per person. Unfortunately the debt calculator widget won’t embed itself into this…
Left or Right — What Kind of NZ Do You Want?
Politics. Love it or loathe it, all of us are caught up in the political fall out one way or another because as citizens of our country, what happens when those polls close will have an impact on us all. Some will be happy, some will be disappointed and some probably won’t care too…
The Paradox of Pseudo Consultation
This week, the Primary Teachers Union NZEI has released its results on the IES vote. 93% of teachers and principals voted they had NO CONFIDENCE in the policy. 73% voted to dismiss the policy outright rather than go back into the ‘pseudo consultation’ tent to renegotiate. In the last few days there have been…
What do I want for my child?
This election you have a choice. You can choose Neo liberal policy from the right or Child Centred policy from the left. Today I watched the Current Education Minister Hekia Parata and Education spokesperson for Labour Chris Hipkins on The Nation, go head to head. They both debated their aspirations for students in New…
Novopay – An Election Story
This week saw the announcement by the Government that the Novopay payroll system that has been nothing but trouble since it was inflicted on schools in 2012, would be ‘taken over’ by the Government. This takeover is due to take place in October. It appears that Talent2, the Australian company who won, but should…
Children Are Not Collateral Damage
War and conflict dominates our headlines lately. Every time we turn the television on, check our Facebook and Twitter feeds or spy a paper – digital or of the old fashioned, newsprint kind – war confronts us. For the most part, people like you and me (yes, you and me) generally zone out. Another war,…
The Mythology of Education – Time to Bust Some Myths
Several weeks ago Readers Digest published its 2014 Trusted Professions list. Teachers were the 11th most trusted profession, up one from the previous year. Teachers haven’t been in the top ten since 2010. Prior to that they were at least 9th. It got me wondering, why don’t the public trust us more. It really is…
What Would Kate Sheppard Do?
There has been a lot in the NZ media lately about violence against women. Most of it has been centred around the misinterpretation of the Labour leaders ‘I’m sorry for being a man‘ statement, (and subsequent backlash from what I can only imagine are men insecure with their own masculinity), and some of it…