Learning Auckland Issue 3, 2015

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STUDENT VOICE.

Learning Auckland, established 2012 Issue 3, September 2015

content

Publisher Education Today Limited PO Box 22321, Wellington 6441 New Zealand www.educationtoday.co.nz ISSN 1175 9240 Advertising For rate card, media specs and general enquiries phone 04 499 9180 email production@educationtoday.co.nz Subscriptions Email admin@educationtoday.co.nz use subject line SUBSCRIBER or subscribe online at www.educationtoday.co.nz Annual subscriptions to Learning Auckland are $25 inc GST in New Zealand, three editions per year. Overseas rates are available on request.

01 GUEST EDITORIAL - ALICIA BAXTER 02 SOMETHING DOESN’T ADD UP 3-04 SUM OF THE PARTS - LINDA WHITTAKER 06 CHINESE LANGUAGE WEEK - JEESEaN MAH 07 YOU GO, GIRL - CAITLIN RUSHTON 08 UNIFORMS MAKETH THE STUDENT - LINDA WHITTAKER 09 PROJECT DISCONNECT - BRIELLE NIELSEN 10-11 TALENT SHAKES THE TREE 11-13 FUN WITH PHYSICS - MICHAEL SANDERS 14 FINDING THE TRIBE 15 WORLD BEATERS 16 A HAND REACHES FROM THE RUBBLE - CAITLIN RUSHTON 17 ISLAND HUSTLE - PAUL UATISONE 17 SCHOOL GOES HOME - KAYLA MCSHANE 18-21 GREAT WAR EXHIBITION 22 MOUNTAIN MADNESS SPARKS STUDY 22 MY TEACHER MOMENT 23 INTO THE UNKNOWN - COURTNEY COOPER 24 the eyes have it 24 river of controversy 25 book reviews

Cover Cover art is from Wellington screen printer Kate Spencer’s ‘Red Hook’ exhibition (2011) which depicted the gentrification of (NY) Brooklyn’s Red Hook district. The padlocks were attached by newlyweds to a bridge fence.

Kate is showing her latest architectural screenprint work ‘Europe’ at Inky Palms gallery, Karangahape Road, October 16-17 during Auckland’s Arts Week.

See www.katedianaspencer.com Learning Auckland is produced by Education Today to tie in with the Learning Auckland Accord, Whakakotahitanga te Ara Mātauranga, as part of a wide range of collaborators working together for a shared goal. Education Today and Learning Auckland are independently owned and promote creative, stimulating thoughts and ideas for the benefit of students and educators.

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EDUCATIONTODAY

GUEST editorial - september 2015 - alicia baxter

THE EDUCATION MAGAZINE OF THE FUTURE

Sharpening the pencil C

Alicia Baxter

onsonants are slashed with impulsive vigour. Words and phrases are severed at the vowels.

“We are the demi-gods of truth, arbiters of democracy, Thomas Carlyle’s crucial Fourth Estate”

The nuclear destruction of the English language is at your fingertips, the very essence of human interaction controlled by a screen. If schoolchildren in the 1960s are, are etched onto your eyes each time you as claimed, far more literate than children read an article or peer at an online news today, what price are we paying for a culfeed. We are the demi-gods of truth, ture immersing itself in technology? arbiters of democracy, Thomas Carlyle’s With every generation comes a cry that crucial Fourth Estate. It may be 1000 words teenagers are destroying the conventions on Donald trumping the Democrats, or a of society. This time the ball has fallen in single image of a baby dead on a beach. the court of technology, and the current In today’s world, news is considered old grievance dwells on the way casual lanafter 12 hours. Journalists are recognised guage used in messaging retrains the mind. by the number of clicks, shares or comThe alienation of English speakers from ments generated. But 140 characters will their native tongue has resulted in struggles with spelling, grammar and essay struggle to convey an idea, a count of ‘likes’ writing: fundamental skills every student is not necessarily a convincing argument. needs to succeed. Journalism – a career The technology marginalising our journalbuilt on language – is said to be suffering ists into an endangered species simply provides new outlets of communication. heavily in this technological age.

Our articles will always remain on top. As a Thanks to blogs and networks, reporting news is at an all-time high, coincidentally community of students, we are joined with leaving traditional journalism as a “dead a purpose to influence, to tell you how we man walking”. Or so they say. While sci- think and feel, to lend our voice and views ence and medicine are being overrun with as agents of change. We came together computers, journalism depends on human to prove the English language will not fall interaction. Our opinions and ideas flit victim to screens and touchpads. We came through your mind every morning you read with a purpose. the newspaper. Our words and thoughts Welcome to the revolution.

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STUDENT VOICE.

WRITING * ART * PHOTOS * IDEAS

We publish student writing, art, photographs and ideas. Send material to: production@educationtoday.co.nz or call 0277344756 for more details.

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STUDENT VOICE.

Something doesn’t add up

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arlier this year, controversy surrounded claims millions of dollars had been spent on the Numeracy Development Project in schools since 2001 with little to show for it.

The New Zealand Initiative’s report Un(ac) countable: Why millions on maths returned little by researcher Rose Patterson said the project, rolled out in 2001, puts too much emphasis on teaching children multiple mental strategies for solving problems and not enough on teaching the basics.

Ms Patterson said despite at least $70 million being spent on the project, maths performance has continued to decline.

“Too many children are not learning the basics off by heart at school. And, paradoxically, this is what is holding them back from developing a more complex understanding of maths,” her report said.

third of new primary teachers could not add Notes two fractions (7/18 + 1/9), and supported a vol*The New Zealand Initiative untary certificate of competency for teachers.

The New Zealand Initiative emerged in April Education Minister Hekia Parata said maths 2012 in a merger between the New Zealand had been a challenge for “generations”.

Business Roundtable and The New Zealand She said Rose Patterson’s report for the think- Institute to form a classical liberal think tank tank was only a “fresh perspective” to several in a market considered too small for two reports available on issues schools were grap- independent organisations. pling with. She would not commit to supporting • www.nzinitiative.org.nz its findings. Ms Parata said it was important to make sure children were learning basic facts *The Royal Society of New Zealand quickly but had multiple learning options avail- The Royal Society of New Zealand offers able for other maths. expert advice to government and the public, “We do have a challenge in maths, as we do in recognises excellence in research and scholarship in science, technology and humanities, reading and writing.

“This is about how we can do better; we have promotes science and technology education, not sunk to some kind of zero. We’ve got plans publishes peer-reviewed journals, administers funds for research and fosters international in place.” scientific contact and co-operation.

“I want to see maths teaching based on evidence of what works and that meets the • www.royalsociety.org.nz

Professor Gaven Martin, Royal Society of New Zealand* Vice President – Physical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Technology and need of the individual child. Clearly we could Links Engineering, said the Initiative report was a do better … investing in successful maths • View Rose Patterson report: nzinitiative.org. programmes, investing in professional develwake-up call. nz/site/nzinitiative/files/Unaccountable%20 opment, gathering evidence about what works “The Society welcomes reports which conWeb.pdf and what doesn’t.” tribute in a meaningful way to the discussion around preparing students, at all levels, for a future which will - without doubt - require stronger quantitative and analytical skills in many and varied professions,” Professor Martin said.

“High levels of literacy and numeracy will be necessary for New Zealand’s 21st century workforce to continue to deliver the quality of life we enjoy in this country.”

He said the Society agreed the need for greater balance between basic numerical skills and strategies for solving problems.

Recent studies reinforce historic problems with New Zealand children’s maths abilities. The latest, released by the Ministry of Education in May, said scores drop dramatically between ages 8 to 12, with older children failing to grasp fundamentals such as fractions and decimals.

The Ministry report also criticised the introduction of changes to maths teaching with the Numeracy Project, introduced in 2001 to move away from Victorian-era rote learning.

Rose Patterson’s report for the New Zealand Institute* claims the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction, and results had not improved.

She said the project over-complicated teaching, asking children to learn multiple methods for solving maths problems before learning basic facts, such as times tables, or written methods such as column addition.

“Relational learning is important, but so is gaining fluency in the basics and written methods, which frees up children’s working memory to develop the deeper conceptual mathematical understanding the Numeracy Project intended,” Ms Patterson said.

Her report quoted a 2010 study showing a

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STUDENT VOICE.

Sum of the parts Wainuiomata High School’s LINDA WHITTAKER questions researcher ROSE PATTERSON about her controversial study on maths teaching in New Zealand.

In a language a 14-year-old would understand, tell me briefly what you do.

I have been working in a think tank called the New Zealand Initiative and we do public policy research. We research areas like housing and education. My area is education so we have been looking into areas into how the education system works and how we can make it better.

How did you give your information for your recent report - Un(ac)countable: Why millions on maths returned little?

The reason I did the research in the first place was because a friend said her 10-year-old daughter was really struggling with maths. I was also looking into the results, internationally at the time, and seeing that New Zealand maths results were in decline. So I wondered what was going on. We decided to have a look into the numeracy programme and see what was going on there. We do desktop research.

We look at all the reports that have already been produced and compile the information and bring that all in together into one report.

Did you involve students into your research? If so, how, if not, why not?

No we didn’t. The typical model we used here at the Initiative Centre is desktop research.

We look at reports that have already been produced. We usually do our reports over four to six months. So it is a limited time. I would have loved to speak to some students about the exceptions to the numeracy programme for maths, but unfortunately it wasn’t within the script for the work we were doing.

Was your research influenced in any way by the business orientation group that sponsored it?

Yes, in a way. What usually happens is once a year the business-oriented group gets together with the researchers and we have a big discussion about what the next year or the next two years is going to look at, research-wise. They are always interested in education, and they set the direction of the research. So they say we want you to have a look into why maths education has been in decline, for example, in this case. We find out the answers to these questions. They ask the questions, but they don’t tell us what the conclusions of the research could be, or anything like that. It has been very interesting for me because a lot of the business orientated people are CEO’s of big New Zealand companies and are very interested in education. That might be because they are thinking about their future workforce.

They want people working for them who are highly skilled and have a good education.

Politically I am not sure. We had the Minister of Education launch the report for us. And she sort of agreed with parts of it and didn’t with others. But we have said all along we don’t think it requires a top down change. The problem with the numeracy project in the first place is that it was done from the top down and it was rolled out across the whole country. The solution isn’t to repeat the same mistake again and change something and roll out a new programme again or change something and roll it out across the whole country. We think individual schools throughout the country should be thinking about what we say in this report and thinking about their own local content, and adapting to suit if their results aren’t good or are in decline.

How have other educators responded to your report?

We have had a mixed response to the report.

We have had a lot of people writing letters and emails saying ‘thank you so much for writing this report. You have really shone the light on this issue, it is really important’ and we have others who disagree with the findings of the report. That is probably because different teachers at different schools are doing different things. So some schools with have the balance right between old school methods and the new school methods. The old school methods are rote learning and learning the basics off by heart and that kind of thing. The new school methods are new strategies the numeracy project encourages. It is important to have both, and some schools already have both. They are saying ‘we already have it right and how can you say the numeracy programme has failed?’

But what we are saying is across the board, across the whole country on average, maths performance has been in decline since the numeracy project has been rolled out. So, a mixed response.

Given it is fairly scathing, do you feel your report could harm students’ perception of their education?

That is a really interesting question. I think it depends on the individual student. So if you are a student out there who has been struggling with maths then maybe this report will encourage you to think about why that might be. And it might be that elements of the numeracy programme have worked for you. I think perceptions matter, but then they don’t matter because what is important is results. So it is important you have had a good education, not that you think you have a good education, if that makes sense? We are pointing out something that is a big problem and not many people are willing to go out there publically and say But I also think they might have a genuine con- that something has failed with the education cern and interest in ensuring all New Zealand‘s system. Too many people sort of get upset by children are well educated for the future. that, but actually sometimes you have to point out that things are not going right in order to fix What political impact do you feel your it, and this is about students’ education and it report had? is very important.

It had quite a big impact in the media; at least, it seems to really touch on a sore point for Do you feel the media covered the people. I think a lot of parents are concerned findings of your report with balance? about the way maths has been taught in pri- Yes and no. The very first report that came out mary schools. And so they have been asking in the papers was on the front page of The a lot of questions already. I think this report Zealand Herald which said “Report Calls for shone a spotlight on this particular issue. Back to Basics” and “Report Blames Teachers

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STUDENT VOICE.

“ I think it’s great that schools are trying their own maths programmes, seeing what works and seeing whether it has a direct impact on children’s learning”

for Letting Down Students” - something like that, and that was a very inflammatory headline to get attention. But if you actually read through the report you will see it is a lot more nuanced than that. First of all we don’t say ‘go back to basics’; we say ‘let’s get the balance right between these problem solving methods and some of the basics, and we need to put some of the basics in place’. As for teachers, we do point out teachers on balance don’t necessarily have the mathematical competency to teach the subject well, because it’s one of those subjects where you really have to understand mathematics well yourself in order to be able to teach it. But we don’t blame teachers for letting students down. But that’s just what some of the media do, but other media had a fairer representation of what the report was.

Your report claims our maths system is a failure. I am a student who has been through this system and I strongly disagree. What is your response?

As I said before, I think it depends on the individual. You feel you have had a good maths education through the numeracy project, maybe you have had a whole lot of things kind of aligned - you might have had teachers all the way through who had really good strong maths themselves and also understood not only mathematical concepts but also how to translate them into ways students can understand so they are not just abstract numbers on a page but actually mean something, and you might have had everything else in place which adds up to a good maths education. At an individual level people might have had good experiences, but what we do know is that if you look at results for maths for the whole of New Zealand over the last 15 years it has been in decline, and that has coincided with the time the numeracy project has been in place. Yes, for an individual it might not be true, but on the whole for all New Zealand students it’s not looking good. ***Linda: The following questions are from my former maths teacher Ross Soward.

How can you prove the change in teaching methods is the cause rather than an increased dependence on machines such as computers, smart phones, etc?

We can’t prove that so we don’t know for sure.

What we do know is maths results have been in decline since the numeracy project has been in place. We can never know for sure that is explained by the numeracy project, all we can say is it is kind of co-relational so the two things are happening at the same time. But your former maths teacher is right; it could be explained by a whole bunch of other things as well. We are pretty sure this is a major part of it, even with calculators and things you still need to be able to understand maths.

Do you have a control group of students who are being taught by traditional methods whose performance is markedly better?

No we don’t. Again, that is one of the problems - the numeracy project was not done as an experiment where you ask what the results are with the numeracy project in place compared with not having it in place, so you can see which is better. What we did do was to look at the results of some countries overseas.

We had a look at the top five performing countries in the international tests of comparative performance in maths. It’s always the East Asian countries that come out on top of that: Singapore, Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan; and what we find is that we can find out what kind of instructional activities the teachers are using in those classrooms. They typically spend more time learning facts and processes and learning things off by heart, whereas Kiwi kids do not spend so much time on those things. So the kids in those countries are better regurgitating knowledge and spitting out answers to questions, but they are also better at solving maths problems so they are able to free up some of their cognitive energy to be able to work on more complex maths.

Researcher Rose Patterson

well. For the PISA study of 15 year-olds what we know is that in 2009 about 16 per cent of the 15 year-olds in that study couldn’t do the kind of maths that is at the level required to be able to participate in society and function The report says the maths ability on a daily basis in supermarket shopping etc. decline has not been arrested. Could Sixteen per cent in 2009 who were not reachthis mean the decline started before ing that level increased to 23 per cent by 2012. the numeracy project and was not That was a big increase in the kids who were caused by it? really struggling. That’s just not really good No, because we had a look at maths results in enough. the mid-1990s and what was happening around that time was in all of the tests in maths and Can you suggest an alternative to the science study of year 5 and year 9 students numeracy project? and the PISA programme for international stu- No I can’t suggest a specific alternative. We dent assessment for 15 year olds results in know schools are trialling different sorts of maths and science went up in the mid to late programmes throughout the country, and 1990s, and then from 2000 it’s been in decline. hopefully what happens is that the ones that work, where they see good maths perGoing back to rote learning is like formance, those programmes will spread saying this has failed, let’s go back to organically throughout the system. The probsomething that has failed in the past. lem with the numeracy project is that it was Are you in favour of going back to rolled out across the country and results went rote learning? into decline and there was no accountability for We are definitely not saying ‘throw the baby success or failure. I think it’s great that schools out with the bathwater and go back to old are trying their own maths programmes, school methods completely’ we are just saying seeing what works and seeing whether it has some more emphasis needs to be put on a direct impact on children’s learning. some of the basic building blocks of maths that enable you to free up your cognitive energy Given most people only need to know or your working memory so you can work on how to use a spreadsheet or calculamore complex mathematical tasks. It needs to tor in order to survive in our society, do your feel those who need to be a balance of both. develop further in their maths may be Can you tell us specifically in your well served by the numeracy project? report where this decline in maths Sure. That’s a really good question. I work with ability can be seen; for instance is it spreadsheets on a daily basis looking at graphs seen in the average, the range, the and things like that and plugging numbers in quartiles or the medium? and looking at trends over time and that kind of It’s the average. If you look at Year 9 in maths thing, and to do that job I have to have a pretty and science you can see the range of perfor- good basic understanding of maths myself, so mance. So the range of performance was the if you don’t understand how percentages work narrowest in the year 2000 - that was the range you can’t do that kind of job. These tools such between the bottom performing and top per- as calculators can make calculations faster and forming students, but the average was also can do more complex calculations for you but highest at that point. That’s a really good result you still have to have a really good understandbecause you want good average performance ing of maths in order to know how to use those but a narrow gap between top and bottom tools. students so you haven’t got this big inequality of outcome, but since then the range has wid- Links ened again and the average has come down as • www.thinkingeducation.co.nz

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STUDENT VOICE. JEESEAN MAH (below) of Wellington East Girls College reports on the inaugural Chinese Language Week launched at her school recently.

This is the translation of her report, made in here in Chinese.

中文语言周 本周是新西兰一年一度的中文语言周，也是新西兰 第一次举行这一个活动。这是为了鼓励全国学生们 对中国文化和中文的了解与学习而举行的。 在九月 七日，惠灵顿东方女子中学为了提升学生们对新推出 的中文语言周的了解，邀请了130多位学习中文的学 生们来参与了一些很特殊的庆祝活动。而且惠灵顿 孔子学院还专门为我们邀请了三位非常热情的老师 来给我们的学生们学习一些关于中国的文化和历史。 活动包括剪纸，中国书法，水彩画，扇子舞，包饺 子，以及茶艺表演。学生们都参加了自己觉得有兴 趣的活动所以都玩得特别的开心。他们都学了新知 识和增加了对中国文化和传统的更深的了解。 新西兰教育部长，Hekia Parata，也在她的演讲里 说了不少学习中文的好处和中国文化在新西兰社会 的影响和重要性。她也全力以赴的参与了学生们为 这个活动而准备的 ‘小苹果’ 舞蹈。学生们有了对 中国文化和语言更深的了解不但可以对我们以后的 学习有帮助也可以带跟我们很多的社会与事业发展 机会。惠灵顿东方女子中学给学生们举办的活动也 引起了不少媒体的注意。于是我想趁这一个机会来 为惠灵顿东方女子中学感谢我们的教育部门，中国 大使馆，惠灵顿孔子学院，媒体朋友们，我们教师， 以及我们的学生为了这一次的活动给了无限的贡献 与支持。谢谢。

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ew Zealand’s first ever Chinese Language Week (September 7-13) was created to encourage students to learn more about Chinese culture and the Chinese language.

mentioned the benefits of learning Chinese and the importance and the influence of the Chinese culture on New Zealand society.

Ms Parata also enthusiastically participated in the ‘Little Apple’ flash mob prepared by On September 7, Wellington East Girls’ students.

College held an event to promote the Having a wider knowledge about the language week which involved over 130 Chinese culture and language can Chinese-learning students. benefit us in the future, socially and

The Wellington Confucius Institute had also invited three talented teachers to educate students about the culture of China and its traditions. This included paper cutting, calligraphy, traditional water colour painting, fan dancing, and dumpling making.

Students participated in the activities which appealed to them and they seemed to enjoy themselves. I hope that from this event, they are able to develop a better understanding of China’s culture and traditions.

Toward the end of the event Education Minister Hekia Parata made a speech which

economically.

The event at Wellington East Girls’ College had wide media coverage.

On behalfof Wellington East Girls’ College I would like to thank the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Embassy, other media, our staff, and our students for their invaluable contribution and support.

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STUDENT VOICE.

Yaelle matches her high-tops with trusty star-speckled denim.

Caitlin’s style is almost US West Coast in this jeans and top outfit.

You go, girl

Eru’s urban look goes a bit gangsta rap. Love the trilby.

Flanshaw Road Primary School fashion tipster CAITLIN RUSHTON empties out her wardrobe.

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very girl will beg for more jeans, shirts and shoes to make her fashion fantasy real. If you want to be the trendiest girl you know, take this advice and learn about fashion to get on with living your fashion fairy-tale.

Ok, so you know how you see on TV they have a catwalk show where all the girls strut, strut, and then strike a pose? Where they have all the fancy clothing and designs? Of course you know what I’m talking about . . . all the outfits are made by fashionista making their living, usually, as fashion designers. Maybe you be can like that one day (once you learn everything you need to know about fashion).

# 1 Styling Up Your Wardrobe If you want to learn the basics to becoming a fullon ‘chic’ person you will need to start styling up your wardrobe. (‘Chic’ is kind of a French way to say ‘stylish’).

of combining an outfit, or an image, based on the various aspects of your own personality and lifestyle.

#3 Fashion that was When your grandma, or perhaps great-grandma, was young and fashionable they had different types of fashion. The ladies wore domed bellshaped skirts, linen hats, lace frills, sometimes bone corsets to keep their waists tiny, and much more.

The guys wore matching coats, waistcoats, and trousers. Ladies and gents back in various earlier generations had a different a touch of taste to us. You will see on some shows like Lassie, The Patty Duke Show for a 60’s and 70’s look, and other shows based on the early 20th century (mostly Edwardian with amazing fabrics and elegant tailoring and detail like in Mr Selfridge) or in the 1800’s where clothes had even more tailoring and detail.

Clear everything out of your wardrobe into a pile.

You are going to go through that pile of clothes Clothes, manners and social etiquette of the ‘fops’, for example, were intricate and slightly and start making two new piles.

The first one is the ‘Don’ts’ pile, the second one ridiculous to us now. is the ‘Keep’ pile.

Once you’ve done that you’re ready to put the ‘Keeps’ back in your closet, and give the “Don’ts” to the Salvation Army for other kids that can’t afford clothing.

#2 Creating Your Own Style

Much of the clothing for the upper classes, who could afford the tailoring, was quite expressive.

Fashion trends change and the clothing gets lost, but styles are sometimes reminiscent, like the stovepipe pants and even pointy shoes that have appeared at different times for even hundreds of years.

Now you have clothes you might actually wear, We still have some of the clothing from those you can get on with finding a style suited to you. days for plays, exhibits in MOTAT and in museThe styles you create describe your personality ums and public collections, and other places and what you love. For example; if you have a cre- treasuring the traditional clothing trends we used ative and colourful personality, you could create a to have in our lives and through the ages. style colourful style that looks great on you. The Now you’ve sorted the piles and stocked your colours you choose for your outfit can describe wardrobe you’re half way to living your fashion you and your lifestyle. fairy-tale. Though I can’t tell you everything, you Just dare to be yourself and wear the clothes know as much about fashion as your friends, or expressing the unique and fabulous person you more, because you know what makes you look are. Creating your own personal style is the art good and how to express your style.

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Nyla lifts her frat jacket with a hippychic skirt and printed leggings.

STUDENT VOICE.

Uniforms maketh the student

LINDA WHITTAKER takes time out to file this story on the dress code debate which embroiled her school recently.

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tudents at Wainuiomata High School are being sent to time out for incorrect uniform. Strict rules on uniforms thrust my school into the headlines recently.

“Students at Wainuiomata High School are being removed from class and made to work in isolation if they are wearing the wrong shoes” media claimed after students showed up to school without a note justifying why they are wearing the incorrect uniform or shoes, and were sent to time out.

The headlines were accurate enough. But behind the headline, the story is more complicated. And there are good reasons the school is strict in enforcing their uniform code. There is always more than one side to every story.

One student said “It’s school. You must wear the dress code given. It’s not hard to respect the rules and have pride in our school”.

Teachers stress the importance of uniform is to teach kids to respect the rules and to follow them as they would have to do in the work force. Wainuiomata High School teacher Sarah O’Neill who was the uniform dean a few years back said “I know a builder friend who employed a young man from our school. On the second day of employment he arrived wearing sneakers and not his steel cap boots. He told his boss they were not comfortable. He got sent home for the day to correct this (just like we do). The employer rang me and asked why we don’t teach kids the importance of wearing uniform.”

Some people believe the rules are too strict. According to one media report, “one annoyed mother said taking children out of regular classes for such a breach was stupid and affected their learning.” The mother was reported saying “they shouldn’t have to go in timeout for shoes”.

What about when parents can’t afford to buy The teachers are following the rules. Reports the uniform? Over the past few years teachclaimed “Wainuiomata High School said its ers have used money from their own pocket to uniform policy was made clear when students help students whose parents that can’t afford enrolled, and the shoe guidelines were ‘fairly to buy proper school shoes and uniform items.

The school tries to help parents buy the unibroad’.” form by setting up automatic payments, or the At the school, the Board of Trustees are respon- school buys the uniform and the parents pay sible for making these decisions, and teachers the school back. Kids are sent home to get the simply have to follow the rules. Students com- correct uniform or a note to explain why they plain to teachers about how ridiculous they do not have it. think the school rules are, but even teachers But still, parents who send their kids to sechave rules they have to follow though they ondary school might know the uniform dress may not agree with the decisions being made. code but cannot always afford to buy these The ‘annoyed mother’ complaint paints items. And some students don’t bring notes Wainuiomata High School in a negative light, because they do not want to put extra financial but the media does not know the reasons stress on their parents. The teachers try getbehind the rules, nor do parents. ting hold of the parents but don’t always get a Students can wear a selection of shoes as long response. They are only sent to time out when as they are black leather, low cut, and fully cov- a parent is not able to be contacted.

u n i f o r m because they know a teacher will pull them up and send them to time out. This has a negative impact on the student’s learning because some would rather spend a day doing nothing than being in class to learn. The school staff and the Board of Trustees should think about some of the negative impacts like this one.

I am a year 13 student at Wainuiomata High School. These rules have been in place ever since I started. Yes, there are some negative reasons teachers put students in time out, but sometimes it is a parent’s fault and other times it is the student’s. I had time out recently for wearing the wrong scarf. Ironic, given I was working on this article at the time.

Parents and students need to take on board that each individual is required to wear the correct uniform because they are not only representing themselves, they are representing school and should show pride.

Teachers at Wainuiomata High School are not trying to stop the students from learning, but to teach them that they need to follow the ered. Several students I asked said they have Another student interviewed for this article said school rules, so when they leave school it never had problem with following the school “kids who get sent to time out for the day ask for doesn’t become a shock for them as they enter it”. Some students choose to wear the incorrect the work force. rules and wearing the correct items.

“Have you got your shoes on the wrong feet?

No, Miss, these are the only feet I have.”

Linda Whittaker

i EducationToday.co.nz

Links • www.wainuiomatahigh.school.nz/ • Quote source: www.stuff.co.nz/ dominion-post/news/70676950/ students-given-timeouts-at-wainuiomatahigh-school-for-incorrect-shoes

Project Disconnect

STUDENT VOICE.

BRIELLE NIELSEN at Flanshaw Road Primary School reports on a bold move by her classmates to de-tech their lives for a month.

I

f someone asked you to go without tech for a so much. Most had a good reason like helping week, what would you say? their nanas and aunties use their phones (email Kahikatea class at Flanshaw Road Primary way better than the messaging pigeon, I told School tried this difficult challenge. We first got my nana) and some just could not stay without the idea when the Potters reading group were their tech. reading from the Guardian Weekly about the The one rule was no tech for a week, and if you disconnect project and how techy teens coped broke this rule you failed the tech challenge. without tech for a month. Unfortunately, our You needed to record the ups and downs of teacher Mrs Lowe liked the idea, which was the challenge. If you lasted the week you combad news for us students. pleted the disconnect project and there was a Half the class were not happy about this mad prize waiting for you. decision while the other half were quite excited The students shown here took the challenge. to do it. But the big question was – can we go a The first two boys completed it, the next two week with no tech? were on and off their devices all week and the Some in the class were successful, others not next two didn’t do so well.

vox pops

It was interesting some people missed out on family time during the challenge because the family were connected on Minecraft and laughing at dad’s mistakes on a game.

So was the tech challenge as good as Mrs Lowe said it was? Well . . .

Sara Mirza

Toa Rangiwhetu Overall, what did you think of the disconnect project? It was terrible and hard because I love tech . . . hard and harder, it was impossible.

Why so hard? Because I love tech games and I’m addicted to them.

Overall, what did you think of the disconnect project? During the test, very boring. My brother was being mean to me about it.

Why so hard? It was not hard. In fact it was easy, apart from the part where my brothers were shoving their tablets in my face to tease me.

Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge? No, because I missed out on lots and lots of family time. It was horrible.

Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge? No, it was the maddest thing Mrs Lowe had done.

Langi Halapua Overall, what did you think of the disconnect project? It was so easy; it was a piece of cake.

Was it hard at all? My sisters and brothers were showing off there tech and I was left out.

Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge? Yeah, it was a big improvement because I stopped tech from taking over my brain.

Aashia Kumar What did you think of the disconnect project? It was not that hard because I’m only on tech on the weekend.

Why so hard? I was in my room while my sister and brother were watching TV. Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge?

I was happier without tech because I loved it and I was missing out on family time.

James Stock What did you think of the disconnect project?

It was ok, not too hard during the tech.

Why so hard?

It’s my life I have a routine of TV. Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge? No, but it got me reading and got me outside on my scooter.

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Jordan White What did you think of the disconnect project? Horrible, just horrible. Tempting and annoying because I love tech.

Why so hard?

I love tech, I hated the challenge.

Were there any benefits from doing the tech challenge? Absolutely not, it was a terribly terrible challenge.

innovation

Talent shakes the tree A

treehouse platform for kids to build architectural wonders in their backyard won a Kiwi inventor the top prize earlier this year in the New Zealand leg of the fifteenth James Dyson Award, a global product design competition inspiring the next generation of design engineers.

“my design is intended to connect people back to nature and encourage kids to spend more time in the outdoors”

Jason Khoo, pictured at right, a 24-year-old industrial design graduate from Massey University, designed a pre-built foundation for a tree house that can be easily mounted without going through the labour of traditional building methods. It retains the fun of a DIY project, without causing harm to the tree.

Jason took a prize of $5,200 to help commercialise his invention.

His design eliminates the need for a bespoke permanent attachment when building tree houses, allowing the Tree Mount to be relocated. The bracket mount is supplied while families can create their own designs and source treehouse materials.

“I spent my childhood riding bikes and climbing trees. Now society is too busy and technology is now limiting self-time. I hope Tree Mount will counter this by giving people a purpose for taking time out to enjoy nature, use their creative minds and build something with their hands.

“I’m really interested in how design can utilise new technologies for products that can be used in nature, while still retaining a level of craftsmanship,” Jason said.

Five New Zealand entries, including Jason’s design and two runner up products, progress to the international James Dyson Award competition and a chance for the grand winner’s prize of $67,000 to put towards commercialising the idea, plus another $11,000 for the designer’s university.

The international winner will be selected by inventor of the bagless vacuum, James Dyson and announced on 10 November 2015.

Treehouse platform by Jason Khoo.

The NZ Runners-up • Triple Skin BMX Helmet by Wellington designer, Philip Leyten Twenty four year old Massey University design graduate with honours, Philip Leyton, left, designed the Triple Skin BMX Helmet after seeing riders at the bike park risk head injury from incorrectly wearing their traditional helmets or not wearing one at all.

He said there was an issue for current helmets to be ill-fitting or lacking in style, an important consideration for BMX riders. His solution is a onesize-fits-all helmet that utilises a tension system so wearers can fully adjust the shape of his ventilated design to their head. It also features a segmented design, allowing each segment to move on impact through a three-stage system. The outer shell disperses the main impact, moving to absorb energy and dampening the force while minimising any rotational force. The styrene middle layer absorbs the major force, with an EVA foam layer to take on any dregs. The helmet overcomes some of the existing stigmas and the physical discomfort associated with wearing helmets in this sport. It uses a new system where the helmet conforms to the shape of the users head through a segmented approach.

Triple Skin BMX Helmet by Philip Leyten.

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Bound by 8 by Emma Warren.

• Bound by 8 by Wairarapa designer, Emma Warren In researching her materials, Emma discovered New Zealand has an abunEmma Warren, above, a 24 year old industrial design graduate from dance of wool by-product from the meat industry, the natural resource barely bringing any returns to the grower. Her research found there are Massey University designed Bound by 8, a sustainable shoe made from twenty seven steps of manufacture and multiple vendors in between the only natural latex and wool. grower and the consumer, making wool supply a convoluted process.

Challenged by fast fashion footwear which uses harmful plastics and Now working as a bespoke shoe designer in Sydney, Emma says her synthetic derived materials, Emma sought to create a long lasting shoe design requires no glue, instead using the adhesive nature of wool felt made only of natural materials from New Zealand, while reviving the to attach the shoe’s elements. Bound by 8 reduces the number of steps in the exhaustive supply chain. craft of shoe making.

Fun with physics

Science Comic Po ster

T

he Everyday Physics comic poster pullout of pages 12-13 was made

by Education Today’s regular cartoonist, Hutt International Boys School Year 9 student Michael Sanders to introduce physics to those who may not have an interest in this subject.

The focus is on motion and shows how an understanding of physics can be used to work out problems. Physics isn’t always complicated and can be fun.

The comic discusses how to calculate speed, whether for a dropped can or a moving car. If you want to learn more, you could also look up acceleration.

The dropping of the can from the top of the Sky Tower (panel 12) is similar to an experiment proposed by Galileo. The dropping of two balls of different weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa would show that the two balls would fall at the same speed.

The diagram in panel 2 shows a light cone - the path that a flash of light, emanating from a single event (localized to a single point in space and a single moment in time) and traveling in all directions, would take through spacetime. It was used as an example of a complicated concept in physics.

Links

• Speed - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed • Acceleration - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acceleration • Galileo’s Leaning Tower of Pisa experiment - https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Galileo%27s_Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa_experiment • A good explanation can be found on the Wikipedia, light cone page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_cone

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Comic Artist Michael Sanders

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innovation

Finding the tribe

M

assey High School’s Nicholas Kondal curriculum. The winners were exposed to not “It does this by exposing them to the discourses, may have found his tribe, and it’s only the overseas competition, but also an inter- habits and workings of scientists by expanding international. national conference hosting the international their experiences beyond school science. This competition.

Here they met top scientists and paves the way to a fuller participation in the A sense of belonging and identity as a scienfuture.” tist are some of the benefits of success in the heard research presentations.

annual Brain Bee Challenge, according to new “There were multiple benefits at a personal “They already aspired to advanced education, research from the University of Auckland. level and by taking part at that level, they were but had not decided what degree they will One of the study participants summed this up: exposed to the international scientific com- take,” he said. munity and other bright students,” Professor “It was like I found my tribe.”

“This study suggests enabling personal develNicholson said.

Brain Bee Challenge is a quiz-based internaopment and stimulating the development of tional neuroscience outreach for high school “The recognition by peers is integral to them a science identity encourages these young students. In New Zealand, a North Island developing their scientific identity, and we students to advance their science education regional and South Island regional competition found that what was most important to them beyond school.” is run mid-year with the two winners going to was the experience integral to developing a Nicholas said he’s not sure whether he will go sense of self.” the Australasian competition. on to study neuroscience, but he will definitely The research was led by neuroscien- “The strong sense of belonging and feeling like be studying the Sciences and is “keeping his tist Professor Louise Nicholson from the a scientist coming through in the study was a options open”. This year he’s Year 12 and studUniversity’s Centre for Brain Research surprise to me,” she said. ying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics and Associate Professor Mark Barrow, the “They are all very bright and able students and and English.

Associate Dean (Academic) for the Faculty of because of that, they can sometimes be marLinks Medical and Health Sciences with Dr Megan ginalised at college.

Dowie, a past student and post-doctoral fellow “This experience showed them there are others • www.bbc.ac.nz from the Centre for Brain Research. with a love of science and It was published recently in The Neuroscientist and coincided with the 2015 International Brain Bee Challenge held in Cairns where New Zealand representative (and winner of the NZ Challenge) Nicholas Kondal from Massey High School in West Auckland earned fourth place overall and first in the brain anatomy section.

book learning, and they realised they were not alone.”

All the winners interviewed already had an interest in science before they took part in the Brain Bee, and either a parent or teacher had sug“We looked at how successful involvement gested they take part. Many in the Brain Bee Challenge influenced educa- had taken part because tional choices,” Professor Nicholson said. they were competitive and They interviewed seven past winners of the wanted to try something new.

Auckland regional Brain Bee Challenge. These Four themes involved in parstudents went on to be the national Brain Bee ticipation in the Brain Bee winners and attended the International Brain Challenge emerged in the Bee competition. study; self-directed learn“Engaging young people with science is essen- ing – “That chance to try tial to ensuring a scientifically literate society,” and wrap your head around difficult concepts”; meeting Professor Nicholson said. like-minded individuals and “It’s also important to enable access to a variety joining a community – “It was of sciences during adolescence, when indilike I had found my tribe”; the viduals are making decisions about their future steering influence – “I guess educational and career paths.” it steered me more than “We interviewed seven past winners, five male convinced me [towards sciand two female, who took part in the north- ence]”; increased confidence ern competition between 2007 and 2013,” – “It kind of gave me the courProfessor Nicholson said. age to apply for other things”.

“We wanted to determine what influence “By increasing these high this exposure to the scientific research envi- achievers’ awareness of ronment had on the highest achievers’ later research processes early in choices in education, their career expectations, their academic journeys, the and their perspectives toward science.”

Brain Bee Challenge helps The themes identified highlighted the value develop their sense of idenof research institution-led outreach activities tity,” Associate Professor that extend high achievers beyond the school Mark Barrow said.

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World beaters

innovation

“It’s a good feeling to be placed in the top ten following the New Zealand final, (in which in the world,” says Year 12 Avondale College Avondale students won 11 of the top 12 student Azizul Islam. places) six of these international competitors “And now we really want to strive to do even were from Avondale College.

to strength, “ Paul said.

“And not by learning productivity tools or even other technologies, but by relishing the chance to think. This is having a heartwarming and better next year.”

Unlike many of their competitors who spend profound effect on shaping their values, skills, and importantly, how they see the world.”

Azizul and two fellow students have beaten many months of intense preparation in the lead up to the event, these kiwi world-beatMaking it to the top is never without its more than half a million competitors from ers hadn’t come through an official Microsoft dramas: a change to quota rules meant with around the globe to place in the top ten in the only two weeks to go, the Avondale students world finals of the Microsoft Office Specialist course. championships – for the second year in a row. Instead, the Avondale students were part found they couldn’t compete in their preferred application. Then a lightning strike to their Ellen Greenly (18) came ninth in Microsoft of the college’s ground-breaking Innovation plane delayed their flight to the US, leading to Word 2010; Azizul Islam (16) placed ninth in Programme, where Microsoft applications are a mad dash to ensure connecting flights were PowerPoint 210; and Di Kun Ong (16), ninth in part of the platforms they use every day to boarded with only minutes to spare. solve real-world challenges.

PowerPoint 2013.

The students took it all in their stride - perTeacher Paul McClean attributes the students’ This year the competition attracted more than forming well under the intense exam-room 600,000 competitors from 145 countries, success to their ability to think holistically and pressure; connecting with other students from including many from universities and other apply intuitive and creative solutions to com- around the world; or sprinting from location tertiary providers. Only 145 of the world’s best plex problems while under pressure. to location in a once-in-a-lifetime sightseeing made it to the finals in Dallas in August – and “These astonishing kids are going from strength spree.

Levelling the playing field Professor Cindy Kiro has spent dec- equity and excellence in education for all. ades improving the academic and “Students from low decile schools are more social outcomes of young people. likely to leave school with no formal qualificaProfessor Kiro (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine) was New tions and are under-represented in tertiary level Zealand’s first woman and Māori Children’s education programmes,” Professor Kiro said.

Commissioner. She is now director of the “This reinforces disparities in educational University of Auckland’s Starpath Project and achievement within schools and between high also ‘Te Tumu’ – responsible for Māori/indig- and low decile schools and poses high risks to enous education at the university’s Faculty of our nation’s prosperity and social cohesion.

Education and Social Work.

“We need effective voca-

The Starpath Project has sought to improve the educational aspirations and achievements of secondary students from high poverty communities in Auckland and Northland over the past 10 years.

In a public lecture recently, Professor Kiro identified the elements of the Starpath approach and examined any differences that have been made and how we might learn to address the broader issues associated with

But there is still much work to be done. The issues of educational inequality were highlighted in a recent OECD report acknowledging New Zealand’s education success, and underlining the need to address educational inequality.

The report confirmed while educational attainment has been rising for all groups, rates remain considerably lower for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and/or of Māori or Pacifica ethnicity.

“Every child deserves access to a quality education so they can have the best start in life.

It benefits not only the children we help, but society as well.

tional pathways and successful school-tertiary transitions for all our children.”

The Starpath project has worked with 39 secondary schools in Auckland and Northland to address barriers to these students’ educational success. “There is so much that we can learn from look The project has made a measureable dif- ing across health and welfare to education and ference in the educational achievements of beyond. Strong Māori and Pāsifika idenities many Māori and Pacific Island students and also have a critical role to play in shaping better others from low decile secondary schools educational and health outcomes for children through an intensive whole of school approach. who are catching-up academically.”

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STUDENT VOICE.

A hand reaches from the rubble

CAITLIN RUSHTON at Flanshaw Road Primary School reminds everyone of the need to care, and keep on caring.

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materials. Whenever an earthquake hits Nepal, the disaster still on TV and in newspapers and there’s going to be lots of collapsing buildings. social media, is critical. But then there is the It’s just how Nepal’s infrastructure is. need to follow-up with help, sometimes for Flanshaw Road School had a student teacher years, to rebuild. Visiting the area and volunThe 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal’s called Sophie Gallagher around that time, teering can also be an amazing experience, capital, Kathmandu, in April sent tremors as far who had a friend in Nepal whose house got according to students who have done this. as Pakistan. At least 1,805 people were killed, demolished during the earthquake. Flanshaw Imagine you’re sitting on your couch when all instantly, about 14,500 injured, and more than raised over $600, enough to rebuild at least six of a sudden . . . SMASH! Your glass closet falls half a million homes demolished. houses (around a quarter of what we wanted and everything else breaks. You’re trying to Disasters like this leave people struggling to to raise, but it was still enough and we were get to the hallway or any other safe place but you’re trapped underneath a heap of rubble. avoid starving or freezing to death. Just as quite proud of it). people thought the quakes were over, another Schools, colleges and universities can take You would probably die if there was nobody to hit and tremors continued. Everyone in Nepal these opportunities and help Nepal become a help you as soon as possible. feels endangered and unsafe. safe place again for the Nepalese, and in any During disasters like earthquakes relatives Lots of families were in need of food and water. disaster anywhere in the world. We should are lost, children lose their parents – can we never tire of giving, whether the disaster is over imagine how heart-breaking that feels? I can’t.

The death toll reached more than 10,000. our back fence, such as we saw in Christchurch I still have my parents, but some Nepalese A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit near Mount kids would have now lost relatives, parents, Everest in May after the 7.8 shudder. Over in 2011, or elsewhere in the world.

8,000 people were killed, at least 18,000 injured Roads need repairing and buildings have siblings, grandparents, the people you love so and hundreds of homes destroyed. Snow tum- collapsed on people. Tsunami damage, for much you don’t want to ever let them go. bled down Mount Everest in avalanches and example, is horrendous; bushfire damage can In Auckland we’re pretty lucky because we killed dozens of people. Families needed emer- be extreme; we can all make a change and help don’t have disasters like earthquakes, although gency tents and money for houses to be rebuilt. repair homes, and lives, and feel proud we’ve they can strike almost anywhere. When we live free from disasters, we can show our gratiNepal’s man-made environment is badly flawed helped families and communities in need. hattered families, shattered homes, and poor kids suffering from diseases and sicknesses like hypothermia, dehydration, and hunger.

and it is hard to find earthquake-safe building The first response with emergency aid, with tude by helping those who do not.

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STUDENT VOICE.

Island hustle

My parents came from the islands for a better life Something that is often hard to find Raising three children in a world different to theirs With mostly the virtues of love and care There’s never been a day where I have slept starving While they are hustling This is what I call the island hustle Not to discourage people of other ethnic influences But I appreciate how my parents use their affluence You provided me with food, clothing and a house Your love is something I’d never ever doubt One day, I will make you proud I will have your names echoed throughout crowds People will look to you as the parents of success There’s no object I could buy to repay your love Mum, how about a fancy dress?

Dad, how about a car?

In South Auckland, there’s only one way To try or to fail There’s kids to feed and bills to pay Making ends meet or the house goes up for sale But it ain’t about the struggle It’s how we persevere It’s about we make it all work We do it together without any fear Fear of disappointment, fear of failure Here’s the doubts that surround me But I thank the Lord for bringing me here And I therefore put my trust in thee Because at the end of the day All you gotta day is give thanks Life may be a mystery and sometimes a complicated puzzle But live life to the fullest because this is the island hustle

Poet Paul Uatisone & Artwork by Grevel Lam Sam, Otahuhu College

School goes home KAYLA McShane from Flanshaw Road Primary School opens the discussion on homework.

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ome children hate homework and some children love it. The children that hate it don’t realise it helps them keep growing and growing in their learning.

One teacher at our school said homework was also valuable because families and parents can see what their children are learning at school, and children can practise what they are learning at school, at home.

Homework is work except it’s at home I also asked the teacher if she would give chilextended learning at home. dren all learning from school to do at home, or Some teachers are so nice they either don’t if she would throw in a few word games. She give students any homework or they make fun said children should have a few word games in and games so they don’t learn much their homework to exercise their brain.

Other teachers are so strict they give too much I asked students what they thought of homehomework which is way above the students’ work. One of them said homework can help people improve their understanding of things level and expect them to complete it.

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in the world and improve talent and skill.

The same student said it can also waste time and effort if they have more important things to do. Another said he only liked homework when he was in the right mood.

I think everyone can have a say in what homework gets handed out.

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great war exhibition

Stunning display captures conflict S

Oska and Ron started the museum tour in a calm European street setting in 1914. The exhibition gradually reveals the experiences of conscription and leaving loved ones behind to “I wanted to tell it from the point of view of the sail for war, before immersing visitors in recrepeople who were there, who were just doing ations of battle scenes, including life-size tanks Ron, from Taranaki, was visiting his grand- what they were told, really,” the acclaimed and weapons. son when the pair decided looking over the filmmaker said.

The peculiar ‘celebration’ of men marching off dynamic and realistic exhibition was worth an He was helped in this by his colleagues to war is soon replaced by the horror and clameducational afternoon off school. at Wingnut Films and the famous Weta our of the battlefield, the rolling thunder and Sir Peter provided ‘creative genius’ and exper- Workshops over three months of work to put thump of heavy guns, the grind of tanks and tise for the $10 million project to tell the story the exhibition in place, including lifting wartime rattle of rifles and small arms. ir Peter Jackson’s Great War Exhibition at Wellington’s old Dominion Museum proved an enjoyable and informative outing for 11-year-old Thorndon Primary School student Oska Spencer and his grandfather Ron recently.

“It’s not an anti-war museum, it’s certainly not a glorifying war museum. It is just showing the reality,” Sir Peter told other media soon after the opening earlier this year.

of World War 1 from its pre-1914 origins to the vehicles and artillery pieces in through the roof Items and uniforms donated by war museTreaty of Versailles in 1919, honouring the role of the old museum in central Wellington with ums in France and Belgium lend depth to the many Kiwis played in striking display tableau. many weapons, vehicles and uniforms from Sir a crane.

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great war exhibition

The Great War was not fought in black & white, a new exhibition tells the story from its pre-1914 origins to the Treaty of Versaille in colour. Pictured on previous page, from left to right; men trapped in the trench as the tank runs over the top – amazing real-life tableau at the Great War Exhibition; Ron sees how gas warfare reared its ugly head in the massive European battlefields; Ron and Oska get a close look at weapons used in the historic conflict.

On this page, at top, conscription attracted thousands of young men to duty in the Great War, many still in their teens, only a few years older than Oska; above left Oska and Ron take in the realistic WWI tank overrunning a trench (previous page far left) with a cutaway made by Sir Peter Jackson’s team showing life inside the behemoth war machine; above right, no effort has been spared to create stark, lifesize and realistic settings in the WWI exhibition created by Sir Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshops and Wingnut Films.

Peter’s personal collection. Sir Peter said many young people won’t read “stuffy history books” and while the exhibition “is not designed for kids” he wanted to capture their interest in this part of the country’s history.

He said ensuring the entire exhibition was completed in full colour was deliberate, to digress and lend realism to the recorded history of the Great War which, owing to the photography of the time, was remembered in black and white.

years to reflect key periods during World War I. “I thought it was amazing. It was cool to see the The New Zealand Room opened on Anzac Day exhibition with my granddad too.” to tell the story of the Gallipoli landings with About $10m has been spent on the proa detailed look at New Zealand’s role in that ject to date; $7m from taxpayers, $2m from campaign.

Wellington City Council and the remainder Another recent addition, the Trench Exhibition from private sponsors. gives a close-up experience of trench warfare with the sounds and smells of where thousands of men lived, fought and died.

School visits are booked almost every day until “The soldiers didn’t experience a black and March next year, with about 500,000 people white war,” he said, wanting people to be able expected to visit during its first year. to see the war in colour “as soldiers saw it”. “I really enjoyed the giant battlefield of Gallipoli,” The exhibition will evolve over the next four Oska told Education Today.

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Links Google Great War Exhibition time lapse footage to see a crane lifting heavy items into the museum.

• www.greatwarexhibition.nz/

great war exhibition

Thorndon Primary School’s Oska Spencer, 11, and grandfather Ron Spencer of Taranaki at the Great War Exhibition, created by Sir Peter Jackson’s Weta Workshops and Wingnut Films, at Wellington’s old Dominion Museum.

Pictured here: Above left, work and play... an Australian stands guard while listening to a gramophone, Gallipoli, 1915; top, dinner time for the flies at Gallipoli, 1917; above centre, Maori soldiers of the Pioneer Battalion lay timber to cross a quagmire near Ypres, Belgium, 1917; above far right, close to the end, British soldiers find amusement amid the madness of war; Cambrai, October 11 1918 (Great War Exhibition photo); left, the Great War Exhibition morphs into its Gallipoli segment where Oska and grandfather Ron discover the detailed Chunuk Bair tableau; right, a peaceful European village setting just before the war; far right, gruelling and cramped privation in the WWI trenches, brought to life for visitors to the extraordinary exhibition.

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Fun class time wins top prize

Jaelynn Kim with Campbells Bay Primary School principal John McGowan and teacher Caitlin Richardson.

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10-year-old girl’s admiration for her a subject from the TCool sheet.

“The pupils are really growing in maturity and teacher has won $5000 in computer The style of learning means the children get the modern learning environment is helping equipment for her school. to take charge of their learning on a daily basis them become mature and confident learners,” Campbells Bay School pupil Jaelynn Kim made by picking what order they take their subjects. she said. the video for the University of Auckland’s Jaelynn’s video also posted positive messages “I am incredibly passionate about my vocation, #MyTeacherMoment campaign, and 743 about Mrs Richardson and school life against a I don’t consider it a career I consider it a vocapublic votes made it the prize winner. backdrop of moving sketches including a danc- tion – to hear first-hand its inspired children is Jaelynn used an app called iMovie to make her ing hamburger, ghetto-blaster and beach ball. the best reward you can get.” video which gave her the ability to use moving Jaelynn is now considering becoming a sketches and images to describe her teacher, teacher, and is also thinking about following a Mrs Caitlin Richardson. path into fashion design.

“She’s really cool and funny and she’s really As well as her lessons Jaelynn also enjoys nice. She makes learning really fun,” Jaelynn playing tennis and netball, especially if she said. gets to play her favourite positions of centre The video describes how Mrs Richardson and or goal attack.

Campbells Bay principal John McGowan said he wasn’t surprised Mrs Richardson received such praise from Jaelynn and the other students who entered the competition.

“Caitlin is a vibrant, energetic ‘go getter’ who never leaves a stone unturned if it will benefit her students.”

the class invented ‘TCool’, a system where the Mrs Richardson was pleased Jaelynn high- To view Jaelynn’s winning entry, and others, go to www.topoftheclass.ac.nz pupils work together to plan lessons by picking lighted the TCool class system.

Mountain madness sparks study Dr Mike Lloyd rode the Port Hills track, the scene of a ‘cycle rage’ incident in 2012, and said the short, fast nature of the track seems a significant factor in the event.

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Dr Lloyd says that if either of the riders had between mountain bikers, and notes similaristopped their bike earlier it would have short- ties with surf rage. ened the interaction which lead to the cycle “Surf rage occurs when someone interrupts rage, but this would also have interrupted the a ride on a specific wave but unlike a wave, mountain bike tracks do not disappear after a Dr Mike Lloyd from Victoria’s School of Social flow of the ride. and Cultural Studies initially saw the footage “The two riders in the dispute seem to display ride.” of the Canterbury incident online and used it a classic masculinist one-upmanship which With both mountain biking and surfing, there during a lecture. led to violence and perhaps the first recorded are unwritten rules of etiquette and tempers rise when these rules are broken.

However, the level of conflict in the video— instance of mountain bike rage.” highly publicised 2012 incident on a mountain bike track in Canterbury’s Port Hills has prompted a Victoria University of Wellington academic to research cycle rage.

which captures an escalating argument Although there has been quite a bit of research between former national mountain champion on cycling and road rage, Dr Lloyd says he Aaron Dalton, 45, and Jordan Brizzell, 24 — knows of no published study on cycle rage piqued Dr Lloyd’s attention and he decided to do an in-depth analysis of the footage.

“It was an interesting video to analyse because the footage was available publicly and people were familiar with it because it went viral.

“I looked at the moments of interaction between the two cyclists and how the fight arose—it all eventuated from slight breaches in norms of interaction.”

“With both mountain biking and surfing, there are unwritten rules of etiquette and tempers rise when these rules are broken” 2@ EducationToday.co.nz

“In this case, the rule that one rider invokes is ‘slower riders should let faster riders pass’, but that very same rider breaks the ‘ride safely’ rule by tailgating. It is no simple matter how these unwritten rules are to be turned into actions” He has also used the footage in a course on emotions as he believes the issues it raises are something a lot of people can relate to.

Dalton was fined $750 over the incident, filmed on Brizzell’s helmet camera.

Link

• www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzAG7ALbPac

STUDENT VOICE.

Into the unknown Wellington East Girls’ College Year 12 student COURTNEY COOPER started what she hopes will be a life of travel and adventure with an eye-opening journey in South America.

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aving hard for about a year and a half, racking up a huge bill at Kathmandu and waiting in anticipation came to fruition for me and ten of my friends recently, with a month of totally new and slightly intimidating experiences.

This is the part of the trip separates itself from welcomed while we were eating, working and the rest because it was unlike anything I’ve living with them. ever done before.

The people of Los Pocitos taught me and the Our mission there was to help out the commu- rest of my group unforgettable values and prenity in a way that would affect their lives in the sented us with experiences we will carry with most positive way as possible, so we figured us forever.

I was part of World Challenge, an organisa- what better way to do that than to help out in tion giving college students the opportunity the heart of their community; the school. to travel and explore developing countries We spent days repainting and reviving their through trekking, helping a small community classrooms, we fixed their broken playgrounds and being the all-around ultimate back packer. and repainted it with bright exciting colours,

“I believe it has helped develop the process of discovering myself.”

We went to two destinations I had known replaced their makeshift soccer goals made almost nothing about - Costa Rica and out of sticks with brand new metal ones and This month-long journey of eye opening experiNicaragua. also provided them with new learning equip- ences was the most fulfilling thing I have ever With only a tiny knowledge of Spanish, I was ment like stationary. done and has sparked my desire to travel and thrown into the deep end.

We made an additional contribution, this time see the world. It has equipped me with life What makes a trip with World Challenge so not restricted to the school but for the better- skills and lessons beyond what most people unique and different from the average school ment of the whole community – we donated my age have, and I believe it has helped trip is that this was almost completely led by over $1000 which, for the families living in tin develop the process of discovering myself. us students. The only things pre-booked for houses, could do tremendous things. us was our flights and first and last nights’ My time in Los Pocitos was the most rewardaccommodation. ing and enjoyable time I’ve ever had. The s soon as we landed in San Jose, capital citizens of Los Pocitos are some of the most city of Costa Rica, we haggled (with the amazing people I have ever met. few Spanish phrases we knew) for two vans to etting to make a contribution to their lives drive us to a hostel in the city. Tick. that was our was and still is an incredible feeling, evevery first hump in the road and we overcame it ryone there was so happy despite having so with minimal stress and surprising ease. little. They worked hard and loved everyone Our month was filled with organising our own around them effortlessly, and made us feel so

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accommodation, transport, activities, and meals, each presenting us with different levels of stress and discomfort. We traveled for hours on busses piled inside and out with people, we camped in back yards when we could find nowhere to stay and we ate an unreasonable amount of rice, beans and tortillas.

After weeks of thrilling and exhilarating activities the longest zip wire in Latin America, ash boarding down the side of a volcano, swimming in the warmest waters at the most beautiful beaches I’ve been to, whitewater rafting and hiking up volcanoes at one in the morning to see the sun rise over the local city; we made our way to Los Pocitos, a small village community located in Leon, the capital of Nicaragua.

Wellington East Girls College adventurer Courtney Cooper learns to make tortillas in South America, left; and above, Courtney’s experiences included working on a school at Los Pocitos, Nicaragua, which she considered the most rewarding and enjoyable time of all.

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The eyes have it

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housands of Kiwi children may have undiagnosed eye conditions according to optometrist Jenny Stewart.

news

Optometrist Jenny Stewart conducts an eye test with a school student.

“there are potentially thousands of Kiwi children whose learning may be impaired due to eyesight issues”

A pilot study at decile one Flaxmere Primary School at Hawkes Bay found 42 per cent of together properly.

Ms Stewart said kids with vision problems year 4-7 students suffered from a range of conditions including high myopia and hyperopia “These students would have difficulty con- such as latent long sightedness can easily get which were referred for further examination. centrating on written material after just a few labelled as lazy or seen as difficult in class.

“This is a real shame as often it can be down to Experts are concerned the problem is more minutes. widespread with thousands of Kiwi children “If these findings are extrapolated out through eyesight issues which haven’t been picked up from poorer communities at risk of undiag- the more than 227,000 children aged 9-12 in - as their eyes can compensate for the vision nosed eye conditions. the rest of country, it means there are poten- issue to some degree but the child can have some underlying discomfort which can put Optometrist Jenny Stewart said while there tially thousands of Kiwi children whose learning them off reading. was a current screening programme for chil- may be impaired due to eyesight issues.

“I have had parents tell me their child is comdren in their first week of school, children’s “The current screening covers general visual eyes were not sufficiently matured until acuity but won’t detect near vision or functional pletely different since having their eye sight between the ages of 9-12, when specialists problems - effectively missing out on what we picked up.” were able to pick up additional eye conditions. call the learning vision,” Ms Stewart said.

She said for those with a Community Services “The early results of the pilot study have been As part of a charitable initiative funded by card, screening was subsidised for children concerning. With such a high proportion of the Essilor Vision Foundation, children were aged under 16. those tested exhibiting symptoms of eye condition, we believe many of these children have been coping with a significant barrier to their learning,” Ms Stewart said.

screened for a wide range of conditions using With around 80 per cent of school education specialised equipment. material presented visually, children only get Children were tested for distance and near one chance at school to get a good education.

vision, whether long or short sighted, astigma- The Essilor Vision Foundation plans to continue “In particular, we found a large number of cases tism, colour vision, and near phoria - whether the eye screening initiative in other parts of New Zealand. where the child’s eyes were not tracking the eyes turn inwards or outwards.

River of controversy

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2$ EducationToday.co.nz

LINKS • www.booksellers.co.nz • www.censorship.govt.nz

eacher Angela Fitchett, writing in the unrealistic to believe teenagers can be shielded Author Ted Dawes said his publisher, Penguin, Nelson Mail, said she didn’t like the from sexually explicit material,” she said and school libraries, which were generally supexplicit sexual content in the award-win- “This metaphorical horse has bolted through the portive of the novel under the R14 restriction, ning novel Into the River by Ted Dawe. gate and is now so far over the horizon that not were discussing what they could do next.

“I won’t be recommending it to any of my stu- one flick of its tail remains visible. Any teenager He said the book was trying to reach out to dents on the grounds of literary merit either,” with access to the internet is one click away teenagers – particularly boys – who would not Ms Fitchett said. from everything. normally read.

The Film and Literature Board of Review has “As an English teacher, dealing with literature, issued an interim restriction order for access ideas and issues, it is obvious most of the here are approximately 1300 titles which to Into the River. This means the young adult students I teach have seen almost everything. are ‘objectionable’ (banned) in New novel which won the annual New Zealand Post Teenagers are curious - the urge to find out, Zealand. Approximately 1225 were classiChildren’s Book Award in 2013 cannot be sold especially about the ‘adult’ world they’re prefied as indecent by the Indecent Publications or distributed by anyone, and will not be avail- paring to enter, is part of their developmental Tribunal (IPT) in the period 1963-1994. The able to readers until the Board decides whether job description.” remainder are decisions of the Office of Film or not to place a permanent age restriction and Literature Classification (OFLC).

The New Zealand Book Council does not suprating for the book.

Unless a more recent decision has been port a permanent age restriction for Into the made a book banned by the IPT will still be It is the first time a book has been banned River which would prohibit open display in banned, unless the edition is sufficiently difin this way since the Films, Videos and bookstores and libraries, and drastically limit ferent to constitute a new publication.

Publications Classification Act 1993. The three readers’ awareness of the novel and their abilMost books which have been ‘banned’ deal options are an R18 restriction, an R14 restric- ity to discover it. with weapons and drug manufacture and tion (in place on Into the River until recently) or other criminal acts, dog fighting and the The Council fears the decision could set a precno restriction at all. The review board expected sexual exploitation of children and young edent leading to more books being restricted to meet in October. persons. It is likely a number of older titles in New Zealand. Council chair Peter Biggs if they were classified today, under curA regular columnist in the Nelson Mail, Ms said Into the River was “a challenging and rent legislation, would still be classified Fitchett said she had read the novel, and fol- ambitious novel exploring the reality of what as ‘objectionable’ because of the activities lowed the online debate. many young people are struggling with in New depicted.

“Despite objectors’ protests, it is, I’m afraid, Zealand today”.

book reviews

Tiny giant Title: Toot – The World’s Tiniest Whale Author: Joy Ramirez Illustrator: Mike Chapman Publisher: Mercury Fox Media Ltd ISBN: 978 0 473 32459 9 RRP: $21.99 Available from: sales@bookreps.co.nz

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oot – The World’s Tiniest Whale is the debut children’s picture book from Auckland author Joy Ramirez, splashing into outlets in September.

The story includes unique and loveable characters like: Toot – a thumbsized whale, Henry the Fifth – the royal goldfish, Lord Squigglebottom, and Princess Bambella.

Toot jumps out of his fishbowl into the great unknown, in search of the sea. With the help of his goldfish friend, Henry the Fifth, Toot learns to keep on swimming - even when he feels out of his depth.

Illustrator Mike Chapman brings the story to life with colourful line drawings and watercolour illustrations.

It also comes with an audio book download read by comedian Dai Henwood.

“My passion is to create stories that teach children positive attitudes and social skills, so they grow into awesome adults. This story helps kids to learn about perseverance,” Joy said.

“Toot’s adventure starts when he has the courage to jump out of his little fish bowl and follow his heart.

“For me, jumping out of my fishbowl was leaving my corporate job and learning how to write children’s stories. I threw myself in the deep end and gave it a go.”

Since starting the project in June 2014, Joy wrote 28 drafts of the Toot story over ten months before it reached its final form. While learning to write children’s books, she learned how to set up a self-publishing business, Mercury Fox Media.

The book holds children with warm rhyme and vibrant illustrations. Grey Lynn mother Ella R. said: “It’s a wonderful children’s book with real drama and beautiful illustrations, my daughter loves it.”

Links - www.toot.nz

A Spark My Potential crowd-funding campaign generated $7,335 in donations which went toward illustrations and publishing.

Surfies and selfies

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hotography was invented the year before the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.

Within a few years, cameras were charting the life and times of people at this end of the planet.

See What I Can See is an introduction to New Zealand photography for young and curious photographers, students of New Zealand art history, or anyone who wants to sample the extraordinary range of images made in this country by our photographers.

O’Brien depicts darkness and light, careful planning and doing things on the spur of the moment, the quickness of digital photography and the slowness of old technology. It’s a woman driving a tractor and a kid in a Colgate tube, a rock at Ngauruhoe and a Wahine survivor on a cart, it’s surfies and selfies and cabbages the size of kings.

See What I Can See is also a celebration of the camera – the New Zealand that it captured, and the artists who wielded it. ‘It’s about looking beyond the obvious and finding things that are hidden away,’ says O’Brien.

Title: See What I Can See: New Zealand Photography for the Young and Curious Author & Photography: Gregory O’Brien Publisher: Auckland University Press ISBN: 978 1 86940 843 5 RRP: $34.99 Available from: www.press.auckland.ac.nz Release: October 17, 2015

Gregory O’Brien, arts commentator and reviewer, independent writer, painter and art curator spent much of his early life in Auckland. He trained as a journalist and worked as a newspaper reporter in Northland before returning to study art history and English at Auckland University. Now living in Wellington, O’Brien is the author of two introductions to art for the young and curious: Welcome to the South Seas (2004) and Back and Beyond (2008), which both won the Non-Fiction Prize at the New Zealand Post Book Awards for Children and Young People.

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