Message from the Principal Values are an important part of any national curriculum, and the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) has placed a strong emphasis on their role in education. The values set out in the NZC are excellence, innovation, inquiry and curiosity; diversity; equity, community and participation; ecological sustainability; integrity, and respect. Values in the curriculum implicitly and directly affect all members of New Zealand schooling communities. The Ministry of Education has long acknowledged that education is neither value-free nor neutral, and most policy documents attempt to include statements about the kind of educational aims such as key learning areas and competencies that the curriculum, and therefore teachers, parents and pupils, should aspire to promote and achieve. As a teacher and a parent, I know that I want all of our children to be inquisitive, have respect for themselves and others, value difference, and be valuable contributors to society. The New Zealand Curriculum Framework will only take us so far, and we rely on parents and caregivers to play their part to reinforce the commonly held values which underpin New Zealand’s democratic society.
Russell Gordon, Principal A way of teenagers taking back some control was illustrated by a recent on-line survey in America, which found that teenagers number one goal was to seek fame, not in an altruistic sense, but as an end in itself. They simply wanted to be famous for being famous. I am sure that this position is not typical of all teenagers, but it is undeniable that teenagers see and respond to the world differently from you and I. While society continues to evolve, we are proud to share with you the corporate responsibility of helping our students develop and clarify their own values and beliefs, in order that they become contributing, respectful members of their community who acknowledge and value diversity.
Given this period of unpredictability, it is harder now for our kids to find their true north as so many things appear out of their control.
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