Tag Archives: Education

Jul 10 2012

The one where schools drop Bible class as interest falls


This is a story that isn’t quite like what it seems like Schools drop Bible as interest falls – National – NZ Herald News.

In the article it says

“Browns Bay principal Roger Harnett said parents had been withdrawing their children from the Churches Education Commission programme.

Last year, about 50 students dropped out from a roll of 500, but Mr Harnett said complaints increased when students saw their friends choosing to opt out and persuaded their own parents to let them drop the class too.

This year, the board of trustees decided to cancel the programme because they were having a problem catering for the increasing number of students withdrawing. It made the decision after a review of all non-curriculum activities.”

Which says that the school can’t resource correctly for children not being taught from the book of the sky god, not that teaching from the book of the sky god is wrong, inappropriate or outdated thinking, but that having to find a teacher or activities to replace indoctrination means that they have to come up with some alternative thing. They’d still be doing the indoctrination if less parents were exercising their choice, this is a decision forced on the school by the parents and not some brave decision by the school to change their thinking and delivery of education.

There’s nothing wrong with fables and lessons on doing the right thing, but you don’t have to have specific religiosity to do that, you don’t need a book of a mystical being to be able to instill a moral compass, and to affirm that things like, say, killing someone, is wrong, or that theft isn’t really what you do in a civilised society.

Couple of amusing things in the story

“Robin Palmer, of Browns Bay Presbyterian Church, was concerned that children whose schools did not use the Bible in Schools programme would be at a disadvantage. “We regard the programme as adding value to the school, and it’s been around for many years.”

So that makes it o.k., appropriate, correct, and relevant? no!, and  I fail to see how it disadvantages people. I’d hate to think what would happen if the school expanded the religious lessons to include the Koran, or teaching from Buddhism. Actually you know what, I was just being an egg.

The other quote I like is this one

“Parents have ample opportunity to teach children about the Bible outside school time”

And I agree.  Bible isn’t for school. Science is for school, Maths and English are for school. Instilling the values of society, the right and wrong, that’s for parents, and in my house the Bible wasn’t part of that.

Related articles
Nov 14 2011
Aside

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama’s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama’s plan”. All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A…. (substituting grades for dollars – something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.



An Unnamed Economics professor, at an unnamed school, on Socialism

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
		

					
				Nov
				3
				2011
			
				


				
							

									Commercial Ventures and the Public purse – #5 – Canterbury University Seeks Bailout As Intake Falls
							

			


		

		

Canterbury University is pleading for at least another $150 million from the Government as it faces losing almost 20,000 students and $346m in revenue in the next eight years. Based on a report they’ve prepared along with Deloitte which  forecasts a cumulative drop in fulltime equivalent students of 19,400 from this year to 2019 and a reduction in revenue over that time of $346m


A 65-page document detailing the business case for support asks the Government for $130m in operating support, $25m for capital costs and a  yet-to-be-determined sum for building remediation not covered by insurance, but the amount could be between $20m and $70m.


The February earthquake caused it to lose hundreds of domestic and international students -  About 15,500 fulltime equivalent students are enrolled at the university.


It already has 1200 fewer domestic students and 420 international students  than 2010. Of those about 800 were first-year students and 80 per cent of them would have continued to a second year of study. More than 25 per cent of the first-year student intake either discontinued or  did not complete their enrolment this year.


Here’s the thing - the university is therefore  asking for $1,000 per student to prevent it’s decline in standards, 1,600 less students is extrapolated over 8 years to be 20,000 students. Somehow. As a concession the university will shed around 300 jobs over 3 years from the 3,000 staff it currently has, that’s 3-4% a year over 3 years.


Each Student, using the figures provided, generate income to the University of $18,200 each, per student, and they have staff to student ratio of 1-5


“In exchange for the government money, the university was proposing to make  savings of $134m, double its borrowings to $100m, and reduce its capital  expenditure by $20m to $45m annually from next year to 2019. The savings would include a 3 to 4 per cent reduction in staff numbers for each of the next three years. The university has about 3000 staff.”


The university has a good reputation and it has a strong balance sheet with about $90m in the bank. It’s not up against any wall and it’s not sinking into oblivion.


So – change the name from ABC university to ABC corporation – and you’ll see why this isn’t really something that I would be in favour of. The user pays education system that we’re all familiar with appears to not want to cut it’s cloth to suit, but wants to have a Rolls Royce facility. I can’t imagine a scenario where a corporation with the same staffing ratio’s would be able to go cap in had to the Govt and ask for a bail-out. (Of course I ignore finance and insurance companies, of course!)


Am I in favour of reducing the scope of the offering to suit the amount of revenue, you bet I am. Should the taxpayer fund what is essentially a corporation into maintaining what is an impossible scenario – even they recognise some truths “ The university had started many initiatives to attract students, including  increasing recreational areas on site. It was also spending millions of dollars 

on additional scholarships. Vice-Chancellor Rod Carr was visiting several countries to get the message  across to potential international students that the university was fully open 

and safe after the earthquakes “


So spend a few more millions, after all in for 346million in for the lot! I’m confident the world will not end for the University, I’m sure that student X overseas does not want to come to a city of rubble to live, in over-priced short availability accommodation, unless of course they’re on a scholarship, but that’s not generating income is it, that’s filling seats to tick a box to maintain existing funding for the public purse.


Do I think that there are too many staff? what do you think, in a normal corporation I would imagine that a ratio of 1-10 managers to staff is more normal, it’s possibly even more.


I’m therefore a little perplexed by the timing, the amount they are asking for, the reasons given, and the blind way in which it ignores some truths about their plight and situation.


via Canterbury University Seeks Bailout As Intake Falls… | Stuff.co.nz.

			

	
	



				
					


	

		
		

					
				Nov
				15
				2010
			
				


				
							

									The Birds and the bees.
							

			


		

		

It’s that time, actually it’s past that time, when as a father you have to face up to the fact that your daughter is in fact sexually mature.


Not that I think she is active. *Blind Faith*


But I think we’re on safe ground to assume not. Anyways, it’s that kind of thinking that gets you to thinking that hey she’s confident, pretty and outgoing. It’s summer, and with it are beaches, sun-tans and hanging around the beach. Standard summer fayre.


But it’s easier to blog about the conversation I had with Mrs. Pdubyah than the conversation actually was.


It was Mrs.P that mentioned she thought Ms16 was turning out to be fairly pretty, and after I agreed for the reasons I mentioned above there was an uncomfortable silence.


“So” I ventured “You’ve spoken to her about contraception then”


uncomfortable silence


“They do that sort of thing in school” was the mumbled reply


So clearly it’s not a comfortable subject and one which we need to address at some point in the next couple of days, since I’ve clearly made good my bet which allows a greater measure of freedom and self-determination. Not that for one minute that I’m worried or concerned or one of ‘those’ parents that molly coddle, cosset and protect their children.


Sex is after all sex. Unwanted babies are however generally unwanted.