Must Our Children Fail at School?

As I finished the summer break and pondered the state of NZ Education as well that of our community and school, the words of this title rang in my head.

I needed a factual, 'no ducking' yet encouraging way to think about this with our staff to focus attention on where we've come from, where we are now and where we'd like to be.

I hope the the content of this post is a foundation for an ongoing inquiry, with a sharpening focus that lasts through all of 2018. This is a year of Review writ large in education in Aotearoa. What shape should ours take?

As I thought about our past, including that of my own family, and all that we've learned along the way and as we wrestle with an over crowed curriculum and the ever increasing constraints of compliance, I decided to coin Vivianne Robinson's phrase as part of my conclusion.

"Do less to achieve more".