Murray Smeaton's Page

Hon Trevor Mallard, Labour Party spokesperson on Education will meet a group of NZEI activists at the NZEI office in Dunedin on Friday 31st July at 11.30. Our group includes Primary Teachers and Principals, EC Teachers and Support Staff. The members have advised the MP that they want to talk about:

Labour's position on

1. National standards. Also how national standards can be implemented in Kura.

2. Support Staff negotiations

3. Special Education funding

4. A national… Continue

I wonder how many other NZEI members read the editorial - available most easily at http://www.odt.co.nz/print/65131 and like me nearly choked on their corn flakes! What has the "employment contract" got to do with this? Does anyone else think that the editor is guilty of somewhat muddled thinking in this article? Looks to me as though he has just taken a very popularist swipe at anything and anyone that has dared oppose this thoroughly bad proposal.

A group of Dunedin teachers and support staff will be meeting Pete Hodgson on Friday 3rd July at 7.30pm to impress on him the importance of representing NZEI's views in parliament. I reckon it's above and beyond the call of most members to be out on a winter's Friday night - last night of the term as well! Thanks to Lee Rowe for setting up this meeting.

Dunedin Primary teachers met with Labour MP Clare Cullen over coffee and nibbles. This was sponsored by the Otago Branch. The topic set down was National Standards, and Clare undertook to represent NZEI's views whenever she could in Parliament. Good support with a number of teachers not previously at NZEI function showing interest in professional matters - concern about government policies is having an effect here.

Queenstown Primary Teachers met to look at the national standards and all… Continue