Thursday, August 26, 2010



"Extremely supportive"

That's how Education Minister Anne Tolley described school trustees attitude to her national standards last month:

"The trustees, who govern schools on behalf of communities and parents, were extremely supportive," says Mrs Tolley.

"They have a positive approach to the Standards, and are clear that parents should be given plain language information about how their child is progressing in reading, writing and maths.

Meanwhile, Ministerial correspondence uncovered with the OIA shows a different picture, with 96% of school boards who wrote to Tolley opposing the standards, and only one supporting them. So if 2% is "extremely" supportive, what's 96%? Universally opposed? And if the government's standard for action is 75% (as expressed by Steven Joyce) does this mean they'll dump this stupid policy?

One thing is clear: Tolley's support exists primarily in her own mind. She's delusional. And that is not a good trait in a Minister.