We are having the wrong debate over how we teach science
Gaven Martin05:00, Jan 08 2022
I would like to offer a different perspective,
informed by the review of mathematics education I chaired for the Royal Society of New Zealand and Ministry of Education recently....
Another slogan: “Elevating the status of mātauranga Māori is not about undermining science. It is about incorporating genuinely useful indigenous knowledge, such as approaches to environmental guardianship, that complements science.”
My view is that that is a very generous interpretation of what the NCEA changes actually offer. But more importantly, such tinkering with some NCEA standards is not going to deal with the
real problems.
Because ultimately, this debate reflects a
cynical ploy by the Ministry of Education, pretending to address the seriously inequitable outcomes of our system.
The real issues are very hard and there is no quick fix.
All the above is simply the tip of an
iceberg of failure and many in the ministry know it.
For the last two decades there has been no political will to fix this mess. Maybe our political classes agree with the
Productivity Commission, that we should import those with the skills our economy needs (predominantly in science), and
our children can look after the tourists.