China, High School, and Democracy in Disasters

I had some interesting conversations with some Chinese students about food and displays of affection. They had no idea about kids' menus in restaurants and picky eaters, so I told them about the problem of "latchkey" kids who come home to an empty house and pretty much make their own dinner and take care of themselves. This leads to them growing up on frozen food and things they can easily make on their own, like mac n cheese and spaghettios and breaded chicken nuggets. Or they get fast food several times a week and don't tolerate anything not on that kind of menu. The conversation arose as I was asking what kind of food a young Chinese child was being introduced to and she said it was the same things the parents were eating, like rice and such. I showed her some examples of kids' menus online so she could see what I was talking about. I also learned that the words tea and tofu originated in China. Regarding displays of affection, apparently it is not common for parents to hug/kiss their kids. The society is a lot more conservative than others, and the students said that they find it unusual how much affection is shown between families on Western tv and movies. As I reflect more on it, what is on tv and movies isn't necessarily the norm for a lot of Western families either, but it is the image we project to the rest of the world and how they think we all behave.

I spent two mornings as a tutor for high school students who were attending a week-long school camp at a nice resort called Living Springs over the Port Hills from Christchurch. It was very disappointing discovering that everything I've learned about the NCEA education system was largely true, with predigested assignments given to students without context or connection and no incentives for doing any better than the bare minimum to pass. Most of them could not even articulate basic ideas like what subjects they enjoy or do more than give plot summaries. I enjoyed teaching the 5-paragraph essay structure and helping out with talking through assignment guidelines and arguments. What was ridiculous was that the NCEA worksheets (which should be given to teachers, not students, because it has hard-to-decipher learning outcomes and policy things like the number of credits all printed right on the front) had errors themselves. You really shouldn't give students examples of things that have spelling and punctuation errors on them. Who created these materials anyway?

The Living Springs camp is nestled up in these hills

The view from Living Springs

The view coming down the road to go home

I substituted as a note-taker in a class on New Zealand politics, and it was really interesting to hear about the lack of democracy in disaster areas. Basically, politicians and governments use disasters to enact emergency powers and shut down discussion and debate. We watched a clip from Naomi Klein about her idea of "shock doctrine", where politicians quickly pass legislation that might be unpopular while people are still recovering from the shock of a disaster, either human-caused or natural. In Christchurch, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) was created after the 2011 earthquake to handle the recovery process, and it has a lot of power and is not elected, so people here are still living in an area with a suspended democracy. It was supposed to return power within a certain timeframe, but that seems to keep getting delayed.


There was an interesting lecture on China as a Great Polar Power, but it is based on unpublished research so we aren't allowed to discuss it. Suffice it to say, I didn't know about the recent Chinese movements near the Aleutian Islands and we might want to be concerned.

I can't understand why people are okay with sausages being served in white bread slices instead of buns. It's just not the same.

There were massive winds unlike even the worst ones we've experienced so far. Weather reports said there were gusts of 150-160 km/hr (90-100 m/hr). The glass in the window panes was shaking and it sounded like a massive storm. All kinds of things were blowing down the street.

We prepared and planted the garden with new seeds and are hoping for another successful year. I bought more strawberry plants to add to the existing bed, but everything else is starting from seed.

Prince Harry, Demolition, and High School Education

Prince Harry visits the University

Harry's visit coincided with one of my tutorials, so attendance was even lower than usual! It was raining and hailing, but hundreds of students still turned out to see him. I snapped a photo on my way back to the postgrad room. Look for the red hair!

American Treats

I made some white chocolate-covered pretzels with sprinkles and powdered-sugar-covered chocolate cereal bites for my fellow postgrads, and they really enjoyed them. I can't believe you could be on this earth for two decades and not have had these sugary treats. Despite the preponderance of sugary things here, they are really missing out on some of the best ones. 

Neighborhood Demolition

A second house in the last couple weeks was demolished in our neighborhood. The crews decided to start around 7:30am for good measure. It was strangely entrancing to watch this excavator scoop away parts of the house, mattresses tumbling down and brick walls collapsing with just a touch. Two days later, the whole lot was completely empty, as if nothing had been there before. I have no idea whether or not these lots will be filled with new houses.

New Zealand High School Education

Oftentimes, learning the history of something can help illuminate why current things are the way they are. This has been the case with my trying to discover what might be going on with the high levels of student apathy I've been encountering in my tutorials (and a general sense of it on campus).

It turns out, one of the doctoral students in my postgrad room is actually researching education and educational philosophies in New Zealand. I had heard from multiple students (both undergrad and postgrad) that the relatively new NCEA education system in high schools was not doing a good job of educating students, but he really pulled it all into perspective for me. Note that so far I have yet to do my own internet research on this topic, so everything I know I got from him and others. Basically, about ten years ago the NCEA education qualification system was implemented and meant that high school students were working toward completing credits to obtain a qualification (I'm not sure what system was in place before then -- my fellow postgrad says New Zealand had previously experimented with both British and U.S. models of education). So students take various assessments to earn credits, and then when they have enough credits, they are done with high school. He says that while they still have graduation ceremonies, the emphasis is more on completing the qualification than reaching a major life milestone. 

The part that I can't believe is how these various assessments have contributed to the fragmentation of the curriculum to the point that students are finishing high school without ever having written a full essay. I have heard from multiple sources that all they needed to do in terms of writing to pass the NCEA requirements was write paragraphs, never a complete essay. So they are shocked when they come to university and are expected to know how to write an essay. And this is the huge gap I have identified and that my friend acknowledged is definitely there: the high school curriculum is not designed to prepare students for college. It is designed at a rudimentary level for all students, including those who just want to go into the labor force after receiving the minimum qualification. 

Then, he told me that there are no standardized tests nor any mandatory curriculum content aside from some very general ones. Coming from the U.S. with constantly changing standards and tests, I couldn't believe how much freedom the state here gives to teachers. While freedom for teachers to teach can certainly be a very good thing, it seems like this means the students from the private schools -- which do have college prep and International Baccalaureate classes -- are miles ahead of the students who go anywhere else. 

Another interesting thing is that the push for "equality of opportunity" for New Zealanders has led to there being essentially no requirements for entry into New Zealand universities. I think students have to meet some of the NCEA requirements to get in. But even if they drop out of high school, after age 20 any New Zealander can be admitted to university. I told my friend, exasperatedly, that just because you let someone into college, that doesn't mean you are doing them a favor if they aren't at all prepared; you are setting them up to fail miserably and put them through a lot of anxiety. He knows, but he said that this ideal is more important to the country than actually making high schools more aligned with university standards so students are better prepared. 

Now, the lack of grammar, punctuation, and writing skills of the New Zealand students in my tutorials and at the skills center makes so much more sense. And because the bar has been set so low for many students throughout high school (what is the difference between a "meets expectation" and "exceeds expectations" if you receive the same NCEA credit regardless?), they are conditioned to meet the minimum standard and do no more. If attendance isn't required for a grade, it is just extra work. If a C will let them pass the class, striving for an A will just be more work. Some people will always want to do well because of internal motivation, but this system seems to make it very difficult for everyone else to put much effort into their education (and life? work?) since there is so little incentive. 

All of which leaves me wondering where to go in terms of teaching under these conditions. In some good news, I received a little Kudos award and chocolate bar from the skills center for my one-on-one tutoring with students.