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. 

First Visitors from U.S.

I assisted with two tutorials for Engineering students where they had an hour to ask questions about formatting and grammar for their upcoming assignments. This was the first time I saw a classroom packed out, standing room only, and even though they were required to be there, I couldn't help but see the disparity in the attendance with Arts events (lectures, my tutorials, seminars). People keep saying that these students are more driven and have harder degrees -- I could see where they might get that impression.

Speaking of attendance, I was disappointed to have very few students in my tutorials this week, and there were only about a dozen out of sixty in the lecture. Sure, it was the day before the break, but I can see why professors get really frustrated at teaching to an empty room after they put all the time in to prepare. I had visitors in town but still went to school to run my tutorial. Since there were so few of them, we ended up spending the last half hour discussing the Arts and ways to improve its profile on campus. The reading for the week was really good too, a short story by Isaac Asimov called "Profession". In it, people don't need to go to school to learn how to read or do things because they hook up to a computer and have the information downloaded to their brain. They are assigned a profession at age 18 and sent off to do that job until they retire. It raises really interesting questions about education and whether or not humans would be happier if they had fewer choices. Certainly, for Arts students worried about what they'll do when they graduate, it's a great conversation starter.

In my International Relations class, I saw the second half of a film I hadn't seen before, Why We Fight, about the U.S. wars in the Middle East. It was made in 2005 but not much has changed in the military-industrial complex since then. It was an uncomfortable feeling to hear people snickering at the U.S. politicians in the film, and it makes you wonder how people in other countries have been viewing the U.S. since WWII and what impact that has had on foreign relations.

I spent a significant amount of time writing proposals for conferences. It takes a lot of thought and energy with no guarantee of getting in. I have another one to do for a journal article due in about a week, too. Hopefully at least one of them bears fruit.

In conversations around campus, I met an American student on exchange and we complained about the cost of living here, especially food. It was nice to chat about some of the differences with another American. From NZ students, I learned that there are no foodstamps or free/reduced school breakfasts or lunches here. I couldn't believe it. They have a welfare system, but the money isn't restricted so it can go toward rent or gas or other things instead of food. Seeing things done differently reminds you that there are other systems with their own pros and cons, although I asked them how hungry kids were supposed to get much learning done.

We had our first visitors from the U.S. and spent a wonderful day driving them around the city and catching up. It felt a bit voyeuristic, but we drove them around the still-earthquake-damaged central city and stopped at the cathedral. It was our first time there as well, and it was sad to see all of the crumbling pieces. Next we drove them up into the Port Hills and did a little walking around. The hills were brown with a few sheep still wandering around. We had a really good lunch of home-made Mexican food and then we went to the university where they and D were picked up by their relatives and I stayed behind to do my tutorial. After that, I drove out to the farm where their relatives live and got to see some of their cows (they all got a tour of the cows being milked, but I was too late). We all had pizza for dinner and then D and I made the hour-long drive back to our house. They had a really cute gray and white kitten that was very frisky but then slept on my lap for a long time. I wish I could have taken it with!