Kerre Woodham: This must be a pivotal moment in our educational crisis

I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating and soul destroying it would be to go into to work every day, wanting to do your best, able to do your best because of years of training and a desire to deliver.

And yet, you find yourself working within a framework you don't believe in, and worse, you believe is harming the very people your life's work is to help.

I've picked up a bit of this from police officers right now, medical professionals and teachers.

But none of them has stated it as clearly as the St. Cuthbert's principal, Justine Mahon.

She has so little confidence in the new NCEA Level 1 curriculum the school is ditching the qualification and creating one of its own, a bespoke diploma.

Mahon said several of the school's senior academic staff had been on government advisory panels for NZQA's proposed changes to NCEA and had become increasingly concerned about what would be taught in 2024 as she outlined this morning to Mike Hosking.

It confirms everything you and I have been saying for so long about education.

Our education system is the lowest common denominator. It doesn't challenge the brightest students, yet miraculously manages to leave behind those who need extra support to get where they need to be.

It's wishy-washy. It's trying to be all things to all people.  I wonder how many principals would love to do what Justine Mahon has just done and rip up the exam paper and say no, it's not good enough.

It's not good enough for what our teachers can teach, and it's not good enough for what our students can learn. We will produce one that will test and challenge the young New Zealanders who are lucky enough to be in our school, and equip them with the tools they need for the future.

But where the hell does it leave all those other young New Zealanders?

Everybody should be getting a quality high calibre education. They're not.

And that is because of the Ministry of Education, not because of our teachers. Surely with one of the top educators in the country looking at NCEA and going, that is not good enough, this must be a pivotal moment in our educational crisis.

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