In Australia last week, the New South Wales government condemned a Sydney primary school whose students made Black Lives Matter and anti police violence posters for their classrooms. NSW government officials have said that any teachers found politicising their classrooms will face disciplinary action and a full review will be made into the incident.
The NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning says that "politics has no place in the classroom". 95bFM News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston questioned this sentiment and set out to explore where Aotearoa stands on the inclusion of political discourse in education.
Jemima begins by explaining what happened in New South Wales last week. She speaks to Jason Wong, the President of the Lindfield Learning Village Parents & Citizens Association, who describes the 'political' task set for the students and the following backlash by the NSW government and the media.
Jemima then goes on to ask New Zealand education experts whether politics has a place in New Zealand classrooms. She speaks to Victoria University of Wellington Senior Lecturer in Education Bronwyn Wood, NZEI Te Riu Roa President Liam Rutherford and the New Zealand Principals Federation. They discuss the inherently political nature of the classroom, dealing with teachers' biases, and the relevance of the NSW story stemming from a reflection exercise on recent indigenous histories.
Kirstens Birthday Show features many classics from the 70's , Maria Muldaur and her favourite Mink De Ville. Its a Tasty Treat ..... get a mouthful!!!!
In recent years, some schools have changed the way they layout their classrooms. They have gone from a traditional classroom layout, to a more open-plan classroom one.
The reception from these more open-plan classroom spaces has been very broad. Some students enjoy this more social way of learning, some feel overstimulated, and others are finding the shift both good and bad.
And recently, an article was written about these changes in school learning spaces - how it is going so far, what some of the results have been, and whether it is a good thing that schools are trying these new ways of learning. Zazi spoke with the author of this particular article, Leon Benade. Leon Benade is an Associate Professor in the school of Education at AUT, and his current research work focuses on Innovative Learning Environments.
A year ending dubstravaganza with an hour of the late and loved Robbie Shakespeare amongst 3 hours of versioneering, old and new. Thanks very much for your ears and attention in 2021 see you in 2022, stay safe.