This week in the Beehive
6. Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) to the Minister for Tertiary Education: Does he stand by the decisions the Government has made with respect to funding adult and community education?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education) : Yes. This Government has had to make some difficult decisions regarding adult and community education, because the previous administration left behind a $521 million hole of unfunded commitments in Budget 2008.
Hon Maryan Street: In this New Zealand Sign Language Week, is the Minister aware that his predecessor had this to say last year about guaranteeing funding for sign language classes: “New Zealand Sign Language will continue to receive adult and community education funding, because it fits within the Government’s adult and community education priority. … The courses will not be cut.”; if he is, how is it that sign language classes previously held at Napier Boys’ High School, Tamatea High School, and Hastings Boys’ High School are no longer running in 2010, because of funding cuts?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Yes, I am aware of that.. In relation to the Hawke’s Bay schools that the member mentioned, I am not aware of the specific provision in Hawke’s Bay. But if she would like me to make some inquiries on her behalf, I am happy to do so.
Lynne Pillay: How is it that sign language classes at Tikipunga High School, which serves the Whangarei, Kaikohe, and Kerikeri areas; at Rutherford College in Te Atatū; at Kelston Boys High School, which is right beside the Kelston Deaf Education Centre; at Tauranga Boys College; and at Tauranga Girls College are all unable to deliver services this year because of funding cuts?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The Government has made a decision to refocus adult and community education funding on providing a number of programmes, including literacy, language, numeracy and foundation skills, and sign language. The individual funding decisions are made by the Tertiary Education Commission. But if the member has concerns about the lack of provision in a particular area, I invite her to contact my office and I will investigate that.
Hon Maryan Street: If sign language is one of the Government’s priorities for adult and community education, how in New Zealand Sign Language Week is it that courses at Fairfield College and Melville High School in Hamilton, at Shirley Boys High School in Christchurch, and at Taieri College in Dunedin cannot be offered in 2010, because of funding cuts; is this a sign of how the Government delivers its priorities?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE: As I said to the previous speaker, the funding decisions are made by the Tertiary Education Commission, based on the Government’s priorities. Once again, I am happy to address any specific concerns about lack of provision in a particular area, but schools and other providers are prioritised by the Tertiary Education Commission. I note that the biggest reduction in Adult and Community Education funding occurred under the previous Government, where the number of students funded for Adult and Community Education dropped from 279,000 students in 2004 to 77,000 students in 2008.
Dimming e-newsletter number 1
Dear Dimming member
Thank you for supporting dimming.co.nz
This website aims to shed light on government policies that have the potential to harm our students and schools.
Every person who signs on as a supporter helps the cause so please pass this email to as many other people as you can and add a note to suggest that they go to the website to join you in support.
The first issue dimming.co.nz has tackled is the slashing of adult community education (ACE) funding by 80% – a move that seems to be a far cry from National’s aim to secure ‘a brighter future’.
The campaign was kicked off with an animated video clip featuring education ministers Anne Tolley and Steven Joyce, which has already received thousands of hits.
A Dimming billboard has been erected on Wakefield Street in Wellington and we are running a competition to caption the image on it.
The Dimming campaign will be an ongoing one – to provide people with fresh perspectives on questionable education policies, so keep an eye on dimming.co.nz for new material.
If you haven’t already, you can also join the Dimming fan page on Facebook and encourage others to do the same. We will use the page to keep you up to date on developments on dimming.co.nz.
You can also join the discussion by sharing your stories about ACE and joining the discussion groups on Facebook and dimming.co.nz
Help us get the message out there – the future of education in New Zealand is too important to ignore.
Best wishes,
The team at dimming.co.nz
Anna Kirtlan
PPTA Communications Advisor
PO Box 2119, Wellington
DDI: (04) 913 4246
Cel: 021 541 261
Fax: (04) 382 8763
ACEnet resource – students or learners
Kia ora koutou
I wonder if you missed your email last week. I decided to switch to sending it out early in the week in response to feedback from an ACEnet member who said she tends to not get around to looking at it when I send it late Friday. Thank you so much – you know who you are. We are always open to any other feedback – we can only act upon what we know.
Resource
This week’s resource is a short role play that helps us think about the difference between being a student and being a learner. Seehttp://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet/engaging-learners#difference
Next online workshop – Tuesday 30 March, 1.20pm
Our next online workshop will be next Tuesday, from 1.30-2.30 pm. Our guest facilitators are Tim Weir and Tony McCahon. Tim works as Services Co-ordinator of Delta Community Support Trust, which started 15 years ago in Richmond, Christchurch. Tony manages Delta’s Community Development Services and has been with the Trust for 14 years. The Trust employs a community development model to empower people experiencing disadvantage and marginalisation through assisting them establish positive relationships and grow personally. Learning is an important part of this process and is specifically addressed through Delta’s Empowerment Courses that focus on life skills and personal development.
The story of Delta and its involvement in the community is outlined in some detail in the 2009 ACE Aotearoa Summer newsletter. This is available at: http://www.aceaotearoa.org.nz/users/Image/ACE/Documents/Ace_Summer_Newsletter.pdf
Tim and Tony will discuss and offer answers to questions on challenges and solutions of planning and providing small group-based courses that are responsive to the individualised needs of learners in the community.
Tim and Tony will be speaking to us via Flashmeeting. Go to http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/fm/bab734-9203 at 1.30 pm to meet Tim and Tony. This Flashmeeting will be recorded and the recording made available on ACEnet.
If you are new to Flashmeeting and want to test your set up, you can connect up to thirty minutes earlier using the following address
http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/fm/eece72-9204 This practise will not be recorded.Tell us what you want
Thank you to the 15 people who have voted in our Doodle poll. Your views will inform our activity over the next few months, as well as our proposed workshop at the ACE conference. It is not too late to vote. We will leave the poll open at the links below if you want to vote later. However, we will think about how to support you Skype is still the winner but Google docs has strong support too.
- Which of these nine online tools do you want to learn more about? http://doodle.com/rehvuvtbz5pq9b6q
- If you wanted to join an online workshop, which time suits you best? http://doodle.com/ed5dmbb5m9nyarh8
Spread the word
If you are already forwarding these resource of the week emails to a friend or colleague, or believe someone you know may find these resources interesting, please email me their details and we can add them to our database.
ACEnet community
This week we have remained at 50 ACEnet members – after the euphoria of last week. I think this is the first week we have not added any new members L
To join ACEnet, go to http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet. This will take you to the home page for ACEnet. You can view everything in the community immediately. However, you need to follow a two step process to contribute i.e.
- join Ako Aotearoa’s site
- then join the ACEnet community.You also need to make sure you are logged in (look in the box on the upper right of the Ako Aotearoa screen) to be able to get involved in the discussions. Please email me if you have any problems.
If you wish to stop receiving the ACEnet resource of the week emails, please reply to this email with ‘Please unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
See you online soon.
Terry
Terry Neal
PD Programme Manager
ACE AotearoaPhone: 04 473 6622
Mobile: 021 322 332
Skype: terryneal60Visit ACEnet, the online community for ACE practitioners, at http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISING CONCERTS FOR OUR PEOPLE IN AITUTAKI DEVASTATED BY CYCLONE PAT
Kia Orana Everyone,
Our island paradise “Aitutaki” in the Cook Islands has been devastated by Cyclone Pat leaving 90% destruction and up to 400 families in disarray and 70 families homeless.
Relief efforts lead by Aitutaki Enua is asking for the kind generosity of the NZ nation to pledge donations into any ASB Bank nationwide.
We have two Fundraising Concerts on Monday 22 & Tuesday 23 March 2010 at the Telstra Clear Manukau City.
So book your tickets at Ticket Direct Adults $20 Children $10 Children under 5 years free, door sales available.
Please Aotearoa, Aitutaki needs your help, for more information call 0800 24 28 254 or 09267 1404
PLEASE PASS IT ON……………………..MEITAKI ATUPAKA
Sela Apera-Miller
Director / Producer
PO Box 47 Maraetai, 2148
Auckland, New Zealand
Telephone: +0064 9 536 6964
Mobile: +0064 274 915961
Email: sela
ACEnet resource – armies engaging learners
Kia ora koutou
Resource
This week’s resource tells the story of how the US Army are engaging learners whose first experience was unsuccessful, as well as a link to a newspaper story describing similar things the NZ Army is doing. Go tohttp://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet/engaging-learners#army
Tell us what you want
Last week I encouraged you to use an online voting tool called Doodle to tell us what you want. Thank you to the 11 people who voted. So far, skype is the clear winner for our first tool to offer support with. It is not too late to vote – we will leave it open until the end of next week before we act upon it. Go to the following links to vote. We estimate it will take only a few minutes of your time.
- Which of these nine online tools do you want to learn more about? http://doodle.com/rehvuvtbz5pq9b6q
- If you wanted to join an online workshop, which time suits you best? http://doodle.com/ed5dmbb5m9nyarh8
Spread the word
If you are already forwarding these resource of the week emails to a friend or colleague, or believe someone you know may find these resources interesting, please email me their details and we can add them to our database.
ACEnet milestone
This week we achieved 50 ACEnet members – our half century!
To join ACEnet, go to http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet. This will take you to the home page for ACEnet. You can view everything in the community immediately. However, you need to follow a two step process to contribute i.e.
- join Ako Aotearoa’s site
- then join the ACEnet community.You also need to make sure you are logged in (look in the box on the upper right of the Ako Aotearoa screen) to be able to get involved in the discussions. Please email me if you have any problems.
If you wish to stop receiving the ACEnet resource of the week emails, please reply to this email with ‘Please unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
See you online soon.
Terry
Terry Neal
PD Programme Manager
ACE AotearoaPhone: 04 473 6622
Mobile: 021 322 332
Skype: terryneal60Visit ACEnet, the online community for ACE practitioners, at http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/acenet
Auckland Down Syndrome Association’s 5th annual Buddy Walk
Auckland Down Syndrome Association is organising their 5th annual Buddy Walk and were wondering if you could please this ad in your school’s newsletter.
This is a fun, very affordable, day out for the whole family and a great way to show your support for the Down Syndrome community.
Warmest regards
Christel van Baalen
Community Liaison Officer and
Buddy Walk organiser
Ph (09) 636 0351
Fax (09) 636 0354
Mobile 021 1362537
Office hours: Monday to Thursday 09.30 am till 14.15pm
