Leadership loss

Many New Zealanders will be aware of the recent industrial action taken by our teachers. A local representative of Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), the trade union that represents secondary school teachers, commented in a local newspaper article when more than 1,000 teachers in Northland alone participated in “rostering home action”. This action resulted in teachers collectively opting to not teach Year 9 students for the day. The PPTA representative referred to “meaningful changes” in the newspaper article, which particularly stated that teachers must be supported enough to stay in their jobs.

Much has already been said about educators who have left their vocational calling and pursued other avenues.

What appears to be prominent is the gifted and talented strategic leadership that I once had the pleasure of working alongside and that is needed to transform education has been either shunned, sidelined, silenced, pensioned, promoted to glory or ousted. It has been substituted by competent and sometimes effective operations management and the politically correct brigade when strategists with a sound values base coupled with a deep concern for all stakeholders, particularly those who are responsible for effectively delivering education are required.