May 16, 2022
Make school an adventure says Davis
Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis says teachers have a major role to play in getting students back to school.
Principals say one in five pupils were absent last term, and Northland principals are concerned it could affect next year’s funding once the rolls are tallied in July.
Mr Davis, who headed Kaitaia Intermediate before entering Parliament, says Covid has had an impact, and in some aspects the curriculum hasn’t been Māori-friendly, which is why things like the new history curriculum are vital.
“We’ve just got to try to make sure children can relate to the curriculum, it reflects them, that teachers have good relationships, because it is actually where child and teacher interact, that’s where the learning occurs. When they use research-based best practice, and that means kids should be learning and see that personal success, they’ll want to be at school,” he says.
Mr Davis says school needs to be the best adventure in town so kids want to go there every day.