Every child has a 50% chance of success regarless of the stats

Radio New Zeland News reports that “In a sample of 6700 pupils at 41 primary and intermediate schools, Pasifika children struggled, with just 50% reaching the reading standard for their age, 46% the maths standard and 48 percent the writing standard.”

These statistics appear frightening at first glance, and even at second glance…

But when numbers of such magnitude are banded around I can’t but think of figures such as “1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda” as stated in Wikipedia.

Or “New Zealand has some of the worst statistics in the world with respect to child safety and road traffic safety, with at least 20 children dying and more than ten times that number seriously injured each year as a passenger in a car.” As reported by Kids Health.

Statistics are impressive on one level but impersonal in another. Government looks at the biggest picture, its what ‘oversight’ means, but your kid is your responsibility. Parents can forget about statistics. Our children are not going to be meet the maths standard 46% of the time. Every child has a 50% chance of success regarless of the stats. They either will or won’t.

We should be asking “Does my child’s teacher know my child and cater for their needs?” If the answer is “Yes” then we can expect the best possible opportunity given to our children. We just need to ensure our child is ready to step up to the challenge and responsibility of making the most of their schooling.

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