Our kids should be choosing life

FEELING disconnected from Pakeha culture heightened the risk of suicide among young Maori, an international study found.  Reported the SundayNews

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The article is written in such an emotive way as to enflame the debate over Maori youth.
Perhaps the figures indicating that Maori youth suicide is effectively double what it should be, representing 20% casualties. However, there was no reference to the remaining 80% and how they breakdown in terms of ethnicity.

Disappointingly, there is only quoted reference to the study carried out by Terryann Clark. I for one would have liked to have gone and read some of the source material.

I’m not saying Maori youth suicide is not a tragedy. Far from it. Youth suicide is tragic period. I mourn the loss of a single life from such a totally preventable manner.

There is clearly a disconnect between many youth and their parents. Without the feeling of unconditional love that we can only receive from our parents then life can be brutal. Friends are friends, but they still can let us down. Teachers play their role as do social workers and pastoral care workers, yet still it is the closeness of family that really counts.

Kids need to feel wanted and needed. Even during times when they themselves refuse to acknowledge that need. Through the good and the bad family needs to be there.

Today’s families look very different to those a few years back. But regardless of what a kids family is made up of they need that safe place to be alone. To be with those who will love them regardless. Provided that ‘home’ is a supportive place then we all can bear the trials of the wild-world outside.

Let us all love, support and care for those kids in our care.

Useful link:
Teenage suicides- OECD report (87.6k, pdf) Last updated 20/12/2010


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"Urgent measures" needed to deal with discrimination against children

The "staggering" rates of child abuse and poverty in New Zealand have been condemned in a United Nations report that calls for the Government to better recognise children's rights.

The provision ‘state’ makes for children, even Pacific and Maori, IS significant. I feel we have talked about this before. Parental responsibility is the key here. There are centres and provision for children within each community, parents need to ‘go ask’ and ‘go look’.

Perhaps that should be the slogan for the next Ad campaign ‘GO ASK, GO LOOK’

There were two comments under the article that struck a chord with me. With no way of getting in touch with the commentators I simply reference the article they are associated with and the name they left.

Brazil's "Statue for the Rights of the Child and Adolescent" law was based on this woolly line of international PC reasoning, and sets the age of criminal responsibility at 18. The results of this brilliant piece of legislation were predictable and immediate - as teenagers became more and more involved in the gangs and serious criminal activities, the murder of minors in Rio de Janeiro state more than doubled in the five years after the 1990 introduction of the law compared to the five years before. Now the megacities such as Rio and São Paulo are literally being terrorised by youngsters to whom the law affords a privileged status - such as the 14 year old boy who was recently arrested in São Paulo for car theft - for the 16th time (his parents begged the state to intervene when he was aged eleven, after his ninth offence, but the law would not allow it). Paul Cull#16

In Mexico, they decided that the best way to move people out of lower groups was education. So they made part of the benefit dependent on your child achieving at least 85% attendence at school for the year. As well as this, mothers got more cash for going to pre-natal and post-natal doctors visits.
Both of these have led to an increase in health and education amongst the poor in Mexico. So why not do it here? Lee   #13

What do you think the answer to solving the child provety issue is?




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Something just isn't adding up with New Zealand's child provision

 New Zealand’s education system rating as the best in the world.  Which is as I said in my OECD video at the beginning of the month.

But with our measure’s in the 20 ‘free’ hours for pre-schooler’s being slated by Child Poverty Action Group's Susan St John and only 82% of children under age six able to access free primary healthcare services there is still much to do for children. 

How can the NCEA qualification be being called into question if our education system is touted as the best in the world? 

Something is just not right here.

Answers on post to the usual address.

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Thousands of young people are without work or education

Widespread unemployment now amongst the next generation has potentially huge negative costs including crime, long term unemployment and suicide.

It would seem that that OECD report just won't go away as StandUP is calling for government to do just that as New Zeland faces a potential economic timebomb with Youth unemployment souring to 19.4% since September.

"It is the Government's role to step up and create pathways of opportunities for these young people. Now is the time for some serious investment in our next generation. That time is now, or it will be too late" James Sleep

Interesting soundbite in the days leading up to Education Minister Anne Tolley  travelling to London for the Education World Forum 2011.
Where her keynote address will highlight ‘Youth Guarantee’, ‘Trades Academies’ and ‘National Standards’.
Presumably these are all touted as ‘good things’. But are they? Would James Sleep agree?

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Minister to represent NZ at Education World Forum

Please see this post with the amended text.... Apologies for the inconvenience.
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OECD... Simplifying education... Hoping she writes like Malcolm Gladwell.

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The OCED reported NZ fourth in the world for standards in Science and Reading.. but not everyone is happy. Also Cathy Wylie, not CLAIRE. Is going to be publishing her research on Education Issues for today here's hoping she writes like Malcolm Gladwell. Orginally published on 9th December 2010 on the Educating the Dragon Facebook page .