Posts by tim kong
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@ James Green
I was at that Gathering - would have been one of the thirty sitting around in/near the food tent I guess. Was it before or after midnight?? I had to laugh when he made the comment. A top night and I think he ripped out 'Not Given Lightly' in one of the more angrier fashions that I've heard/seen.
Like others, also saw Chris at Canterbury during some early 90's orientation. My faded memory of that event was him abusing some gentle patron of the bar who was wearing a rugby jersey. The jersey wearer was almost nervous at being publically accosted by this bloke in boxers and jandals, playing a toy keyboard.
I saw him in London in Kentish Town (I think) in late 1998. He'd come across and done some gigs in Europe before the UK. Asked how many were Kiwis - 98% of the crowd roared. Asked how many were locals - handful of blokes at the bar waved. Chris then proceeded to abuse the Kiwis for turning up, preventing him from actually playing to a new audience. Again 'Not Given Lightly' got the smack treatment.
He'd been given a swiss army knife at one of the shows in Europe - from the promoter as payment the way Chris told it - and during the crowd surf at the end it fell out of his pocket - so he had to stop and ask us all to look on the floor for it, after the houselights came up. Some nice bloke found it and probably got a kiss or something in return.
Thanks for the post Russell.
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I agree - I'm not demanding we all raise our right arms and bellow allegiance - I just think if it's the one anthem that is ours - it should be done right.
Either the band plays and we all stand in respect - or a singer sings it and those who want to join the song. IMO - the te reo version is a far better sounding refrain - and it's not that difficult to learn.
And I don't agree with singing 'God save the Queen' either. This opinion piece from the BBCwas a bit off. I understand the point he was trying to make - that a lot of Kiwi football players have got a start or ply their trade in England - but to me at least this All White squad very much is a Kiwi-made team, and should be celebrated as such. I'm surprised anyone Kiwi would even consider singing "God save the Queen" on behalf of a New Zealand sporting team, in any context.
I'm not sure if it's because of the Phoenix connection, but last night it was NZ/Aotearoa qualifying for the big show - not some small colonial outpost of the Empire. The fervour from the crowd was uniquely Kiwi/Wellingtonian, and it was all the better because of it.
The crowd were in emphatic high spirits, energized by the whitenoise/Yellow Fever chants and had a raucous enthusiastic feel, but there was no nasty undertone that can happen in a football match. Having the 1982 squad do a lap of honour was great theatre and only added to the sense of history. The boos and abuse for the Bahrain player/divers who theatrically flung themselves to the ground was born from most in the crowd having watched rugby all their lives and thus being fully aware of what 'contact' actually is. But no-one was being beaten up in the stands. I heard people commiserating with Bahrain supporters as I left, in fair rugby fashion and I enjoyed the 1982 inspired "Ole, Ole, Ole" chants as we made our way out through the concourse.
It was a blend of old and new, football and rugby culture. To me at least it represented what great sporting experiences are all about - not a new dawn for football in NZ, and definitely not the end of rugby as we know it - but a chance to celebrate a beautiful game, played in front of a passionate crowd and with a joy and celebration that's hard to create in any other way.
Of course, if I was from Bahrain I'd feel differently... but that's sport.
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Speaking of poor attempts at singing national anthems, this is from the start of the France v. South Africa test.
Not sure what the thinking was behind choosing these guys, and then combining their obviously unique talents with a full brass band; but the results are pretty spectacular, and the reaction from the Springbok players, Schalk Burger in particular, is priceless.
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On the name thing - if we're to change the name of the All Whites purely because we're going to South Africa, shouldn't we in the interests of equality change the name of the All Blacks whenever they play in South Africa?
Officially all teams are just known by the name of their country anyway - nicknames are added/used by media, fans and whoever. There's a long list of colour based nicknames - Italy - Azzura, France: Les Bleus, Netherlands: Oranje, even the Brazilians have about 3 different colour nicknames for their squad.
I don't know this obviously- but Fifa do - and google is a wonderful thing.
@Tom
That low hurdle is the one that's put in front of us - it's like saying why should the All Blacks play any teams to make the final of the RWC - I mean obviously they're the best rugby team on the planet - put them straight into the final - who needs to bother with a quarterfinal in Cardiff....
Good god man - of course there will be teams that thrash the All Whites - they're ranked 83rd in the world. But the hosts, South Africa are ranked 85th - should we kick them out as well?
Bahrain is ranked 61st - so it's not like they're rubbish. Possibly compared to Portugal, Spain, France, Brazil and the Netherlands they are - but on the Fifa table they're a far better squad than Ricky Herbert's mob.
If you can't be enthused about it - fair enough - but don't deny that the All Whites have earned that trip to SA next year, and I for one will be supporting them fervently, regardless of the result.
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Superb occasion, great game, wonderful result. For the game of football in NZ and for the team who've worked so hard to get to this point.
Emotional overdrive at the final whistle. Even my rugby loving mate was hugging random strangers at the end. The roar from the crowd was spine-tingling.
I think the last time I leapt around like that in a stadium at a sporting event was 1998 - when a young James Kerr wearing red and black, scored a try in the dying minutes to steal a Super 12 victory away from Auckland.
Not sure how it looked on TV - but Ryan Nelson was superb in the defensive line. I was a little nervous with them only playing 3 at the back - but Nelson was everywhere - marshalling the boys, barking encouragement, getting up above everything. Paston - outstanding! Decisive when he needed to be - took crosses cleanly -and the penalty save was beautiful.
First 10 minutes was dicey - but after that the All Whites looked confident and organised - and positive going forward. 80 minutes up - shirts off - "Who are ya!" at every diving Bahranian who touched the ball - it was as if the Yellow fever had infected everyone.
Only down points - the seats that were empty in the middle section - and the botched anthems... even the rugby get the anthem right - 35,000 should have belted out that far more emphatically than they did. Only the music played - no singer, so some sang the English - some sang in Te Reo - it wasn't the best start.
A wonderful event to be a part of, and one I'll sit around a fire telling tall tales about one day.
Now if we can only get another "official" All Whites song written up - so we don't have to listen to Miles Davis do his Fat Les impersonation for the next 12 months - I'll be a happy man!
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The original consultation about setting up the details in the standards was pretty poor as well if I remember rightly. It's now removed from the Min of Ed site - but it took place very quickly - over 6 weeks I think.
According to Tolley, 10,000 people attended or wrote submissions - that was in August - and in the two months since they've digested all of those submissions and put together these standards. Yeah right.
It was pretty much a foregone conclusion, National said they would do it during the election campaign - but I wonder how it's going to roll out over the next couple of years. Will more young teachers leave the profession, or head off overseas to teach? I can see a large number of parents still not understanding what the plunket style graphs actually mean- and I can see a whole lof of principals spending a hell of a lot of time sifting through even more data.
None of which has anything to do with teaching and learning.
I'm a teacher who can't play the guitar - but this video says it quite nicely.
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I think it reflects who the National Standards are aimed at when you look at these two sections on the Min of Ed website.
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/Educators.aspx
This details on National Standards consultation are remarkably sparse, particularly when compared to...
This is probably due to the website being updated... I'd hope. Because as a teacher if I'm responsible for implementing these standards, I'd like as much info as possible.
*edit*
I stand corrected - info for teachers is found online here. And it's pretty comprehensive.
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@Russell,
Agree on the Herald confusion - this editorial from July 1st is very much an attack on the education sector.
And as you've pointed out - they seem to take two different points of views almost simultaneously on the validity of the standards based approach.
The choice line from the July editorial is:
Parents like league tables. They are helpful when it comes to choosing a school. They are also helpful in keeping the pressure on all schools to perform to the best of their ability. If the profession dislikes that pressure, or considers it unhelpful to educational effort, its customers disagree. And ultimately the customer, even of public education, is always right.
Yes - they're not parents and we're not part of learning communities anymore - teachers are client service operators, and our students are merely purchasers of discrete items.
So tomorrow we will be playing touch rugby for the morning, followed by a 2 hour lunch break, and then a siesta with an option to read a book if they want.
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A large chunk of series four of The Wire concerns the practical repercussions of No Child Left Behind on inner city schools and the madness of 'teaching to the test'.
It's worth remembering that there's no extra testing being implemented by National Standards - as yet. We are NOT being asked to teach to a test.
So it's not quite the extremes of the NCLB.
While I admit to some disquiet as to the political methods by which these have gone through Parliament, and I cringe at Key's grandstanding about it being "one of the most important steps his Government will ever take" - in reality the majority of schools in NZ are doing damn good work.
This policy is not going to make good schools better. Or poor teachers better for that matter.
It's a political band-aid, that appeals to a sector of the electorate - but in reality is making pretty pictures from existing data - without realistically addressing the issues that are behind that data.
When the long tail is predominantly Maori and PI students, instead of this - we should be engaging in the more serious discourse of why these students are failing and what we can actually do about it.
Like listening to more of Russell Bishop's work - and applying it the classrooms.
Of course that's probably too difficult to include in a 2 minute TV report - and can't be shown with strawberries - so it might never get heard.
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For some reason yesterday as I sat reading the various stories about these National Standards being announced - (they even shutdown the nzcurriculum website for a few hours to sort it all out!) - this small phrase came to mind.
"This too shall pass."
I couldn't recall if it was song or a story I'd read - so went searching for the wikipedia entry - and it made me smile.
"And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!
Teachers will still strive to teach, students will still desire to learn, parents will still worry and we will still have those who underachieve.
National Standards are a political point - which National said they would implement during the election campaign. They will do nothing to make good teachers better, or improve the learning that is currently going on (or not going on) in a class room. But National are doing what they'd said they would do. So fair play to them.
We already have many various ways of measuring student achievement, and good schools are doing that measurement on a regular basis. Good schools are also sharing and celebrating that achievement with parents and students and local communities.
My current practice will not change - I will still strive to meet the needs of my students - all of them, as best I can. In the areas that interest them, in the areas that they need to focus on. I will still meet with parents, discuss with colleagues and continue to learn about ways to be the best teacher I can be.
I will fail, some of my students will not achieve, some days I won't enjoy the my job - but it will pass.
To Ms Tolley, who yesterday reported that parents were coming to her asking what "stanine 5" meant. I would suggest these parents meet with the schools of their child instead of running to politicians to discuss their child's report card. The education sector may not have done the best job of explaining the language of assessment - and we need to do that better, but parents who are passive in this process of learning, are as damaging to their child as the teachers who ignores the student in the back row of the classroom.
The only real issue I have with yesterdays announcement is the new reporting standards/templates - which IMO are an insult to anyone with half a brain.
While these are not mandatory, they are a blunt and crude means of describing a student, which tells you something about where they are in relation to some artificial national standard - but nothing about them as a person. If this is the type of reporting that parents truly want - then it's not really the children we should be concerned about....
Our young people can be measured by an ability to work with numbers or letters.
They can also be generous, helpful, kind, earnest, resilient, curious, constructive, appreciative, caring and hard-working. They have personalities and perceive the world in ways unknown to us as adults. They see problems and unfairness in clear and often precise ways. They are spiteful and nonchalant, abusive and passive. They reflect the communities they are brought up in and need to be challenged to step into the shoes of another.
As teachers we must continue to recognise and value that person, not just the one who memorizes their basic facts and can spell the 50 words in the test. Our duty of care must be to the whole child.
In the classroom, the communities and the society around our young people - it's the whole person that matters. As Ken Robinson says - it's not just the top 2 inches that make a difference.
This too will pass.... for now I'm off to the toy library with my 8 month old. While it's not quite Armageddon, the line for a jolly jumper can be brutal! :)