Rising Violence In Our Schools
Earlier this week I read an article about yet another teacher who had been attacked on school grounds during school time. Although this particular incident saw a parent charged with assault, the article followed hot on the heels of another story which revealed that hundreds of teachers have received ACC-funded treatment after being assaulted at school.

According to figures in the article, ACC has funded treatment for 442 teachers following assaults at school during 2008 and 2009. This included a claim lodged in 2009 by a teacher who had been stabbed.

The public consciousness has become increasingly concerned with the behaviour of some young people over recent years. While the media tends to focus on the negative, and bring it more sharply to our attention, violence does appear to be getting worse in some areas.

Youth offending statistics over the past decade show police apprehensions of under-17-year-olds for violent offences rose from 4,538 in 2000 to 6,006 in 2008 - an increase of over 32 percent in just eight years. And, while most of these involved young people aged 14-16, the number of apprehensions of 10-13-year-olds for violent offences rose almost 10 percent - from 1,062 in 2000 to 1,158 in 2008.

This violence is spilling into schools. Ministry of Education figures for the same period show a larger increase in the incidence of violence by young people toward teachers. In 2000 there were 536 stand-downs, suspensions, exclusions or expulsions of students for physical assaults on teachers or other school staff. In eight years, the figure rose 60 percent to 873.

While much emphasis is placed on ensuring students are safe within our schools it is often forgotten that the school is also the workplace of teachers and a place where they too deserve to be safe.

As well as increasing in numbers, it appears attacks are becoming more vicious. One teacher has spoken out about his slow recovery after an attack by a student last year. The attack has seriously affected his lifestyle and stopped him participating in the sporting activities he once enjoyed. He reported:

"I am able to work only part-time hours because of the injury I sustained to my spinal cord. I have a pronounced limp in the leg that was paralysed and my neurosurgeon cannot say for sure that I will ever make a full recovery."

There is also anecdotal evidence of more fights between students involving weapons, of teachers being reluctant to break fights up for fear of their own safety and of teachers supervising schoolyards in pairs because they're too afraid to do it alone.

Evidence of increasing violence comes at a time when there are other concerning statistics highlighting difficulties in the education sector. The Education Ministry recently released a report indicating that 30,000 students are truant every day, and we're often told that one in five students is failing within the current system - a situation the Government is currently taking steps to address with several new initiatives. These figures suggest that a 'one size fits all' model of schooling is not working for some students.

Last month ACT released 'Free to Learn', the minority view of the ACT members of the Inter-Party Working Group on School Choice (www.roy.org.nz). The report proposes an education system where a range of providers could enter the schooling sector and offer programmes tailored to meet different students' needs. Parents - who under the proposed system would have real school choice - would be able to select the best school for their child from a range of options, rather than the present system where there is often no choice at all.

The recommendations in 'Free to Learn' would provide students with a customised and supportive method of learning, leading to an engaging and stimulating learning environment - allowing students to leave school with the skills and qualifications to make a meaningful contribution to society, and provide better engagement in a more conducive learning setting.

Government Announces Productivity Commission
This week ACT achieved another of our goals in the National-ACT Confidence & Supply Agreement, with the Government's announcement made jointly by Rodney Hide and Bill English that a Productivity Commission will be set up next year to boost economic performance.

The Commission will be modelled on the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission and the Australian Productivity Commission - which has previously conducted inquiries into such areas as energy efficiency and the impacts of migration and population growth on the Australian economy.

The New Zealand Commission will provide independent advice on ways to improve productivity in areas identified by the Government. It will investigate industries, sectors, review the effectiveness and efficiency of regulatory agencies, and conduct research into productivity-related matters.

Lest We Forget - New Zealand's First Flag: March 20, 1834
For all our assumed worldly sophistication in the 21st Century, we shouldn't forget the lessons of history. With ongoing debate around the New Zealand flag, it might well be instructional to look back on the origin of New Zealand's first flag which was chosen in true democratic style on March 20 1834.

In 1830 the Hokianga-built trading ship Sir George Murray was seized by Customs officials in Sydney for sailing without a flag or register. Australia was subject to British navigation laws ruling that every ship must carry an official certificate with details of ownership and nationality. New Zealand-built ships could not sail under a British flag or register as the country was not a British colony and, without a flag, trading ships and their cargoes would continue to be seized.

James Busby, then British Resident in the Bay of Islands, suggested to the Colonial Secretary in New South Wales that New Zealand adopt a flag . A flag had the dual advantage of solving problems with trans-Tasman trade and paving the way for some form of collective government by encouraging Maori chiefs to engage in the flag selection process.

On March 20 1834, 25 chiefs from the Far North gathered at Waitangi to choose a flag. Also present were missionaries, settlers, and the commanders of 10 British and three American ships. Busby addressed the crowd and each chief was called forward to select a flag.

The preferred design - out of three flags - received 12 of the 25 votes. Busby declared this flag - already used by the Church Missionary Society - the national flag of New Zealand (www.nzhistory.net.nz/culture/taming-the-frontier/united-tribes-flag). It was raised, accompanied by a 21-gun salute from HMS Alligator.

ENDS