Good school education is 'more than vocational training'

A good school education has to do much more than just prepare students for the workplace, argues a prominent headmaster.

Wellington College headmaster Roger Moses said school education was unbalanced by a focus on 'relevant and appealing' education and vocational subjects.

Good work was happening in information technology, graphics, the applied arts and even emerging subjects such as tourism and hospitality. But these subjects had more to do with vocational training than a liberal education.

"When such apparently relevant subjects, with immediate appeal, supplant the importance of history, English literature, mathematics or science, an imbalance occurs," Mr Moses said.

"For example, the marginalised place of history in our schools is both a tragedy and a disgrace. How can anyone understand the world post-September 11 without any understanding of the clash between a Western and an Islamic world view?"

Speaking to the Institute of Directors earlier this month, Mr Moses said New Zealand might be selling students short in the drive for a 'relevant' curriculum and by under-estimating students' ability to come to grips with classic works.

Mr Moses also said attracting good people into teaching was key to helping students do well.

"How do we attract such people? More flexible salary arrangements are part of the equation, but I do not believe that greater remuneration is the only answer.

"Without sounding too precious, there needs to be some rediscovery of a sense of vocation, a conviction perhaps, that society values teaching and that something worthwhile is being achieved."

Mr Moses said teachers should not be locked into traditional teaching methodology and there were many tools available for them to make learning dynamic and absorbing.

Mr Moses' speech to the Institute of Directors can be downloaded as a PDF file by clicking here.