This video is really cool. It shows photos of St Stephen’s school, and then explains what they are, from a student who used to attend. Judging by the music and the tone of the text within the video, I think they’re quite upset at the way the school has been left. This clearly reinforces the idea that this school means a lot to many people and they can’t wait for it to be reopened so that it can again hold significance in the lives of others.
Tag: Education
Balancing Act
The question for this week is “Is there a balance of facts and views in your story?”
Last week I interviewed Dean Kidd, the secretary of St Stephen’s Old Boy’s Association. With an interview, you would usually expect to get a one sided view, however my interview provided me with both fact and view. As Mr Kidd is preparing a formal presentation, or pitch, to the Ministry of Education, along with numerous governmental and non-governmental associations, he has to have statistics and I guess you could say, evidence, which are ultimately facts, as they can’t be made up or influenced by opinion.
Because of this, it’s fair to say that my story will have a balance of facts and views. The facts coming from Kidd’s investigation and the views coming from my other interviewees.
I plan to start drafting my story over the coming days. 600 words, here I come.
Education Of The Nation
As St Stephen’s is a school for Maori, I got some statics about their education.
20% of Maori’s achieve University Entrance compared to 47.9% Non-Maori.
This, I’m sure would be a significant push factor to get the school to reopen.
The Work That Comes From Procrastination
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/push-reopen-maori-secondary-school-5396447 (Click it!)
Due to the fact that I am an awesome procrastinator, here’s another post that probably could have waited for another day. But since I’m on a roll…
I’m still following the idea of doing my article on St Stephen’s. This article (above- click it if you haven’t already!) discusses the push to try and reopen the school. If this happened, my quiet little street wouldn’t be so quiet anymore- which would probably be a nice thing. How would the neighbours feel, and how would the Ministry of Education go about monitoring the behaviour and achievements of the students to make sure it doesn’t get shut down like it had been in 2000. Will it have a religious influence (St Stephen’s was an Anglican school), or will it be completely rebranded? And is it a good idea to keep it strictly Maori or will it wedge an even bigger ‘cultural differences’ gap in society?
It looks like it’s going to rain, so I won’t go visit St Stephen’s today- maybe tomorrow. Until then, keep looking at the google stalk images and I’ll get some pictures out soon.
Stay cool,
Yana
yanaogorman 