27 March: Today, Aotearoa Educators Collective launches with a panel discussion with over 200 educators and academics. The panel
is discussing the real crisis in education - hint, it is not literacy and numeracy achievement, banning cellphones, or
minimal minutes of reading, writing and mathematics. The panel discussion will be led by Lynda Stuart, Rebecca Jesson,
and Jodie Hunter.
AEC provides a platform to educators and academics to share their voice around current education issues.
Spokesperson Peter O’Connor says, “We want a bipartisan approach to education that takes politics out of the classroom
and lets teachers get on with the job. These sound bite policies around banning cellphones and minimum minutes on
reading, writing and maths are masking the real crisis in education.
AEC believes the government should ditch harmful policies like standardised testing and charter schools which will only
compound equity issues in education. We want to see them investing in vital areas like initial teacher education, Te
Tiriti o Waitangi, learning support, class sizes and teacher aides.
It's time to move to a place where practitioner voice and academic thinking, grounded in research, combine to let us do
the best for the learners in our system.
About Aotearoa Educators Collective
Aotearoa Educators Collective is an umbrella collective created to support education thought leaders who share a common
interest in promoting progressive ideals in schooling. The group includes academics, principals and teachers and is not
aligned to any political party.
These leaders choose to contribute to mainstream public debate through mainstream media based on their research, their
lived professional experience and their standing within the sector.