Patrick Craddock

Being away from the hurly burly of the classroom, I still believe the government’s decision to remove the Maori learn-to-read book from classroom circulation shows a lack of understanding of the need for diversity in learning and how learning occurs.   The book, for five-year-olds, includes six Māori words – marae, karanga, wharenui, koro, hongi and karakia – which some officials argue sit uneasily within structured literacy . Professor Gail Gillon, who developed the wider Best Start Literacy Programme, told RNZ’s John Gerritsen there was “absolutely no evidence” that children found the reader confusing,  “And in fact, our data would suggest the opposite.” Even withRead More →

Much of my life has been in teaching. It started with Primary  Schools  in NZ, moved to Secondary then to Non-Formal Education  followed  by Radio Broadcast Journalism at a University and later still with  NGOs in Africa using media as a tool. These are the wisest words I have seen written on  education. “Ideally, what should be said to every child, repeatedly, throughout his or her school life is something like this: ‘You are in the process of being indoctrinated. We have not yet evolved a system of education that is not a system of indoctrination. We are sorry, but it is the best weRead More →

The land of Palestine was not empty when the first Zionist settlers arrived there in 1882. This fact was known to the Zionist leaders even before the first Jewish settlers arrived. A delegation sent to Palestine by the early Zionist organizations reported back to their colleagues: “the bride is beautiful but married to another man.”1 Nevertheless, when they first arrived, the early settlers were surprised to encounter the locals whom they regarded as invaders and strangers. In their view, the native Palestinians had usurped their homeland. They were told by their leaders that the locals were not natives, that they had no rights to theRead More →

If you had to invent an ending for Trumpian America, what would it be? I think it would be impeachment – which, in my view, would be a good ending. I would love to see him retired, let’s put it that way. The bad ending would be that he gets a third term and takes things over completely. It’s a horror story either way. Trump is a horror story, isn’t he?Read More →

‘Somewhere over the Atlantic,’ wrote Robert, ‘there is a giant glass curtain through which Americans view the Middle East, which utterly distorts their vision.’ Embedded in that view is an arrogant colonial attitude that only the West and Europeans truly appreciate democracy. The West offered the Middle East democracy in the form of military operations – overt or covert, either directly or with the help of its regional allies – but no one should expect the people in these countries to fully understand or value democracy because they were not Europeans. Fisk, Robert. Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East (p. 537).Read More →

It is  so hard to see the people we elect as leaders .  The American FBI has now formally established an office in Wellington. Our leaders show they understand the art of vagueness. Winston Peters said the new office was “a really serious utility added to our crime fighting capacity in the Pacific, and crime and drug dealing and narcotics is an awful scourge, and we’ve got to get on top of it, so it’s great news”. He said the subject of China had not been raised in their meeting. “We never raised that issue, we talked about the Pacific, what we could do toRead More →

I watched the film Oceans and like the film producers and researchers I marvelled at the sea, the sea life there and its future  or lack of future???????  I also marvelled in  disgust  at the way we trawl or bulldoze the bottom of the oceans with chains to fuck it up for our children. I read this Radio NZ item and marvelled too at the ignorance and arrogance of our leading politicians  who obviously have a clear vision of self-preservation, but not one for New Zealand.  Shane Jones is one politician. But there are others. Some talk. Many remain silent. A silent guilt. For theRead More →

I have just read this in The Spinoff, a NZ media outlet. Just a couple of days ago I was writing about shoplifting and the law. Obviously this shoplifter needs help. Her jail penalty is going to cost you and me around $600,000. This coalition government  talks big time about money, money, money!!!!!! It needs to extend the money dialogue on how the money is used. It does know how to thump a person with a big stick.  Will it bother itself  to become  wiser  and to spend more money to try and get inside  the head of Misty  and   help  her? Is ” intensiveRead More →

I am not a criminal. Too old to risk it. I don’t want  to commit a crime, but I do believe the  coalition which talks about safety and cutting crime and boosting the economy needs to think about the future of NZ, not just the future of their own egos and arses. If I steal from a retail store this may happen to me … a maximum prison sentence of one year for thefts valued around $2000 or less, and up to seven years if the stolen goods exceed $2000 in value. Including police, courts and prison costs it is already approaching $200,000 a yearRead More →

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