A lack of specialist teachers in New Zealand is "becoming a crisis", the headlines scream. But one specialist teacher says the problem is really about finding expert teachers "who love teaching children".
Larne Edmeades, principal of ACG Parnell College and executive principal of the group's five New Zealand schools, has watched recent rumblings about New Zealand schoolchildren as young as nine or 10 (Year 4) falling behind in core subjects such as mathematics or reading - and the accompanying anxiety about the shortage of specialist teachers.
There is particular concern the STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - simply do not have enough people to teach them.
Edmeades sees it differently. A specialist teacher (he started as an accounting and economics teacher at Auckland Grammar before becoming deputy principal at ACG Senior College in 1997), he is convinced the issue is much broader.
"It's not about specialist or non-specialist subjects, it's about expert teachers - people who love children and love teaching children," he says. "I've seen some wonderfully qualified people who don't."
He's not alone. Last month's Economist magazine carried a story referencing Professor John Hattie, of the University of Melbourne, crunching the results of more than 65,000 research papers on the effects of hundreds of interventions on the learning of 250m pupils.
He found aspects of schools that parents care about a lot - such as class sizes, uniforms and streaming by ability - make little or no difference to whether children learn. What matters is "teacher expertise". All of the 20 most powerful ways to improve school-time learning identified by the study depended on what a teacher did in the classroom, the magazine reported.
Edmeades believes this sort of teaching expertise shouldn't wait until high school, citing one of his own Year 1 teachers skilled at growing her students' love of reading.
"She's an expert at understanding where kids are at - and choosing the most appropriate way to move them. It's not just about high school specialist subjects; we do need that, but we need more people who know how to teach."
"The content changes but it's about how we get students to think about that content and progress their own learning," he insists. "We care about quality content but as a platform and vehicle for kids to do more.
With knowledge content changing so rapidly, and universities increasingly moving away from face-to-face learning, Edmeades says it is even more important for teachers to focus on developing kids who are successful learners - who can manage their own learning outside the lecture theatre.
"We're lucky to have kids who can take off and progress but we also need to look at how we engage the lower quartile. There's nothing like a teacher who thinks about your learning, anticipating the questions and asking the right questions."
There is also concern around the world that teachers who do not do the above are often not exposed to analytical critiques like those practised at ACG schools. The Economist again: "40 per cent of teachers in the OECD have never taught alongside another teacher, observed another or given feedback."
So how does Edmeades' group of schools find impassioned and expert teachers? Edmeades says ACG teachers are expected to have three core qualities: competence in their subject, a chemistry that fits the school culture of improvement and core character. To ACG, competence is not just around the subject matter but also includes how the teacher relates to the kids.
No teacher is hired without an 80-minute lesson observed by school management or senior peers ("you can discern pretty quickly who has it," he notes).
The chemistry to fit in with a changing school environment requires people willing to remain teachable their whole careers, humbly willing to learn, and with personality characteristics children can relate to.
"Children never forget a shining teacher, one who models a character and quality they can apply to their whole life," says Edmeades.
Some teachers with the necessary qualities are found even before they complete teacher training; others are mid-40s career switchers and many are keen to come to the schools because they focus on kids who want to learn - giving teachers the chance to get stuck into their subject.
As well as ongoing professional development workshops bringing together the entire faculty of 180, the group uses technology for teachers to share resources and lessons across all the schools, "so everyone understands exactly what matters", as Edmeades puts it.
Principals are mentored by a council of experienced educators, sharing global research and challenging assumptions about what makes the best teachers.
"What are specialist teachers today? They are the people who help kids to develop and cultivate better habits and attitudes to grow their learning," he says. "Their highest value time is the time in the classroom and the best teachers are always thinking about how to help students make that stretch, whatever the subject."
