That’s totally understandable. The same goes for floods. Rain will instantly cause anxiety for so many of the children in our region.
It’s tough.
The cyclone comes on the heels of a pandemic that had every child in New Zealand staying away from school. There was anxiety over that as well for all of us.
Our children have had a lot to deal with in the past three years. Other generations have had to deal with disease and disaster as well.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that most people who live on our shaky little islands surrounded by water and criss-crossed with rivers, streams and dotted with lakes will have to deal with at least one disaster in their lifetime.
Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke's Bay Today. Photo / Warren Buckland.
You would think by now we would have some strategic plans in place to help our children, but the only plan we seem to have is to throw money at it.
I would love to know where that money goes.
For example, I Googled “millions to get children back to school”. Below are three news items that came up.
20/02/2023
Budget 2023: School attendance focus of $74m education package with 82 truancy officers
The Government is looking to tackle record-low school attendance rates with a $74 million education package, including bringing back centrally funded attendance officers to work with the most affected schools.
Budget 2022: School attendance, truancy focus of $88 million funding package and strategy
A high school principal warns of intergenerational impacts from rising rates of children missing school — some to support their parents who lost their jobs — and increased learning difficulties from the pandemic.
30/10/2021
Government reveals $15m package to get kids back to school after lockdown
The Government has unveiled a $15 million package to help Auckland pupils “re-engage” with the education system after nearly three months at home.
That’s an eye-watering $177 million in less than three years. So what happened to the $88m for school attendance with a truancy focus in 2022? What strategy did they come up with?
Who got that money and how was it spent? Does anyone check? Surely they must, but it’s not obvious that it worked.
Does this money ever get to the people who might know how best to spend it? I’m sure teachers might know how to entice children back to school, the equipment or environments that can lure a reticent child back.
However, before teachers can show children the benefits of an education, it is the parents who have to get their child through the gate and into the classroom.
School is more than just sitting in a classroom. It’s where you learn to socialise, it’s where you make lifelong friends, it’s where you find out that you love playing cricket, netball, rugby, hockey soccer, it’s where you discover you are good at playing the recorder (just joking, but it’s the only musical instrument I can play and I learned that at Mayfair School).
It’s where dreams and aspirations begin.
It’s where I met “the schoolgirls” who came back into my life a few years ago. We have had so much fun together. They make me laugh, they are supportive and we share history.
Yes, there are bad things about some schools, bullies and friends who drop you for someone else. But the good far outweighs the bad.
The way I see it, the Government can’t really help get your child out the door, no matter how much money it throws at the problem.
I think school is a fundamental part of life and it’s up to parents to do everything in their power to make sure their children don’t miss out on it.
– Linda Hall is assistant editor at Hawke’s Bay Today
