Editorial - July 24, 2012

What's the problem?

Any programme, whether it be problem-solving or the one-day school that once operated in Kaitaia, that can lift intelligent children to a level where they make maximum use of the brains God gave them should be welcomed.

The only question this newspaper has had about the Future/Community Problem Solving Programme is why problem/community and solving aren't hyphenated. Now, something of a furore has broken out over the status of what are officially known as the world finals and whether they constitute a world championship.

It would be appropriate to state at the outset that this newspaper may have led the way in labelling the finals a world championship and that as far as the writer is aware neither the Far North teams that have contested those finals, nor the organisers of the event, hosted annually by a US university, have done so.

While the contestants, their mentors, families and supporters have copped some flak, the criticism might more accurately be sheeted home to The Northland Age, although the criticism, whoever it is aimed at, is not warranted.

The US, for what it's worth, is probably the worst offender when it comes to giving contests status they don't deserve, often when no one else competes, but a strong case can be made for naming those who win a problem-solving final world champions. FPS/CPS might be just one of a plethora of such programmes but the finals are contested by students from many countries and the winners are entitled to regard themselves as champions.

The 'world' tag can be defended on the basis the competition is a truly international one - more international than many sports in which New Zealanders pursue world titles.

If problem-solving finals are not a world championship, what is the Rugby World Cup? The All Blacks and teams that have won the Webb Ellis Cup in the past unashamedly refer to themselves as world champions, as do the game's commentators. If anyone has ever pointed out that there are perhaps five genuine contenders for that title, the others largely making up the numbers, they have not done so very loudly.

Rugby league and netball are smaller ponds. The former might genuinely offer three contenders, the latter currently two. No one seems to be saying the winners of those titles don't deserve to regard themselves as world champions.

Whatever the status of the world finals, future/community problem-solving is undoubtedly an extremely valuable experience for many students, regardless of whether they get to compete at a national or international level. The benefits to be gained speak for themselves. The writer is certainly aware, from first-hand experience, how the programme can lift students, primary and secondary, to new levels of self-belief through the development of skills that will never be nurtured or tested by the standard curriculum, skills that, according to some who have had the experience, transfer readily to the world beyond school.

Nor can it be questioned that the people who mentor the students give to an extraordinarily generous degree of their time and expertise. This newspaper does not know if any of those who have travelled overseas with Far North teams have benefited from fundraising on behalf of those teams; it has never felt the need to, and doesn't expect to any time soon.

How teachers and parents who accompany teams might be criticised if they do benefit from fundraising is not immediately apparent. The NZRU pays the expenses of the players it selects to represent it wherever they might be required to play, and as far as the writer is aware does not expect the coaches, managers, physios and whoever else to pay their own way. It would seem churlish to expect people who give up huge quantities of their time to coach problem-solving teams to meet their travel expenses, although one imagines many of them do. That's the way this country works below the very top tier.

It wasn't that long ago that some of the most talented and successful sportsmen and women who have represented this country got to competitions, including the Olympic Games, by raffling pigs in barrows, then, having got there, slept rough to avoid blowing their budget.

New Zealanders used to pride themselves on that DIY spirit once, but times have changed in terms of sport, and if they haven't changed for people who encourage youngsters to achieve to the very best of their ability on the biggest stage they can find then it's time they did.

The writer would have no hesitation whatsoever in contributing to a fundraising effort designed to get a problem-solving team's mentor to the US, and frankly doesn't understand why anyone would feel differently.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what the teams that excel on what is clearly a world stage are called. If they are inaccurately labelled world champions that is a small point to quibble over. The fact is that for years teams from Far North primary and secondary schools have done themselves, their schools, their teachers/mentors, their communities and their country proud in a very tough competition, one in which, to coin an overused phrase, the Far North has long boxed above its weight.

The credit for that goes to many people, although Pam Scahill, once of Kaitaia now Kerikeri, tends to stand out from a very high-calibre crowd. A few years ago, she was one of those charged with spreading the problem-solving programme beyond the relatively small number of Far North schools that had adopted it and the result was impressive. Oruaiti, Ahipara and Kaitaia primary schools were among those that achieved the right to compete at the world finals, proving, for those who needed proof, that this programme is not the sole preserve of wealthier schools/communities or kids who have some perceived advantage.

What problem-solving has proved beyond all doubt is that clever children who can benefit enormously from the intellectual extension that such programmes provide can be found in schools of every decile ranking.

Deciles do make a difference in the ways in which teams that have earned the right to travel to the US have gone about fundraising, but bright minds are all around us. Those who have the opportunity to become involved in problem-solving, or any other programme of that nature, are fortunate. Those who have the opportunity to benefit from the attention of passionate teachers who actively promote the programme/s might acquire skills that will improve their chances of success in adulthood immeasurably.

If there is one ingredient lacking in this country's public education system, and there are many, it is a willingness or ability to invest in the brightest minds this country produces. Many of those bright minds, one suspects, never develop to their potential, and if the experts can be believed many might develop in negative ways. It seems to be accepted that children who do not find the standard curriculum sufficiently challenging are at greater risk than those less well endowed of ills ranging from depression to drug addiction to criminality.

Any programme, whether it be problem-solving or the one-day school that once operated in Kaitaia, that can lift intelligent children to a level where they make maximum use of the brains God gave them should be welcomed. Challenging these kids benefits not only them but their communities and their country. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what we call them. We should simply rejoice that some at least are getting opportunities that are denied to most, and thank those who help them get to where they are capable of going.