Labour's leader. Here we go again. Should we?

It seems that every time someone writes a blog about David Shearer’s leadership of the Labour Party, others call for his head or say that his days as leader are numbered. This is a ridiculous response and Mr Shearer should treat it with the contempt it deserves.

We only need to cast our memory back to previous leaders and look at the polls in regard to their positions and we can glean a more honest picture of where things are at. Some of those leaders hardly made double figures in the polls.

Having said that, Mr Shearer does need to get himself out there and take some training re his image as some of his colleagues have done in the past. He is a decent and intelligent man and we need those qualities far more than brash, flippant comments made by others who would be ‘king’ or who already fill that position. Let’s see some substance in this debate about leadership and look beyond the façade.

Kids late to class because they hug?

Yes, it true. A North Shore school in Auckland is blaming hugging for making students, mainly girls, being late for class. Guess what? --- They have banned hugging. My first reaction was to feel that the school has used a ‘sledge hammer to kill an ant,’ as one parent put it. I am sure the move will cause plenty of debate, both within schools and the wider community. Bloggers (like me) will have a field day. I feel that I must comment from a ‘working in a secondary school perspective.’

Firstly, students will be late for many reason, friendship circles and parting after breaks would just being one of them. Yes, I have noticed that at secondary school, kids tend to hug way more than when my generation was at school back in the 60’s. Hugging has sort of crept up on us and can even be seen on the rugby field these days, without the nasty aspersions that would have been cast in previous times. Students will even hug their teachers; something that some teachers find a little too invasive of their privacy. I have seen some almost flinch when a student attempts to hug them. I t has to come down to that teacher’s comfort level dictating and giving off signals that hugging is not appropriate for them. I suspect that increased attention from the media about hugging in general is going to cause a good deal of debate and schools will react by creating their own policies around hugging.

Back to the ‘lateness of students. From time to time, schools need to raise the bar re this age old problem. Gone are the days when tardiness to class was rewarded by a quick canning or detention. Schools have had to become creative about the sanctions imposed for the above transgression of school rules. Detentions still have a place along with various forms of ‘reporting,’ whereby students have to carry around a report that may or may not be taken home for parents to peruse.

Lateness can also be a bit cyclical. Towards the end of the year when seniors have departed for their exams, the juniors tend to ‘push the boundaries.’ That is the time when many schools reassert their rules.

There is another issue. Some kids will always try to avoid class and the prospect of a detention is well worth suffering if it means that they can spend a few more precious moments with their ‘best friends.’ (They may not be ‘best friends the next day of course, such is the transitory nature of friendship). Other students are just plain bored with particular classes. This has always been so and the spectre of a ‘punishment’ metered out for late-comers is not always enough to curtail tardy practises. Of course that doesn’t make the lessons any more attractive to such students, so I guess the kids attend the classes on sufferance. Let’s face it; teachers are not going to be able to cater for every student in a way that makes their lessons attractive to all students. Such a school does not exist unless it is some sort of ‘special school,’ catering for a particular ‘targeted group, with very small classes. (Oh, isn’t that what the National Government in NZ is proposing under the heading of Charter Schools or some other name they dreamed up?)

OK, so what are we going to do about ‘hugging’ in our schools, whether they be primary, intermediate or secondary? How about we don’t make it a huge issue. Let’s take it school, by school and create an environment where hugging is OK. If the kids then come late to class, then deal with the ‘lateness, not some supposed belief that hugging is the real issue. Talk to the kids. Get an agreement that ‘all’ can live with. We know that there will always be students who will go over the line. For those who insist on some sort of ritual hugging of every one of their friendship group---talk to the kids about how they need to come up with a solution to the problem that may cause. We may be very surprised at what the students come up with. The kids know they are or will be late to class and if they can get away with it, they will.

Discuss, then implement a school wide policy and consign the whole discussion to a level where it belongs---- not in the National Media!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

There are many young people like Josh out there.

The news that a young man was found dead in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens is tragic. The fact that the help he was given did not save his life is also sad. The lack of understanding of what it is like to ‘fall into the cracks’ and slowly die, is an issue that we must address.

We often hear of young people who are already on the road Josh took and we see them featured on TV. In many instances their lives have been full of sadness and lacking in parental guidance. This was not so for Josh. When he returned from the USA after serving time as a ‘camp counsellor,’ he made choices that eventually led to his death. He had times when he worked as a barista and it is reported that he loved his job,  but something in him made it impossible for him to hold on to this job and he sunk further into the life of ‘huffing.’

Josh had people around him who cared about him and these people did their best to help Josh change. He attended various ‘services’ but they too were unable to turn Josh around.

What is it that is missing in our ‘wrap-around’ services? What else could have been done other than ‘locking him up’ and treating him until the urge to seek out the harmful substances had subsided? There is nothing that allows for such ‘old fashioned-treatment?’ There was a time when he could have been taken into care and kept away from his demons. The treatment at those facilities would be criticised now as being inappropriate, but with what we know now about ‘treating’ dependency, perhaps Josh would have had a better chance. One gets the feeling that his parents would have gone along with such an approach.

We have departed from treating people like Josh in institutions that have the means to keep them safe for the necessary amount of time needed to make a difference. We also do not have the resources in the community that could make a difference when patients return to society other than a few scattered ‘half-way’ houses.

Do we need to return to the past with some modern twists in order to save these precious young lives? What we lack is the political and collective will as a nation. There will be many more like Josh out there. Have we hardened ourselves to their plight?

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Listen to Mike on ZB Talkback on MOnday at 3.25ish.

Yes, if you want to hear all the lowdown about New Zealands Got Talent, listen to Mike's comments on ZB Talkback. Yes, you can even hook into the show online, so if my overseas readers are curious, just Google NZGT at ZB Talkback. Mike is fresh and I reckon he should have a show of his own. Go Mike.

Kim DotCom--now what do you think?

Did you watch the TV1 programme about Kim DotCom tonight (Sunday 11/11/12)? If you did, you may feel like I do---confused and possibly angry. The programme pulled no punches and the accusations made were not really defended by Kim DotCom when he had the chance to do so.

Is this the measure of the man? Is he shall we say, arrogant? Does he feel above talking to us mere mortals? Either TV 1 didn’t look for people to say favourable things about him, or they couldn’t find anyone; so it is either bad reporting or he is just what the programme intimated---full; of shite and not a nice person. 

The comments from the guy who used to work for him were damming to say the least and Kim’s reply was weak (via email). He had a questionable reputation in Germany and it is only because the alleged ‘crimes’ were committed many years ago that they cannot be considered re his presence in NZ.

I say it is time that Kim DotCom came out from behind his walls and faced NZ and explained his position. He owes us some answers and we need to ask the questions. Did rip off the intellectual property for many creative artists and filmmakers or did he not? The onus is on him to answer this vitally important question and if he does so, we can collectively tell the USA officials where to go. If he can’t then he should return to the USA to answer the charges!

Nick Afoa is going places--see the Central Leader interview for November 8th!

Many of you have seen nick sing (heard!) on TV on several occasions. Hell, he can even sing in sign language, eh Bro!

Well Nick is going to feature more on TV in the future and he won’t need NZGT to do this. He has a superb voice that needs to be ‘gotten out there.’ I don’t know if he writes his own music, but someone out there will have a song that suits his style. Then we can all support him by buying it when it is released.

I would like to go to Xmas in the park to hear him, but I will watch it on TV. I find that occasion a bit daunting now and the people just don’t shut up---they’re too busy partying! Oh well, I guess it will just have to wait until that BBQ I promised him!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Salad fantastique! ---OMG!

I had the pleasure of eating a wonderful salad last week at my web designer’s house and I thought I would vary it because I didn’t have some ingredients.

Take some iceberg lettuce and roughly rip it up so it remains chunky (just like me). Then mix in a bowl some (I used three) small, cooked, but just warm Kumara (sweet potatoes), also nicely chopped into cubes. I then peeled some pears, in this case they were imported USA ones---lovely---so are NZ ones. Mix the pears and Kumaras with low fat mayonnaise—use your fingers. I am not boasting but I happened to have some chervil growing in a container on my deck so I ripped that up too and mixed it in with the pears and kumara. Just add some pepper and place the mixture on top of the lettuce on a flat dish or platter.

I served this with pork spare ribs cooked with a spicy mixture on the slow cooker.  Damn, if my partner doesn’t come home soon--- well you know what will happen! Of course I tasted it, silly!  YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMY!!!!!