The primary school teachers' union has accused Education Minister Anne Tolley of ignoring the concerns of teachers, following her speech at its annual meeting in Rotorua today.
Ms Tolley offered nothing new in her speech and failed to acknowledge the breakdown in the relationship between her and the education sector, said Frances Nelson, president of the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), which represents early childhood and primary teachers.
"In my entire career as a teacher I have never ever seen the sector so angry about something so fundamentally important to teaching and learning as the flawed (national) standards," Ms Nelson said.
"There was absolutely no sign that the minister acknowledged that there was a problem with these (national standards)," she said.
In her speech Ms Tolley said the Government took education seriously, despite what some people said.
"A few people in the education sector - and in Parliament - feel it's their job to mislead you on my views about teachers," Ms Tolley said.
The importance the Government placed on education was shown by the allocation of an extra $300 million to education in the 2010-11 year.
National Standards were being implemented well and would help raise the literacy and mathematical skills of New Zealand children, she said.
"Everywhere I go in New Zealand, parents tell me how delighted they are with their plain-language reports."
Ms Tolley also used the speech to thank teachers affected by the earthquake in Canterbury for helping to restore normalcy to the region.
"I've seen some heartbreaking scenes, but was hugely impressed by the dedication and determination of Canterbury principals, teachers, board members and Ministry of Education staff as they worked to get schools open for students."
Ms Nelson said Ms Tolley also failed to acknowledge the concern held by the early childhood sector that all teachers needed to be qualified and registered.
"We're very angry that she continues to completely ignore the questions, the concerns and advice of practitioners," Ms Nelson said.
About 500 NZEI members and parents attended the meeting. Many held up signs reading "Stop, listen and fix the flawed standards" and "stop early childhood cuts" whenever early childhood education and National Standards were mentioned during her speech in Rotorua.
