King’s High School rector Nick McIvor used the school’s Facebook page to express concern about the potential for cannabis use to be legalised.
Some parents supported his right to express his views and others questioned the legality of the school straying from political neutrality.
University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said the law was a little complex.
Teachers were not required to be politically neutral, he said.
However, the board of trustees was an "agency" of the State Services Commission.
Even if the rector’s post complied with the school’s social media policies, there might still be a problem over whether the school’s policies were compliant with the commission’s guidance on political neutrality.
"It can be tough being a teenager at the best of times in modern life. To make cannabis even more widespread will only add to this and it’s reckless to do so."
The school did not remove the post during the weekend and board chairman Richard Wingham said on Facebook the board had a neutral position on the referendum.
"Mr McIvor has not suggested to readers how they ought to vote on the issue, nor did he intend to do so.
"The original Facebook post has been left up on the basis that discussion in this area is seen as of benefit for the community as long as those comments are constructive."
Mr McIvor’s post attracted 478 comments by 8.25pm last night and Mr Wingham’s post had 102 comments.
Prof Geddis responded to the claim that the rector had not suggested to readers how they ought to vote on the issue with "yeah, right".
If the rector’s comments had been printed in a school newsletter, they would need to be accompanied by a promoter’s statement, Prof Geddis said.
In his post, Mr McIvor acknowledged a range of views for and against legalisation in the lead-up to the referendum, but said he was "struggling to see how legalisation would improve the lives of young people in New Zealand".
"I fear that it would make them worse," he said in his Friday evening message.
The proposed Bill had been promoted as "controlling" the availability of cannabis.
But it was more likely to increase consumption , and to put "more cannabis directly into the lives of our young people, at a critical and sometimes vulnerable time in their lives".
During his 26 years in secondary education, while working as a teacher, coach, dean and senior manager, he had worked with pupils who were cannabis users.
"Often we saw apathy, underachievement and reduction in academic performance."
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Interesting how those in favour of legalising cannabis, such as members of the psychology department of the university, can go on an ODT video debate, stating their university credentials, without threats to censor or censure yet if a high school principal of considerable experience does a post on their school FB page, another department of the university warns of the dangers of sharing their knowledge.
Now you might say that is because the FB page is school property so should be apolitical but our schools are government run and their curriculum is state generated and it most certainly has a postmodernist focus, which is Marxist in nature and deed, so anyone that thinks our schools are apolitical needs to wake up to the woke.
Interestingly, I see considerable material around the university in support of the referendum, again a state run entity, displayed to people of voting age, yet there would be very few students at a high school in the same position. Where are the voices demanding this material be removed? Are such voices only the domain of the 'progressives' ? If so, whats progressive about censorship ?
You are comparing apples with oranges here. Everyone is allowed to voice their opinion about this and say at the same time where they work. The principle would have been allowed to state his opinion and experience as a teacher in his PRIVATE facebook account but not on the school website. Equally university staff can voice their opinion in ODT, on facebook etc. as long as they make clear that they are stating their private opinion and don't represent the university. Where do you see "considerable material around the university"? If you mean posters and noticeboards those are not places where the university makes official statements but tools for people to post their opinion. You are very welcome to print out some notices stating your gobbledigook about the schools curriculum having a "postmodernist focus, which is Marxist in nature" and hang them up on notice boards around the university. They will fit in very well with the ones about 5G conspiracy theories I saw the other day.
There is no shortage of evidence that our education system is postmodernist by design.
Wikipedia "Criticisms of postmodernism, while intellectually diverse, share the opinion that it lacks coherence and is hostile to notions such as truth, logic, and objectivity. Specifically, it is held that postmodernism can be meaningless, promotes obscurantism and uses relativism (in culture, morality, knowledge) to the extent that it cripples most judgement calls."
Ref; Policy Futures in Education, Volume 9 Number 2 2011, ‘values’ in the New Zealand Curriculum, page 6
"Third way thinking is partly a political response to intellectual postmodernism, and partly a response to rapid technological change and globalisation"
Ref; liturgy.co.nz/creating-postmodern-people
"I understand that this postmodern perspective has been the approach at NZ university for at least a couple of decades, and is becoming normative in our schools during the last half-dozen or so years."
Ref; researchconnections.org/childcare/resources/10688
"IMPLEMENTING TE WHARIKI AS POSTMODERNIST PRACTICE"
Ref; researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/2585
"arts areas are destabilized by thinking within the postmodern turn"
He did post it in the school newsletter
Hey if it gets people talking and hell maybe even doing a bit of research on the topic great.
A one line disclaimer from the school should cover the legalities.
The issue here has nothing to do with the cannabis debate. The issue here is that this Rector has abused his position to influence a political debate.
That is, he has abused his position. And that is unacceptable. Someone who will abuse their position is not suitable to be the Rector of a High School.
Postmodernism is a way of looking at human organisation and culture. It can inform learning like any other theory. Are you familiar with eclectic practice in assignment writing? You use the theoretical to critique the standard. Theory may be postmodern or 'conservative'.
Please don't suggest certain influences should not be permitted in Liberal education.