Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Mark Bruce-Miller: Whenua Iti Outdoors CEO on the Government's curriculum changes, rising number of kids dropping out of school

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Mark Bruce-Miller: Whenua Iti Outdoors CEO on the Government's curriculum changes, rising number of kids dropping out of school · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Concern this morning that the governments change up for the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: school curriculum could drive more students to drop out Early
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: New data release to News Talk ZBS shows nearly fourteen
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifteen year olds got exemptions to leave last year,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the highest since two thousand and seven. But the good
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: news is ninety percent of them continued to study outside school,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: and that was largely with Tapoo Kinger teaching two fifteen
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: year olds in some capacity last year. Bruce Sorry, Mark
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Bruce Miller is the CEO of Feno et Outdoors joins
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: us this morning. Mark, Good morning, Good morning. Right, school's
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: not for everyone if they are going elsewhere to study
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: or work, is it a problem?
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: No, not at all. I think we have to recognize
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: the school isn't for everyone, but school also needs to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: be a place where all learners can thrive and where
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: all earners can feel success.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: What's your issue? Because they're wanting to take outdoor read
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: from the Senior School General subject list. Why is that
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: a problem?
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: That's a big problem for us? We, as a specialist
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: in outdoor education, consistently demonstrate that outdoor ed allows all
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: students to flourish in areas that are difficult to work
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: within classroom environments key employability skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, resilience,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: and initiative. Is that opportunity is not available to all students,
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: then there's a problem. There is a proposal that it
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: will be offered for students on a vocational pathway, but
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: that would mean it wouldn't be available for anyone going
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: through to a university on more of an academic pathway.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: So you can still take outdoor ed and go and
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: get a job, but you can't take outdoor ed and
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: go to UNI.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: As the proposal currently says. That is one of the risks. Yes,
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: and yet we know that we need all of our
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: students when they're leaving school to be as well rounded
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: as it can, to have worked on their leadership, initiative,
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: problem solving, their ability to manage and think critically under pressure.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: That's what outdoor ed does.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: It's interesting because I did outdoor it at school and
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: then went to UNI, so I probably wouldn't have taken
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: that course if the current rules take place.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: That is very much the risk, and it's something that
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: we're concerned about because we see day in day out
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: the benefits of all of our students getting out of
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: the classroom, feeling more connected to the natural environment, learning
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: all those skills that I just listed, but also critical
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: to their confidence, self management, and their overall well being.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Interesting, Mike, appreciate your time this morning. Thank you. Mark
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Bruce Miller, CEO of fine Et Outdoors. For more from
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news talks.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: It'd be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: on iHeartRadio.