Re: OT/ Sins of the Past

This post not CC'd by email
On Mon, 14 Nov 2005 02:09:25 GMT, "Thomas Muffaletto"
<mrgantlet911@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>> Here we have primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary
>> sector which has institutes which provide a mixture of diplomas and
>> degrees and universities which provide mostly degrees and a few
>> diploma.
>
>ooo it might be like the Bullshit schools we have here Like Drake business
>school.

G'day G'day Tom,

I'll endeavour to make it simpler for you.

A tertiary institute is NOT a school.
It is not remotely like a Drake business school.

It is part university, part technical institute.

The university degree course part has expanded far more than the
technical institute partly thanks to aggressive management who have
made it the fastest growing and most financially successful tertiary
institute in New Zealand.

>> The PASM status is part of a national pay scale.
>>
>>>also just how many teachers in your school teach the same subject you do?
>>
>> With the down turn in the electronics industry as explained by Tiger
>> Lily the number decreased.
>
>well she made it sound like you have ended up being a parts changer.

Hardly. It takes considerable skill to arrive at such a
misconstruction. <grin> I have never been employed as a part changer.

>electronics have changed but to look at it as simply as tiger lilly put it
>is like saying aviod whole grains because they raise blood sugar levels.
>so basicall with your knowledge of electronics you could only get a job as a
>part changer?

What was happening is that technical skills being required by an
increasing number of employers was decreasing. We were overeducating
them for the jobs that were available. More of them were ending up in
servicing jobs as it became cheaper to replace whole systems than to
fault find and repair. Added to that circuits were becoming vastly
more complicated to design etc. Tiger Lily had it right in suggesting
that replacing equipment became a more viable option than repair.

You know a bit about computers and will have realised how much more
people get for their dollar these days. Why fix a computer when you
can ditch the problems and often get a better one for the price of
repair? Even if one has to resort to fixing it is usually a matter of
replacing a board.

For what it is worth there is still a viable electronic industry in
parts of New Zealand and it is crying out for skilled employees. For
instance New Zealand is world famous for precision motor controls,
specialist telecoms equipments. The catch is the industry doesn't pay
new graduates as well as it does Information Technology students and
is therefore less attractive so the numbers enrolling throughout New
Zealand in electronics have decreased.

>> I was the last tutor left in the
>> electronic field. They closed the section which included a handful of
>> other tutors and I went with it.
>
>sorry to hear about that.

Thanks.

>>>so basically you are saying you are in the top 5% of how many teachers?
>>
>> Something like a hundred.
>
>did you earn that 5% status in a field that is now aboslete?

I earned the PASM status partly from teaching ability and partly for
being willing to shoulder responsibilities that extended throughout
the institute and also went outside the tertiary institute where I
worked. For instance I was flown around New Zealand to other
institutes as an Academic Auditor. What that means is I ensured other
institutes kept up to the stringent benchmarks set for them. There was
also a Managerial Auditor from yet another tertiary institute. On asd
we sometimes talk about peer review. That was part of my role.

Other parts of my role had nothing to do with the electronics or
electrical fields. For instance there was serving on the Academic
Board. The Academic Board is a quality assurance tool. One of its
roles was to ensure all the correct steps have been followed by
faculties wishing to market a new course. Another was to adjudicate
when students wished to contest an assessment. Such things are very
serious.

>> The tertiary institute was one of the fastest growing tertiary
>> institutes in New Zealand. To make it simpler for you to understand
>
>thank you.

The downside of them being the fastest growing was that they also had
the reputation of being the most ruthless in terminating courses that
didn't make a profit. I knew this. I lived with it for over twenty
years. It didn't make the pain any less when I was made redundant.

>I was in the top 5% of ALL tertiary tutors in
>> New Zealand. FWIIW I am still the editor for four national exams.
>
>proof reader?

<smile> Nah. Much more than that.

The official description makes it pretty clear the principal role of
the editor is to make sure the questions are fair to the students.

This means in practice that ambiguity must be avoided.

The questions have to be put simply so they measure the required skill
not comprehension skills.

The mark schemes must be clear cut.

Students must not be disadvantaged if they get an early part of a long
question wrong.

There are other details.

Hope this helps.

>>>and who voted you in?

I was appointed by an industry training organisation. They set
standards for the particular industry. As I have mentioned the role of
a PASM requires one to be in the top 5% of tutors in the tertiary
institute. However, that isn't all that is required. One has to be
held in high regard by the industry training organisation. It is
almost impossible to describe just how stiff the selection criteria
are to someone outside the tertiary education sector.

{deleted stuff about substitute teachers]

>>Just a gradual return to normal. Obviously since PASM
>> positions are contestable the one I held had long gone.
>
>pretty sure you just said in another post that you still had that title. il
>have to check.

No. I think you are referring to my role as an editor.

BTW there is really no realistic chance of my ever getting the PASM
title again. With so few PASM position available nationally,
management allocates them to growth areas. The one I held went to
someone in Information Technology. Perhaps you have heard the term
Edubusiness. Well I experienced it.

>>>sorry quentin i hope you can understand that i dont take your word for
>>>anything.
>>
>> It's mutual. Don't feel bad about it.
>
>yeah but i have a reason.

And I don't? LOL.

>>>in this day and age i doubt there is a lack of students in the electronics
>>>field.
>>
>> I think Tiger Lily has given an adequate explanation of why that has
>> happened. Another factor is economy of scale. The bigger players in
>> the electronics field are taking more and more of the world market
>> share.
>>
>> Hope this has helped clear up a few matters for you.
>
>
>actually yes

Pleased to hear it.

Best wishes,


--
Quentin Grady ^ ^ /
New Zealand, >#,#< [
/ \ /\
"... and the blind dog was leading."

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/quentin
.

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