Social engineering In Students' Economics Tests

Wednesday 24 Nov 2004

Deborah Coddington - Press Releases - Primary & Secondary Education

If ever parents needed proof that New Zealand's education standards have descended into pure brainwashing, they need look no further than this year's NCEA 'seventh form' economics examination paper, ACT Education Spokesman Deborah Coddington said today.

"Take a look at these two gems:

'The New Zealand government provides 'free' education at state secondary schools. Explain why this results in a better resource allocation than the free market.'

'Explain why using 'free market' policies causes income inequality.'

Miss Coddington says no doubt the bonus question went along the lines of "Ruth Richardson was a previous Finance Minister. How often did she kick her dog?"

"It's way past time we overhauled our examination system. We need to bring intellectual rigour back into education and get rid of this Orwellian style revisionist history."

Miss Coddington said it was time to start a campaign - "TWO PLUS TWO MAKES FOUR" - a quote taken from George Orwell's book, 1984: "Trusims are true, hold on to that! The solid world exists, its laws do not change. Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall toward the earth's centre. With the feeling that he was speaking to O'Brien, and also that he was setting forth an important axiom, he wrote: Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows."

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>