Opinion: The delusion of pornography's harmlessness
Despite significant evidence that a deluge of pornography has a negative impact on modern society, there is a curious refusal to publicly admit disapproval of it, writes Christine Emba.
These days, virality is difficult to achieve. But the British OnlyFans
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NZ Herald
5 days ago
- NZ Herald
NCEA overhaul: NZ principals predict short-term Cambridge boost amid curriculum changes
His school allows senior students to study either the local NCEA programme or the British-headquartered Cambridge exams, taught in schools around the world. He expected uncertainty caused by the NCEA's scrapping could lead more parents to choose Cambridge's 'stability' in the short term. That was until the new NZ Certificate of Education qualification was fully up and running. 'I think our students will keep opting into Cambridge probably in slightly bigger numbers for the next few years at least,' Hargreaves said. The overhaul, which could affect students for decades to come, is open for public feedback for the next six weeks. Macleans College principal Steven Hargreaves says parents may opt for the Cambridge exams in the short term while the details of New Zealand's education overhaul are being thrashed out. Photo / Macleans College via RNZ It follows years of criticism that the NCEA's flexibility meant students across the country were being held to different standards and learning varying lessons despite supposedly studying the same subjects. It also led some schools to abandon the NCEA entirely. More than 40 schools over the past year offered the Cambridge curriculum either in place of the NCEA or alongside it as another alternative. Popular inner Auckland school, Epsom Girls Grammar, was among the latest, telling parents it would be offering it as a choice from 2026 after 'overwhelming community demand'. Auckland Grammar offers students the NCEA and Cambridge pathways, with headmaster Tim O'Connor a long-time critic of the homegrown system. Epsom Girls Grammar is offering a pilot Cambridge exams pathway in 2026, with a full rollout to follow after that. Photo / Alex Burton He said many students had coasted under NCEA rather than striving for excellence, which 'tarnished' it as a 'flexible anything qualification' and led to more than 250,000 skipped exams last year. Despite that, O'Connor questioned whether the Cambridge pathway would be needed if the homegrown education system was revamped. 'We're a proud state school and we would support a nationwide qualification if it was going to be rigorous enough,' he said. Hargreaves, who was on the Government's reform advisory group, said moves under the proposed reform to have all assignments and exams marked by outside assessors rather than teachers was a positive step towards ensuring fair grading. He also backed a homegrown pathway but thought it would take time to convince parents to have faith in it. Mike Waller, principal of private secondary Pinehurst School, which only teaches Cambridge, was another to back the reforms. However, his school was firmly established in the Cambridge system and had no plans to change. He believed it was rigorous and as an international pathway serving schools in many countries, was more stable and less susceptible to political changes that homegrown curriculums could be. The proposed NCEA changes The Government proposes axing NCEA Level 1, giving students respite from high-pressure exams in Year 11. They will instead focus on literacy and numeracy in a 'Foundational Skills Award' to build a base for their senior studies. Year 12s will then seek the New Zealand Certificate of Education (NZCE) and Year 13s the NZ Advanced Certificate of Education (NZACE). The Government said common-sense grading, such as As and marks out of 100, will be clearer for parents, employers, and universities. The changes kick in for Year 11s in 2028, who will then move into the new senior qualifications in 2029 and 2030. It comes as the Cambridge pathway's popularity hit a high point last year with 8000 Kiwi students sitting its November exams and scoring 25 Top in the World awards for being the best in their subject anywhere in the globe. Despite Cambridge's success at his school, Hargreaves believed that in a perfect world all local schools would be delivering a national qualification rather than international. That made the current feedback period critical, given it was concerns over education two decades back that led to the arrival in the country of the Cambridge system. 'If there'd never been any concerns about it 25 years ago, Cambridge would never have arrived on our shores,' he said.
Otago Daily Times
09-08-2025
- Otago Daily Times
History buffs seek family of intriguing military man
Hidden away under a giant, spreading pine tree in a steeply sloping section of the Southern Cemetery lies the grave of an intriguing military man. Major-general Alexander Irvine, whose long and storied career in the British Army included service in India during the time of the British Raj, is a person of great interest for the Otago Military History Group (OMHG). Group co-chair Peter Trevathan said Maj-gen Irvine's grave, which had slumped due to the weight of its marble top slab, was in need of restoration and repair. "We would also be keen to tell the story of Maj-gen Irvine's career during an interesting period of British history," Mr Trevathan said. As planning begins on the project, the group is keen to contact descendants of Maj-gen Irvine to get their support and input. As he had three sons and four daughters, it is hoped there might be a large extended family. Alexander Irvine joined the British Army's 24th Regiment in 1844 and was sent to India in 1845, where he quickly earned a field commission to the rank of lieutenant. He was involved in the army's response to the Indian Mutiny in the 1850s and 1860s, rising further in the ranks to captain (1857), major (1867), lieutenant-colonel (1871) and colonel (1875), before retiring as major general in 1877. "It was very unusual in those days for men to become officers on merit — officer commissions were usually purchased," Mr Trevathan said. After his retirement from military service, Maj-gen Irvine moved to Hobart in Tasmania, where he and his wife raised their family. In 1884 he came to Dunedin, and died in 1890. "So Maj-gen Irvine was definitely an interesting character, and it would be good to learn more from family members," he said. OMHG co-chair Marlene Pooley said the grave project would be a focus for the group next year, so it would be good to gather as much information as possible in the meantime. The group had been involved in several projects so far in the year, including the design of the new Hillside Workshops memorial and presenting an event as part of the Otago Medical School 150th anniversary celebrations. The group was also in discussions with family members of Leading Signalman Campbell Buchanan, who died from wounds received during the sinking of the Japanese Submarine I-1 by HMNZ ships Moa and Kiwi in the Solomon Islands during World War 2, she said. • Any interested members of the Irvine family are invited to contact the OMHG by emailing Mr Trevathan at petebond058@
Otago Daily Times
08-08-2025
- Otago Daily Times
A good run
Harriers traverse the hill below Waverley, Dunedin. — Otago Witness, 6.10.1925 The St Kilda Harriers held their weekly run from the Anglican Boys' Home, Anderson's Bay, on Saturday. There were some 20 runners. The trail led round the back of Waverley and on towards the Soldiers' Cairn, across the hill, and round the Tomahawk Lagoon, where they met the Civil Service Harriers, both clubs joining in a good run to the Anderson's Bay tramcar terminus. Here the St Kilda gave the whistles for the run home, in which J. Dunn. C. Tidey, and W. Steffans showed up prominently. The club was afterwards entertained at tea and spent a most enjoyable evening as the guests of Mr and Mrs Gerrard. In spite of all that has been written regarding the necessity of obtaining licenses to drive a motor vehicle a good deal of ignorance continues to be displayed in the matter. Both the police and city traffic inspectors have held up drivers and taken their names for not being in possession of such licenses, and in some instances convictions have been recorded. There seems to be an erroneous impression that by paying the sum of £2 and getting a license to use a vehicle a driver has complied with the law. Such, however, is not the case. It is also necessary to obtain a license to drive, in respect of which the sum of 5 shillings has to be paid. Over here There will be no hesitant reserve in the sentiment with which the people of Dunedin will receive the contingent of the American Fleet arriving to-day. An anticipative glow of enthusiasm has already been kindled, and the realisation is not likely to disappoint the promise. The omens of the Australian visit are strikingly auspicious, and New Zealand will not be behind in the sincerity and warmth of the reception which it will accord. The incident of the visit captures the historic imagination and stirs the sense of racial community. The United States are not a part of the British Empire; but, waiving matters of history, we may emphasise the point that Britain and America, with their different Constitutions and politics, are now associated in bonds of amity which, there is good reason for believing, will never be loosened. Politically, these visitors will be the representatives of a foreign country. Yet it is impossible to regard as foreigners the people in the United States who claim the same ancestry as ourselves, and with whom we enjoy a joint heritage in the possession of a common tongue and allegiance to the same code of law, the same ideals of individual liberty, of popular government, of popular self-restraint, and of ethical obligations. No one who knows the American fails to appreciate the existence of marked differences between the two countries. We prefer to think of the Americans as our cousins, with whom we of the British dominions in the southern seas share in a humble measure the responsibilities for the solution of the problems of the Pacific, and to them we extend the welcome that it befits us to accord to those who stand in a close relationship to ourselves. — editorial Brief brush with decimal Regarding the visit of the American Fleet to Dunedin, the Bank of New Zealand has arranged to exchange American coinage for British currency, should such coins be presented. The exchange will be made on the following basis: Cent, one halfpenny; silver dollar, 4s 1d; gold half-eagle (five dollars), £1 0s 6d; gold eagle (10 dollars), £2 0s 10d. — ODT, 10.8.1925 Compiled by Peter Dowden
