New Zealand was not alone, with overall average scores for maths, reading and science dropping in the 81 countries and economies participating in the tests.
That podcast I mentioned earlier actually said that’s why kids in NZ generally start school at 5. It used to be 6, and in the war (first world war, maybe?) they changed it to 5 so more women to work while the men were at war. So the first year of school was literally to babysit.
I agree with everything you’ve just said.
All too often I think people can’t see beyond it’s there to babysit kids for 8h so parents can work.
That podcast I mentioned earlier actually said that’s why kids in NZ generally start school at 5. It used to be 6, and in the war (first world war, maybe?) they changed it to 5 so more women to work while the men were at war. So the first year of school was literally to babysit.
That’s interesting. Social changes so often happen for slightly weird reasons. Giving women the vote was partly about who they would likely vote for.