The Mike Hosking Breakfast

We paid our last school fee last week. One more term and the high school years at our house are over. One of the great insights we have been lucky enough to have over the years is in having five kids you see a lot of school and schools. We have pretty much touched every part of the New Zealand education system. We have been to private school, public and integrated, single sex, and co-ed. We have been to primary, intermediate, and high school. We have been to good schools, ordinary schools, and exceptional schools. The overarching view is several-fold. 1. Principals make or break a place. We have seen a school who's reputation had been good, suffered badly when the principal left and the replacement wasn't seen as particularly good, only to see it markedly improve when a new one came along with a fresh focus and a firm determination. 2. Private school buys you options. In things like extra help and facilities, money buys choice and expertise. 3. Teachers vary dramatically. In all schools we have seen a selection of everything, from lazy to brilliant, from effective to hopeless. 4. All kids are different. This is possibly the most enlightening thing of all. A school isn't a one-stop shop. We had kids at a school you might have thought would do it all. For one child it was brilliant and for another it was a mistake. 5. A lot of it is down to the child. I am convinced a child who is determined will succeed in any school. A brilliant kid who can't be bothered, won't. 6. Parents have to be engaged. Schools have become a whipping boy and a social welfare department. They are expected to take on any kid, with any problem, from any home and fix them. That attitude is criminal and too often it's led by shocking parenting. 7. There is too much wastage. If you take the stuff out of a day that isn't needed, you'd be at school I reckon about two hours a day. We can do way better. 8. I am not sure it's all that different in 2024 from when I was there in '81. Good teachers are rare, most schools are fine, and most kids would rather play sport. It's essentially like life – you get out of it what you put in. The only major difference is you pay a shed load more now, than you used to. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland FC’s CEO is blown away by the team’s success. The Black Knights have won their first five A-League games without conceding a goal, and now sit at the top of the table. Saturday will see them clash against the Wellington Phoenix once more, this time at Mt Smart Stadium. CEO Nick Becker told Mike Hosking that coach Steve Corica has done a great job pulling together a squad of young guys who want to go out there and play for each other. He says it’s a cohesive unit, and you see it when they fight for every ball. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Friday 6th of December, has scrutiny revealed some broken promises from the Government regarding the police and prison numbers? Police Minister Mark Mitchell fronts up. The Prime Minister joined Mike in studio as we bring back the infamous gift exchange at the end of the year. For the final time of the year Mike, Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson talk Christmas plans, work Christmas parties, and Spotify Wrapped as they Wrap the Week. Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final time this year, Kate Hawkesby and Tim Wilson joined Mike Hosking to Wrap the Week that was. They discussed their plans for the holiday season, the tragic state of public sector Christmas parties, and the best stats from their Spotify Wrapped. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.