Finnish morning at Kia Kaha Primary School

Thursday School Journal

It is Finnish morning at Kia Kaha Primary School!
Finnish morning is fun.
You get to do things the way children do in school in Finland.

Unless you want to pat a reindeer.
There are not any reindeer at Kia Kaha Primary School.

Ms Barry says,
Who can tell me some of the things we've learned about Finland?

Abi says,
They have, like, heaps of money Miss.

Thomas says,
They don't put people in prison nearly as much as we do but it’s still safe.

Caleb says,
They don’t put out as much greenhouse gas as they used to, eh Miss.

Moana says,
They have a cool Prime Minister and she takes zero crap.

Kiara says,
The teachers in their schools are all really highly qualified and they pay them heaps because they think that is very important.

Ms Barry looks out the window for a minute. 

The children look at Ms Barry.

It is quiet in Room 13.

Ms Barry looks back at the children and says,
Sorry where were we?

Amelia says,
Finland Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Oh yes.
Now, there's something else they do that we talked about last week, can you remember?

Tane says,
In school they teach you how to tell when someone is trying to tell you fake news Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Very good Tane, yes, they teach children how to tell if someone is trying to trick you.
So today we're going to look at how people can use statistics to try and fool you.

Ms Barry clicks on her laptop and a picture comes up on the whiteboard.

Ms Barry says,
I found this on Instagram. Who can tell me what we call this?

Zac says,
Fake news Miss.

Zac is trying to show Ms Barry that he is paying attention and not sharing drawings with Patrick.

Ms Barry says,
Well yes it might be, Zac,
but can you remember the name for the round thing?

Patrick says,
Is it a bar graph Miss?

Poor Patrick and Zac.
They used to get their answers from their friend Simeon.
But now he is in Wellington.

Ms Barry says,
We call this a pie chart.
Do we think it’s a good pie chart?

Zac has his hand up again. He says,
Yes Miss it's a very good pie chart.

Ms Barry says,
Why do you say that Zac?

Zac is thinking what to say.
Patrick is whispering to Zac,
Looks real professional.

Zac says,
It looks real professional Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Well yes it does, doesn't it?
But can someone tell me why it might still be fake?

Abi says,
Are the numbers wrong, Miss?

Ms Barry says,
Very good Abi.
Yes, there’s a bit of a problem with these numbers,
because it says 46% are not attending regularly.
Who can tell me how many of us are there in Room 13?

Tahlia says,
30, Miss.

Ms Barry says,
That's right, Tahlia, and how many today?

Tahlia looks around and counts. She says,
25, Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Yes, and how many children are usually away, can anyone tell me?

Sophia says,
Well mostly it’s 4 or 5 but it was heaps more earlier in the year eh.

Ms Barry says,
That's right and can you remember why there were heaps more earlier this year?

All of Room 13 says,
Covid, Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Okay now who can tell me what 5 out of 30 is as a percentage?

Henry has his hand up.
Henry is very quick at percentages.
Henry says,
16% Miss.

Ms Barry says,
Thank you Henry, and can you tell us if 16% is about the same as 46%?

Henry says,
LOL no Miss, not even.

Ms Barry clicks on her laptop
A list of numbers comes up on the whiteboard.

Ms Barry says,
This is the percentage of you who have attended more than nine out of ten of all the school days this year.
Can anyone tell me what that number there says?

Madison says,
60%, Miss.

Ms Barry clicks on her laptop again.
Another list of numbers comes up on the whiteboard.

Ms Barry says,
This is the Ministry of Education’s number of students who have attended more than nine out of ten of all the school days this year.
Can anyone tell me what that number there says?

Madison says,
59% Miss.

Ms Barry says, 
What do we make of that?

Tane says,
We’re really average Miss.

Ms Barry says, 
That’s right Tane.
Our numbers are almost the same as the national average.
And would you say that nearly half of Room 13 is not attending regularly?

Tane says,
No Miss.
Apart from Amelia when her dad took them to Wellington for the protest eh.
And Cara, she hardly ever comes.
And Pania.

Ms Barry says,
Exactly.
What the pie chart says it’s counting is students attending regularly.
But what it’s really counting is students who have hardly missed any days at all.
And it’s not the same thing is it?

Saskia says,
So is that pie chart wrong Miss?

Ms Barry says,
What would you say, Saskia?
Would you say someone is trying  to trick you?

Saskia says,
I think they might be.

Sophie says,
Can we do some more of these, Miss?
I don't like being  tricked.