Sure but let me first say my beef is mainly with how it's taught in secondary schools (had no issues at tertiary level - CS major here). I should also note that this was my experience during the early 2000s and I really hope things have changed at least a little.
Our maths classes basically consisted of being handed really old textbooks and then being left to our own devices. The teachers when they did interact with us had no passion for the subject. I recall when someone asked why we were learning quadratic equations the teacher basically told the class he had no clue. I almost left high school with a deep loathing of the subject, and I say almost because I had one teacher in year 12 who was passionate about the subject and taught it well. I would later learn that his background was in a field related to mathematics (electrical engineering), not teaching which was my impression of all the others.
I guess my main point here is that the New Zealand government could be investing in it's education system by hiring people who have a real world background in the subject matter they're teaching. Having that knowledge and passion for a subject made all the difference - at least for me.
Wow, that's really different from my high school experience in the late 90s. Sounds like it very much depends on the teachers (which is unsurprising). I agree there needs to be much more incentive for people with real world experience to go into teaching. Difficult problem though.
I think tertiary lecturers are generally much more passionate.
The NZ system is more about self learning than other countries, standards in NZ have declined from their peak in the 80s and 90s but the country is still ranked 12th in the world.
