Nine To Noon for Tuesday 25 May 2021

 

09:05 Dame Cindy Kiro: from humble beginnings to Governor General

The country's next Governor General, Dame Cindy Kiro, says she is proudly Maori and part British. Dame Cindy will replace Dame Patsy Reddy when her five year term ends in September. She will become the first Maori woman to hold the role of Queen's representative. Dame Cindy says her heritage is a "unique marriage", being of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Kahu and British descent. She tells Kathryn Ryan she comes from a poor family in Northland and academic success was pivotal to her life, alongside hard work, dedication and perseverance.

09:25 Is teacher confidence behind declining science results?

A new report from Nanogirl Labs has found teacher confidence is one of the key factors for science not being taught consistently in primary and intermediate schools. New Zealand is seeing declining results in science and a disengagement with the subject amongst older students. Only 20 percent of children in their final year of primary and intermediate are reaching the expected level of the curriculum in science, the worst result for any subject for year 8 students. The subject is also not being taught regularly, just 22 percent of surveyed primary teachers teach the subject regularly and 7 percent don't teach science at all. Kathryn speaks with Dr Michelle Dickinson, co-founder of Nanogirl Labs, Dr Steven Sexton, a primary school teacher and senior lecturer at the University of Otago's College of Education, and Sandy Jackson, a teacher and national coordinator of the Association of Primary Science Educators.

09:45 US correspondent Ron Elving

Ron joins Kathryn to talk about how President Biden's agenda is hanging in the balance as Republicans mount a united front of resistance. There's been a distraction in the form of a hot war in the Middle East with signs of a new cold war with the Russians and the Chinese. Meanwhile the former President Donald Trump is fading away in polls and in social media, while he faces a heightened threat of criminal charges for business dealings in New York.

Ron Elving is Senior Editor and Correspondent on the Washington Desk for NPR News.

10:05 Telling stories - Ben Brown, Te Awhi Rito

The nation's first Te Awhi Rito - Reading Ambassador - is on a mission to get more noses into books.  Lyttleton-based Ben Brown knew the power of the word from a young age.  His mum and dad told him literacy would give him a leg up life's ladder. A former tobacco farm labourer, market gardener and tractor driver, Ben taught himself the Greek and Cyrillic alphabets.  Today he's a poet and writer of some note.  Parents are important to Ben in his new role.  He wants them to read more to their children - anything -  even linguistics texts, which his own kids might have listened to once or twice. His latest book How Did I Get Here is a collection of writing by rangatahi in the justice system, which he has edited. He spent a couple of days with these boys and young men, getting them to write their stories down.  Ben tells Kathryn there's a potency in being heard.

10:35 Book review: Things OK with You? by Vincent O'Sullivan

Harry Ricketts reviews Things OK with You? by Vincent O'Sullivan, published by VUP   

10:45 The Reading

Bob Dylan's New Zealand, episode 2. Written and read by Andrew McCallum, this week's reading acknowledges the work of the music great as he turns 80.

11:05 Business commentator Rebecca Stevenson

Rebecca poses the question, does Rocket Lab have a toxic culture?. This follows a damning Employment Relations Authority judgement about the dismissal of an employee. Also a wave of CEO exits, what is causing the exodus?.

Rebecca Stevenson is BusinessDesk's head of news.

11:30 How to encourage the wild into your garden  

Some ideas on how to attract more insects and wildlife into your garden - no matter what the size of your plot. Annie Burdick is the US author of Bring the Wild into your Garden, which is all about the simple things you can do to engage with nature. One of the key things is selecting the right pollinator plants for bees. 

11:45 Media commentator Andrew Holden

Andrew talks to Kathryn about complicity at the BBC over the underhand measures reporter Martin Bashir resorted to in securing the bombshell Panorama interview with Princess Diana - just who knew what?

Andrew Holden is a journalist for more than 30 years including five as Editor of The Press (in Christchurch) and four as Editor-in-Chief of The Age in Melbourne. 

Music played in this show

Title: Addicted 
Artist: Jorja Smith 
Broadcast time: 11:05am

Title: Wildflowers
Artist: Lucinda Williams 
Broadcast time: 11:25am 

Title: Man on the Moon
Artist: R.E.M
Broadcast time: 11:45am