Musings of a Deputy Principal

I have recently watched a Ted talk by Tama Iti and it certainly was powerful.   You can find the video here: From the video I have made the following points: The issues in relation to equity for Māori learners are not only issues for Māori, these are global issues.  We must speak up about equity and inequity in education, we must talk about the importance of cultural responsiveness and why the NZ education system does not do justice for ALL learners.  Make people uncomfortable, question their beliefs and make your voice heard.    Kanohi ki te kanohi - talk with people face to face and get on their level.    Just because someone has authority does not mean they have mana.   There are huge links with mana and manaakitanga, leading with moral purpose.  The injustices and struggles with equity for Māori are not going to go away without action, discussion and change.  Māori people are not going away, just...

Te Tiriti o Waitangi - are the values alive? The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) states that “The curriculum acknowledges the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand.  All students have the opportunity to acquire knowledge of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga” (p.9). As educators we are often asked ‘Are you enacting Te Tiriti of Waitangi?’ and almost everyone answers yes.  But do educators truly know what this means?  Often this is hard for teachers to explain or put into words. I believe that one of the ways that educators can start making progress towards enacting the treaty is by looking at the 3 P’s or the Principles of the treaty.  These principles are partnership, participation and protection. I am constantly growing my knowledge of the treaty and the principles and how these are enacted throughout my pedagogy and philosophy, my journey is growing and evolving with knowledge and time.  Here are ...

Cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy. Cultural relationships for responsive pedagogy. CR4RP has been the focus for our Kaahui ako mahi, but what exactly does this mean?  To understand this first we need to look at cultural relationships on its own and then at responsive pedagogy and what this consists of. Cultural relationships In an education setting this challenges and changes the ‘top down’ approach to teaching which was prevalent in a ‘white stream’ school system.  Berryman, Lawrence and Lamont state that “cultural relationships require us to create spaces in which we must first listen to our students and their whanau” (p.4).  Effective relationships ensure that power is shared, individuals and their culture counts, learning is fun and interactive, connections are made and their are high expectations for achievement for all parties, in particular Māori. Berryman, Lawrence and Lamont talk about three key aspects to cultural relationships. ...

We know that there have been substantial changes to schooling over the past decade.  We are moving from an industrial one size fits all approach to education to a neurolinguistic sociocultural individualised approach.  In New Zealand in particular there is a constant call to address the underachievement of our most vulnerable learners.   We cannot keep doing what we have done and expect different results.  We must change.   Osborne (2014) backs this up when he said that education “require schools to make significant changes to behaviours and norms that have endured for decades if not centuries” (p.3).  But not everyone manages change well.   With the increase in need for change, how can we lead and manage change effectively without teachers crumbling around us?   As leaders there are many ways in which we can ensure that change is led and managed well.  Osborne (2014) talks about adaptive and technical challenges.   Technical cha...

Learning is not solely about reading, writing and maths.  We know this, yet our education system seems to continue to go back to testing and reporting against those subject areas.  So what should we be teaching our students? What should we be focusing on? Dweck’s notion of a growth mindset is something which has gained a huge amount of traction in education of late.  Dweck talks about a fixed mindset, being that intelligence is something you are born with and either have or dont and a growth mindset that intelligence is a quality that you can change and adapt.   The notion of a growth mindset is infact backed up by a range of neuroscientists. Uncapher (2018) talks about how teaching and encouraging the notion that your brain is a muscle and stretching and growing your brain is possible is the key to making growth mindset interventions sustainable.   I wonder how shifting our focus as teachers from academic achievement to a growth mindset will impact on ...

Recently I watched a clip on youtube by Dr Anne Milne.  Milne discusses how mainstream schooling is in fact whitestream schooling.  That when Europeans came to New Zealand, we took on their education system and essentially made Māori fit into the European mold.  New Zealand is renowned for having a world class education system. But do we really? When soo many of our Māori and Pasifika students are underachieving.  Is the focus on Literacy and Numeracy really working for our students? One of the key parts of Milne’s (2017) clip that has stuck with me is when she touches on three aspects of Critical Pedagogy.  These being, empowered cultural identity, academic achievement and action for social change. The majority of schools focus mainly on academic achievement with little to no emphasis on cultural identity and social change.  Milne (2017) examined how by empowering students through knowledge of their identity and providing them with opportunities t...