Reflecting on ECE professionalism post Covid-19 and Budget 2020
Dr Carmen Dalli reflects on the positives for the early childhood sector as we head toward the end of Level 2.
Opinion
Anxiety, Australia, Covid-19 2020, LGBTQ+, Lockdown, Mark Cross, Pandemic, Stress, Wellbeing / Hauora
Living with anxiety, Covid-19 and the new school term
Dr Mark Cross, an Australian psychiatrist specialising in anxiety disorders, shares his experience and advice for New Zealand teachers as the new Term 2 looms. His new book is “Anxiety: Expert Advice from a Neurotic Shrink Who’s Lived with Anxiety All His Life”.
Auckland, Covid-19 2020, Henderson Primary School, Lockdown, Mindfulness, Opinion, Pandemic, Renu Sikka, Wellbeing / Hauora
This too shall pass: gratitude and mindfulness for teachers, by a teacher
Renu Sikka, a primary school teacher and member of NZEI Te Riu Roa, reflects on what the lockdown can mean for her colleagues around the country and how mindfulness can play a role in getting through.
Challenges and initiatives
NZEI Te Riu Roa is committed to ensuring every one of our members is heard and supported during the Covid-19 pandemic, using all the expertise, resources and channels we have available.
Love reading aloud? Love writing!
Every year I read my class the same book – Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. Why? One of my favourite memories from primary school was hearing it read by my Year 3 teacher.
Compulsory te reo in schools – what does it look like? / Ko te whakapūmau i te reo ki te kura – ka pēhea hoki?
Ah, compulsory te reo Māori in mainstream schools. It’s a grazing table for politician-elects and a fear-inducing topic for overworked teachers. It’s been on the cards since 1972, when 33,000 people signed a petition approaching Government on the topic, but so far, it’s been a fruit too high to harvest. Compulsion for me isn’t about language, but citizenship. We’re a country at a standstill on unified progression and, in my view, that standstill is caused by the ignorance that there’s only one single way to live a life. Ignorance leads to fear and scaremongering. The last decade or so has seen legislation questionably enacted, racism in schools and the New Zealand Police brought to light, prejudice in the legal system exposed and some pretty shocking behaviour from incoming local politicians. All these things leave just one thought in my head: if we’re going to fix what is broken, every individual in this country must be able to exercise great citizenship in their decision-making. We need to extinguish individual ignorance before it enters an institution capable of harm. To me, language compulsion seems one crucial way to ensure everyone gets some basic level of mutual communicative understanding, as well as the linguistic
O Taumafa Manogi ma Aogā mo le Fanau / Nourishment for the next generation
O le Gagana, o le Fatu po‘o le Mauli lea o le Aganu‘u a Samoa a‘o le Aganu‘u, o le Fa‘asinomaga lea o le Samoa. – Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, 2018 O a ia Taumafa? O Taumafa Manogi, ua fa‘atusaina lea i le fa‘aaogaina o le Gagana e fafaga ai tama a Samoa e Faatonu, Fa‘asino, Faapoto ma Fesoota‘i ai. E leitioa fo‘i le Fa‘autaga ma le ‘au fai Tofā a fa‘apea mai: “O fānau a tagata e fafaga i ‘upu ma tala ‘ae ‘o tama a manu o fuga o lā‘au.” O la‘u gagana,o le taula lea o lo‘u olaga aoaoina, o le faavae malosi ma le mafuaaga o le manuia o lo‘u taumafai i totonu o Niusila. O se pine faamau foi o suesuega o loo faapea mai, a malamalama le tagata i lana gagana muamua, e faigofie ona fa‘aofi se isi gagana i lona olaga1. Na ou galue o se faiaoga i Samoa ma sa fa‘aaogaina le Gagana Samoa o le Gagana fa‘atonu i aoga. I le galue ai i Niusila nei, na faigofie ona feso‘ota‘i, tusitusi ma talanoa i le Gagana Peretania ona o le lelei o la‘u fa‘asamoa. E faapea foi le maitau i fanau o loo autova‘a
Reflections of a president
When asked to share some reflections on my three years as NZEI Te Riu Roa President, I was prompted to think back to the very beginning of this journey. I have attended many annual meetings over the years and seen many presidents presiding over them. I would watch them weave their magic over debates and questions, and manage tense moments. I used to marvel at their skill and wisdom. In those early years, not once did I think it would one day be me in that place. The last three years have been an absolute rollercoaster ride. It wasn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The opportunity to represent and advocate for our members and our tamariki locally, nationally and internationally is a great privilege. The last three years have been an absolute rollercoaster ride. It wasn’t easy, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. The dumping of National Standards and charter schools brought us hope of change from a neoliberal and market-driven “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. The conversations about a 30-year vision for education with the review of Tomorrow’s Schools and a 10-year strategic plan for early childhood education, a focus on those children who
Editorial, Language, Liam Rutherford, NZ Curriculum, Opinion, Ross Intermediate, Summer 2020, Te reo Māori
Asking the big questions
Kia ora koutou. It is great to have the opportunity to contribute to Ako. I am really pleased that this issue is focussed on language, as it is top of mind for me. As I write, I am transitioning into the role of President after being a teacher at Ross Intermediate. During 2019, I helped lead the development of our local curriculum, and the downside to my new role is that I won’t be there to help with the implementation of it – but I back our team at school. Language became a central concept as we went through our process. We asked all the big questions – what is a curriculum, what should tamariki be learning, what is the role of parents, what is our role in preparing ākonga for high school? – and after all that, we agreed that a local curriculum needs to put ākonga at the centre. By this, we didn’t mean generic ākonga – I’m not sure if those even exist. What we meant is that we had to develop a curriculum to meet the needs of every ākonga we are lucky enough to have come through our door. This required us to start from
Community, Gisborne, Kiana Ria Renata-Kokiri, Kura, Māori, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Nga Uri A Maui, Winter 2019
Home has been my classroom
Ko Manawaru, Matiti, Maungahaumia, Ahititi, Hikurangi me Rangipoua ngā maunga. Ko Te Ārai, Maraetaha, Waipaoa, Waihirere, Waiapu me Hāparapara ngā awa. Ko Horouta, Tākitimu me Mātaatua ngā waka. Ko Manutuke, Muriwai, Mangatu, Parihimanihi, Whareponga, Tū Auau me Otuwhare ngā marae. Ko Ngāti Kaipoho, ko Rangi i Waho Matua, ko Ngāti Taua, ko Ngāti Kohuru, ko Te Aitanga-a-Mate, ko Ngāti Rangi, ko Te Whānau-a-Rutaia ngā hapu. Ko Rongowhakaata, ko Ngāi Tamanuhiri, ko Te Aitanga a Mahaki, ko Ngāti Porou, ko Te Whānau-a-Apanui ngā iwi. Ko Kiana Ria Renata-Kokiri toku ingoa. 17 oku tau. Ko Manutuke taku tūrangawaewae. Child of the mist, Tame Iti, says that “history has woven us together. We are the basket, the kete, that holds the future!” As a young Māori woman, I have experienced both mainstream and kura kaupapa education. School is often a difficult and confusing time for me. I often question its purpose. Referring to our country’s curriculum, Dr Muriel Newman states that “the vision statement affirms that young people will work to create an Aotearoa New Zealand, in which Māori and Pākeha recognise each other as full Treaty partners.” I don’t believe this statement has any truth. Even in the kura kaupapa setting in