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While many schools and centres were damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, a few were forced into long-term closure with staff and children having to re-establish elsewhere. Ako talked to kaiako from three different institutions that found new premises, or were taken in by a neighbouring school or centre.
During the recent weather events schools have emerged as first responders to crisis in many close-knit communities. Where local authorities failed, groups of educators joined together as hubs of help. Ako spoke with one group of schools in Tāmaki Makaurau about their joint efforts in the face of crisis.
In times of tragedy and crisis, schools are often the glue that holds communities together. At the close of term one 2023, Ako visited one small school in Hawke’s Bay to learn how it became a regional hub after Cyclone Gabrielle.
As we begin to see the effects of climate change, with storms, flooding and sea level rise, educators are finding ways to bridge optimism and reality in the classroom.
Reviews of thirteen excellent new books for kaiako and ākonga.
What has climate change got to do with teaching our past? NZEI Te Riu Roa Communities Organiser Conor Twyford discusses how, in order to navigate well into our collective future, we need to clearly understand our past.
Conor Twyford, the new Community Organiser at NZEI Te Riu Roa, talks about the work she’s doing and how she’s supporting members to get active on climate change. “If we’re going to tackle the big issues like climate change,” Twyford says, “we need to do it in community, we need to do it together.”
As Taranaki makes a “Just Transition” from fossil fuels to a carbon-neutral economy, educators, whānau and tamariki must transition as well.
For many communities in Aotearoa the impacts of climate change are already being felt. Ako talks to educators about floods, droughts and hurricanes, and how they get through.
Early childhood centres are educating and empowering tamariki on how to make their world a better place. The work is changing mindsets and behaviour far beyond centre walls.
Once you identify that you want to take climate action, how do you get everyone on board? Ako asks educators who have succeeded how they created change.
As a political scientist interested in children’s futures and serving on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an international science body that produces regular reports on the state of the world’s climate, I worry a lot about our changing climate and the implications for children and future generations.
Where I come from, the kererū is revered. A food for royalty and women. Our kaumātua describe how the sky would get dark as clouds of kererū flew overhead, sounding like a loud helicopter as they flapped their wings through our echoing valleys. This memory from long before I was born was a sign of abundance.
I’m not sure if it’s the increase in grassroots movements, or the current government’s desire to highlight climate change, but in the education sector there’s a real thirst to be lifting our game.
Reviews of eleven brilliant new books for children and adults with an environmental theme.
Te Whāriki is being used more in the first years of school with positive results and schools forming networks to implement ideas. Some early childhood teachers are moving to primary to take advantage of the change.