Ngā Matapakinga | Discussion

Tena koe Tess, the link to ero report : http://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/success-for-maori-children-in-early-childhood-services/   .  

Also if anyone is interested in joining the kotahitanga bi-culuturalism in ECE discussion page (facebook)  I run the link is here also.  It is a safe space for Kaiako to pose questions and share ideas about bi-cultural practice .  It is a closed page so you need to request to join https://www.facebook.com/groups/197297527292427/

Thank you for the link to the core blog Tess

Make connections with your local iwi and people in your community who have the local iwi knowledge to share with you-network with other kaiako who may have the matauranga you need to know. Join a col that may be a focus for the communities of learning. We are very lucky here in Te Tairawhiti as there is a great base of knowledge to draw from. I have opened up my centre for intrested kaiako to come alongside me to get a deeper understanding and experience of what a Iwi localised curriculum looks like. 

I've commented on Jerome's blog post that I have personal experiences with this in my family, and it was only after attending a workshop on aspergers that I realised, a lack of identity for ‘our young someone with aspergers’ also meant identifying himself as gender fluid or transgender.

The fallout being anxiety, school phobia and depression. I’m not sure the school he left at 15, was quite ready for this – environmentally or socially. I would go a little further to say, we need lots of new learning in this area with transparent conversations in our schools and a vision towards creating a conscious movement in our wider communities right across Aotearoa as well.

Lesley Murrihy from Amesbury School in Wellington wrote this open letter to teachers who are dismissing MLE

https://www.futureofeducation.nz/future-of-education-dr-lesley-murrihy-articles/2018/5/10/to-mle-or-not-to-mle-that-is-the-question-an-open-letter-to-my-colleagues

By all means, discuss the political question of MLE or not MLE, but please…please…ensure that when you do so, your colleagues who are caring, resourceful, trustworthy teachers just like you; are not your victims.

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou

Primary?  try this website: http://code-it.co.uk/beebot

Oh I might need to get some help for you on that one Allanah, it looks like it's a public Youtube clip to me? Try this link instead: https://youtu.be/LH7cNtnV5DY

Kia ora Ann, thanks so much for sharing this.  I see your workshop is very popular which shows educators are ready to engage in this kōrero to find safe ways to face these issues 'head on'. No doubt getting straight to the truth and sharing key principles and a framework for prioritising culture and identity for Māori; will be a highlight for this event.

For those who do miss out on your seminar, we've captured your keynote presentation from uLearn17 and there are also short snippets with educators talking about tikanga Māori and culturally responsive practice in our EDtalks channel. 

How do others see this unfolding in our schools? What is your gut telling you about  the urgency of addressing our 'unconscious bias' towards Māori students?

Here are a few more thoughts I drew on when creating this Breakfast:

Student wellbeing is inextricably linked to engagement and achievement. Increasingly both internationally and here in Aotearoa New Zealand there is a focus on improving the wellbeing of our young people. If we agree that this is important, what might a focus on student wellbeing look like in our schools?

Firstly, we need to know what 'wellbeing' even is. The participants at the Breakfast event said this:

The Education Review Office (ERO) and the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) have also done significant work in this area. 

Last year I had the privilege of being selected for the Lifehack Flourishing Fellowship. Lifehack was a systems-level intervention in youth mental health and wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. One of the amazing resources I was introduced to was the ‘Mapping and Mobilising Conditions for Youth Wellbeing and Hauora’. As soon as I saw it, I got excited. I could see its potential to be used in schools as a reflection tool. I tested it with a group of teachers, and we had a think about both its format and its language. Based on their feedback and thoughts, I had a play to create this version for use in schools and Kāhui Ako: Pathways towards student wellbeing.

In it, I pose three key questions:

1. Agency and Engagement: How are young people involved?
2. Cohesion and Collaboration: How do we learn and work together to nurture wellbeing systemically?
3. Environment and Community: Do our environments show that young people are valued and important?

What are your thoughts? What do these question prompt you to consider?