Holiday reading and viewing

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Well, what a year!  Teaching, while enormously rewarding, is an exacting profession!

You’ll be looking forward to a break. Turn the computer off, lock away the phone, take some deep breaths, and relax. It’s time to allow the mind and body to be refreshed.

You know when you’re refreshed: you start thinking about the things that excite you again; you feel energised; you want to get cracking! You want to grasp the bigger picture, to get the creative juices flowing, to be inspired, to plan. Well, here’s a few ideas from CORE staff that just may provide some of that stimulus. There’s both fiction and non-fiction, heavier as well as light. We have placed them under the main categories for our blog, and provided, and a variety of mediums: books, websites, videos, podcasts. There’s something for everyone.

The list

General

Books

How to come up with good ideas— Ewan McIntosh

This book will help you achieve ambitious visions for learning through swift innovation.

Ewan is well known to many as an educational leader, ULearn keynoter and thought leader. His company Notosh recently hosted the Google Certified Teacher Academy in Sydney. This book outlines his philosophy behind design thinking.

Get it from the Notosh website
Get it from iTunes store

Reviewer: Allanah King

And another review:

How can students, teachers and school leaders in the education world innovate, share and build on new ideas, taking them out of individual classrooms to have a wider impact?

Connected Educator Month review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxnAK_ZpRKw

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

Get it from the Notosh website
Get it from iTunes store

 

House Rules — Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes — Jodi Picoult

Two oldies but goodies that take you into the world and heads of the the student who doesn’t  fit into the social infrastructure of school or society.

A combo of delightful switch off reading-for-pleasure holiday reads  with a  central protagonist in each that really got me thinking about the backstory of students who just don’t fit in.

Reviewer: Paula Eskett

 

Key Competencies for the Future – Hipkins et al (2014), NZCER

A timely focus on how the NZ Curriculum — and the Key Competencies in particular — offer a vehicle to design learning around “wicked problems” and real world learning. CORE featured this book, with NZCER, as part of Connected Educator Month. The discussions are still open for you to join.

This book offers a starting point for any school looking for a pragmatic way forward in the rethinking of student-centred, relevant learning programmes.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Becoming a High Expectation Teacher. Raising the Bar — Christine Rubie-Davies (2014)

This book offers practical advice on how teachers can have high expectations for their students. It explores three key areas that high expectation teachers enact differently: the way they group students for learning, the way they create a caring classroom community, and the way they use goal setting to motivate students.

This book is inspirational and has the potential to transform teaching and learning — it is an easy read, and provides examples and practical guidelines to help lift teachers’ expectations — love the New Zealand context … every  teacher, and everyone who works with teachers, should put it on their reading list!

Reviewer: Adele O’Leary

 

Program or be programmed —Douglas Rushkoff

The debate over whether the Net is good or bad for us fills the airwaves and the blogosphere. But for all the heat of claim and counter-claim, the argument is essentially beside the point: it’s here; it’s everywhere. The real question is, do we direct technology, or do we let ourselves be directed by it and those who have mastered it? “Choose the former,” writes Rushkoff, “and you gain access to the control panel of civilization. Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make.” In ten chapters, composed of ten “commands” accompanied by original illustrations from comic artist Leland Purvis, Rushkoff provides cyberenthusiasts and technophobes alike with the guidelines to navigate this new universe.

Rushkoff investigates why programming is the new literacy of the digital age. An interesting read highlighting the importance of understanding programming.

Get it from Rushkoff's website.

Reviewer: Tara Fagan

 

Article

Preparing for a Renaissance in Assesssment — Peter Hill and Michael Barber

“We are about to see big changes in the possibilities of assessment as a result of technology” writes Barber. “Current assessment systems around the world are deeply wedded to traditional testing and exams and, some might argue, are holding us back from potential reforms” This highly readable, though meaty article, argues that current assessment methods are no longer working, so that even the top performing education systems in the world have hit a performance ceiling. The authors set out a ‘Framework for Action’ for school leaders to prepare for the “assessment renaissance”

Available as free pdf online from Pearson

Reviewer: Liz Stevenson

 

Website

Hour of Code

Spend an hour of the holidays learning some basic coding. This website will show you how as well as why coding is so important.

Reviewer: Tara Fagan

 

Videos

How to escape Education’s Death Valley — Ken Robinson

You can access the Interactive Transcript.

This video features Ken Robinson, who outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture tends to work against them.

The description on the site reads: "Sir Ken Robinson outlines 3 principles crucial for the human mind to flourish — and how current education culture works against them. In a funny, stirring talk he tells us how to get out of the educational "death valley" we now face, and how to nurture our youngest generations with a climate of possibility."

Ken Robinson, as well as being an entertaining speaker, has some leading ideas that feed into approaches such as Modern Learning Environments and Practices, and Universal Design for Learning.

Reviewer: Hazel Owen

 

Vital to education: Non-cognitive skills

Awareness of the importance of affective factors on cognitive abilities has been long-known, but this podcast focuses on "studies that show how poverty-related stress can affect brain development, and inhibit the development of non-cognitive skills".

The implications for curriculum design, facilitation and support of students of all ages, as well as assessment practices are huge.

Reviewer: Hazel Owen

 

The Moth

Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide.

True stories told live — what’s not to love? I like to think of them as ‘camp fire stories’.

An electic mix but 9/10 stories I love. This was one of the podcasts recommended to me by many people.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

This American Life

This American Life is a weekly public radio show broadcast on more than 500 stations to about 2.2 million listeners. It is also often the most popular podcast in the country, with around one million people downloading each week.

This was probably the most recomended podcast by friends — apologies if you’re familiar but I think it’s a great start to listening to podcasts for pleasure.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Early Years

Book

Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years:  Tools for Teaching and Learning — Chip Donohue

‘Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years is a thought-provoking guide to effective, appropriate, and intentional use of technology with young children. This book provides strategies, theoretical frameworks, links to research evidence, descriptions of best practice, and resources to develop essential digital literacy knowledge, skills and experiences for early childhood educators in the digital age.’

Provides current thinking around using digital technologies to support young children’s learning. A good read that prompts reflection on how we use digital tools.

Amazon Link

Reviewer:Tara Fagan

 

Video

Yay to play

A video featuring Nathan Mikaere-Wallis and Miriam McCaleb who are child educators, presenters and Brainwave Trust educators talk of the joy and importance of play — for children and for adults.

Engaging presenters who have the pedagogical backing but also have hands on experience with their own children and others.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Podcast

Leadership in ECE: Q1 and the proverb explained

Ruta and Lima, experienced Early Learning Facilitators, explain the proverb — “Ia su’i tonu le mata o le niu” which means to pierce the right eye of the coconut. The proverb describes the notion of leadership — to go about an undertaking in the proper way — leading the right way. Q1 of this series.

Due to the vast growth of Pasifika families and children attending ece services in both mainstream and Pasifika services the Ministry is interested in developing Pasifika leadership pedagogies to ensure that teachers and leaders who are working with Pasifika families/fanau and communities are demonstrating an understanding of  Pasifika theories and practice in their services. The Pasifika Education Plan puts Pasifika learners, families and communities at the centre, so that all activities are responding to the identities, languages and cultures of each Pasifika group.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Emerging Technologies

Book

It’s Complicated: The social lives of networked teens – by danah boyd

This book explores issues related to identity, privacy, safety, danger, and bullying, as faced byyoung people online.

This is a timely reminder that, contrary to popular media, networked spaces function at the heart of many young people’s identities and sense of connectedness to those around them. boyd presents a person-centred view of society and offers an informed take on how we might alter our view and support them to become confident and independent in a networked world.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Podcast

http://www.core-ed.org/thought-leadership/podcast/cyberbullying-and-student-diversity-inclusive-lens-schools

CORE colleagues John Fenaughty and Chrissie Butler discuss changes in understandings of bullying and cyberbullying and explore how schools can take a more inclusive approach to supporting the wellbeing of all students.

To quote John and Chrissie: As 1:1 technologies and BYOD become more prevalent in schools, evaluating school-wide approaches to support students’ wellbeing becomes imperative and a wonderful opportunity to enhance inclusive practice.

This podcast also features other resources on the page.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Video

This will revolutionise education

Many technologies have promised to revolutionize education, but so far none has. With that in mind, this video asks: what could revolutionize education?

An engaging, lighthearted and informed overview of the ‘big picture’ around the evolution of technologies and the hype that can surround their use. This would be a good ‘spark’ to prompt staff discussion.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Kaupapa Māori

Book

Tiketike Ngahuru, Hakahaka Raumati — Teanau Tuiono

A Māori medium resource on traditional seasonal calendars and how they are used to plan planting and harvesting

If you are interested in how some communities continue to use the environment to plan and organise their lives. It is written in Māori.

Reviewer: Teanau Tuiono

 

Podcast

100 % success in language learning/embrace your dickness — Nichole Gully, Tahu Paki

Nichole Gully and Tahu Paki discuss their top tips for second language success? The most important? Embrace your dickness.

As someone who normally loves to give things a go but struggles with languages, I think of Nichole’s advice when I feel nervous about giving it a go. This podcast is entertaining — Nichole and Tahu are excellent — but filled with practical examples from real life.Very relatable.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Website

Māori History

Introducing Te Takanga o te Wā — Teaching Māori History Guidelins for Teachers Years 1-4. Reo Māori and English langugae versions

Teaching of Māori history is a new learning focus closely related to tikanga ā-iwi and social studies. The website is bilingual and caters for the needs of all kura and schools with students at this level.

Reviewer: Deanne Thomas

 

Pasifika Education

Podcast

Raising Aotearoa: The Emerging Realities Of Multiple Diversities – Shannon – Part 1

Providing a parent’s perspective on the identities, languages, cultures of their children who are of Māori and Pasifika descent. Highlighting the challenges of navigating Māori and Pasifika learners on their educational journeys by focusing on who they are and how they articulate their values.

An excellent insight from a parent:
'Teachers of kids like mine need to learn to  understand their worlds, talk to their parents and whānau and think about how their cultures, languages and identities shape the individuals they are — every child comes from a different background and this can inform their learning in the classroom.' Shannon — parent of two Pasifika children.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Ten Trends

Video

What’s next in 3D printing?  [TED]

Just like his beloved grandfather, Avi Reichental is a maker of things. The difference is, now he can use 3D printers to make almost anything, out of almost any material. Reichental tours us through the possibilities of 3D printing, for everything from printed candy to highly custom sneakers.

For anyone interested in makerspaces and hands-on innovation, this video will be an engaging exploration into how 3D printing will become an integral part of design processes. Reichental argues that it will connect us with our heritage and our culture around us.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Book

#EdBookNZ — Various

Produced as a collaborative effort during Connected Educator Month, this e-book, in English and te reo Māori, explores how digital views in education are changing.

Dip in and out of short chapters on digital communities, connected learning, iPads and digital citizenship, to name a few. With an impressive team of educators — and a front cover and forward from Pam Hook — this is also a model of what can be achieved through collaborative action online. A trend in action.

Reviewer: Karen Melhuish Spencer

 

Reality is Broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world — Jane McGonigal
Kindle version

Written for gamers and non-gamers alike, Reality is Broken sends a clear and provocative message: the future will belong to those who can understand, design and play games.

The two main take-aways from this book have changed the way I do my work: many small and meaningful challenges and real time feedback is the key; by turning your world into a game you can hack life itself. Don’t read this book unless you’re prepared to buy into its premise.

Reviewer: Stephen Lowe

 

Video

Jane McGonigal on alternate-reality gaming

In this 20-minute video presentation explains how alternate reality games can alter an individual’s reality for the better in a technique dubbed reality-hacking.

Jane McGonigal is extraordinary in her vision and in her accomplishments. Her work heralds a brave new world in which we are truly masters of our own destiny; in educational terms both empowering and agentic, she gives us tools for life.

Reviewer: Stephen Lowe

 

Website

Six to Start

Six to Start create award-winning games that combine the digital and physical world. Zombies, Run! and The Walk use smartphone sensors to create immersive and motivating gaming experiences in the real world.

Don’t just transform your classroom, totally transcend it! Make your immediate locality your classroom. Walk, run, play and learn. The future of personal computing is unarguably both personal and mobile. Six to Start are leaders.

Reviewer: Stephen Lowe

 

Universal Design for Learning

Book

Universal Design for Learning: theory and practice — Anne Meyer, David H Rose, David Gordon

This book is the print version of the CAST website, and the two complement each other. Sometimes it’s easier to sit with a book than stare at a screen.

It’s my opinion that there’s a lot wrong in this book. But they say you have to learn the rules before you can start breaking them. It is good to read the standard text, before your move on (through conversation with Chrissie Butler, for example) towards deeper understandings.

Reviewer: Stephen Lowe

 

Podcast

UDL – Universal Design for Learning — 101; the 3 principles explained, part 1 of 4 — Chrissie Butler, Stephen Lowe

Using analogies of food and sport, Chrissie Butler — CORE Education's UDL [Universal Design for Learning] specialist — talks to Learning Designer Stephen Lowe about the three principles of UDL: 'Working out what people need (to learn) and the smartest way to make it'

An excellent place to start for those who wish to learn more about Universal Design for Learning. An engaging conversation between CORE’s UDL expert Chrissie Butler and Instructional Designer Stephen Lowe.

The podcast page also has links to other options of finding out more about UDL.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

 

Modern learning

Video

The Mary Idema Pew Library

“What works to prepare a student to be successful in their classes, with the kind of skills they have to use is not that different from the skills they’re going to need when the leave school & go into the workplace”.
In just over 4 mins see what the combo of great service & space design in a MLLE (Modern Library Learning Environment) can do.
How would this library environment support MLP?

An excellent clip to challenge the perception of traditional library design and shift the expectation of service and space from transactional to transformational.

Reviewer: Paula Eskett

 

Podcast

How approaches to managing change in schools are evolving — Karen Melhuish Spencer, Mark Osborne

A discussion exploring how modern trends in learning design and technology, combined with understandings about adult learning, are driving the development of new models for leading change in schools

An engaging and practical discussion between Karen Melhuish Spencer and Mark Obsborne on the only contant: change and how to manage it.

Reviewer: Rochelle Savage

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My reflection on the Light the Fire meetings

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Light my Fire event

The end of the year — as well as throughout — is a time for contemplative reflection on the impact of our choices and deliberate actions. We do this to see whether we have made a difference or not in the work that we do, either in the classroom, as leaders of others, as a parent or as a member of a community. Years can and do roll by, but experience doesn’t necessarily correlate to improved effectiveness if we do not stop and critically reflect on where we have put our time and energy.

For me, this year was about trialling something different — that didn’t require me ‘to wait for someone to ask me’. It was not about the impact that I can make, but about the impact we can make. It all came about from a cup of coffee (not tea) with a friend who just happens to be a revolutionist (Michelle Johansson). The concept ignited the passion of our lovely Fuatino Leaupepe-Taula, who joined us, and thus formed the committee!

Without a doubt there are pockets of excellence within every school and community, and there are people putting endless amounts of energy into supporting groups of students for whom our system does not adequately provide. For us, that group is our Pasifika students and community. They are our aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents, our children, our āiga. However, it is not about exclusion but about inclusion. A community that values diversity is one that thrives.

Light the Fire is about people meeting to CELEBRATE successes of our Pasifika people. It is about rejecting deficit theorising — failure is not an option, and valuing Pacific values of service, humility, alofa, humour, respect, academic excellence, and leadership.

This inaugural year of Light the Fire has been highly successful with schools opening their doors to host.*

To give an idea of what we have don, we had four guest speakers this year:
Term 1– Emilie Sila’ila’i, DP at Konini school, inspired us to set not challenging goals but outrageous goals; linked to research from Eric Jensen (Teaching with Poverty in Mind) and John Hattie. A blog of Emilie’s work is on the University of Auckland’s website: Carlos and his outrageous goals.
Term 2 – I provided the five key findings from ERO’S 2013 report: Making Connections for Pasifika success, to align with a case study that I was involved with.
Term 3 – Alfriston College’s new Fijian principal, Robert Solomone introduced his students; from different Pacific nations reflecting on their successes, barriers and aspirations. The values that were epitomised with each story were also complemented by each individual’s culture and identity. A real tear jerker!
Term 4 – The Principal of Rowandale school, Karl Vasau shared his leadership journey with humility and humour.

Each meeting started at 4pm: 30 minutes guest speaker, 30 minutes networking.

Pacific people don’t want to be a problem to be solved, we want to share with you our values and build a collective agency around valuing an individual’s culture, language, and identity. We want this reflected in your curriculum and your pedagogy because what works for Pasifika will work for all, but what works for all doesn’t necessarily work for Pasifika.

So Community, let us hear from you! If you came to a Light the Fire meeting, can you share with us your reflections? Did it ignite a passion for something different in your school? I know another Light the Fire meeting is starting down in Wellington — anywhere else? It would be really great if you could spare a minute and reflect with our community — it might just be the bit of inspiration someone else needs today.

 

* We would like to thank De La Salle College for Boys, Manurewa High School, Alfriston College and Rowandale Primary School for providing food and a venue, and hosting us with such grace and generosity.

 

Guest blogger:

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Walking in others’ shoes – Now I understand

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Pasifika cultural journey

My recent facilitation experiences with the early years team has involved supporting teachers in exploring, understanding, and become confident in using the Pasifika Education Plan, 2013 – 2017 (PEP). Their aim is, of course, to increase successful learning, and strengthen participation in ECE of Pasifika families within their communities.

Real-life professional learning in Pasifika culture: PEP in practice

In August, my husband I had the privilege of travelling with my CORE colleagues, Ruta McKenzie, Justine Mason and her husband to Samoa. This experience was intended as a holiday, yet it served as the most meaningful professional learning opportunity I have ever engaged in. For two weeks we lived with Ruta’s family in their homes within their villages.
Ruta has described in a previous blog post how her experience of moving from Samoa to a different — Palangi — world impacted on her deeply. I, too, felt the impact of the differences in moving into her world and her ways of knowing, being, and doing. From the moment we stepped off the plane I saw signs and notices that I couldn’t read, smells I couldn’t recognise, processes through customs where I wasn’t sure how to respond, and so on. I was extremely thankful that Ruta was there to help clarify many of these uncertainties. I decided to use this experience to discover for myself what the Pasifika cultural values, identified in the PEP, look like in practice.

Interaction with strangers; treated like honoured guests

I watched Ruta as we walked around the markets in Apia, and saw how she moved to sit amongst the people waiting for the buses and converse with them in her own language. She purchased food, which I didn’t recognise, from the young person selling it on the street, giving some to a woman beside her, whom she didn’t know. I reflected on this action and realised that I would not have even considered doing that, as in my culture, I am unlikely to talk to a stranger at the bus stop let alone buy food to give it to her. I pondered over this as Ruta was obviously feeling that true sense of belonging as she re-engaged in her familiar language and community life.

When we arrived at Ruta’s family home, we immediately felt the high value placed on family togetherness and love. We were welcomed as guests: we were served our food first as part of the respectful practices within the culture. The family ate after us. The children and younger adults showed profound respect for their elders, and undertook household tasks so unquestionably. They supported each other in ‘dance-like’ fashion, where everyone knew their role and worked alongside each other for this to be a smooth loving, giving, and caring process, where there seemed to be no particular leader.

Special occasions reveal respectful leadership practices and traditions

During our time in Samoa, Ruta’s family were involved in a family funeral. We had the opportunity to experience the deep respectful and spiritual practices around giving and receiving of food, fine mats and money from extended Aiga in the villages. The decision-making and respectful leadership practices demonstrated throughout the three-day funeral ceremony were clearly extremely important, and needed to be performed in the correct way. The place of commitment to family and their spiritual beliefs in this process was very evident.

We felt and observed an enormous sense of respect, spirituality, inclusion, and service when our husbands were involved in the Father’s Day celebration in the Church. Our involvement in preparing for this special occasion was indeed a privilege as we created the 20 or so ula, made from sweets, for presenting to the fathers at the service the following day. Daily Lotu times and caregiving routines with each other were served in a loving, caring, responsive, and respectful manner.

How can these things benefit us here in New Zealand?

Throughout these experiences I considered how early childhood services in New Zealand can recognise and implement these values through their every-day curriculum practices, policies, and procedures.

It helped me to identify areas such as the enrollment, welcoming, and participation procedures, sleeping practices, preparation and provision of recognisable kai, use of familiar languages, identifiable features within the learning environments, and the availability of cultural artifacts, stories, and songs for children to engage with during their daily play experiences, are key factors that can impact on successful learning for Pasifika children and their families.
Ruta was our guide in exploring what was an unknown world to us. It is clear to me that our teachers are the guides for Pasifika students in New Zealand to assist them in navigating what is essentially an unknown world to them. When teachers understand the significance of the Pasifika cultural values, and how these are embedded in children’s daily experiences and family aspirations, they can better support the Pasifika families to connect with, become engaged, and participate in ECE.

Pasifika Culture – Glenda Albon from CORE Education on Vimeo.

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How important is pronunciation anyway? How hard is it really?

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Ask most Māori and they will have their own personal story to follow the answer to the question, ‘how important is pronunciation anyway’? The ones with a lingering sting often relate to names of people and places precious to them. They can tell you who, where, and what happened blow by blow with the lasting, albeit unintended impact, when a name or word is repeatedly mispronounced.

Speech bubbles-blue

Pronunciation is a hard one to talk about. Focus on it too much and people can feel offended, affronted, and be put off even trying. Don’t focus on it and the status quo reigns. Watching my son live with a Māori name on a daily basis leads me to spend a little time shining some light on the topic, to share a story or two, and some tips for the kete.

My Story

My story starts with me, Nichole Catherine Gully, a good Pākehā name given to me by my plump Pākehā mum, from Porirua. Although renowned in many an East Coast wharekai for her perfect pavs, my mama bear was not one for reo, never learned it, and she had many a reason to avoid learning to pronounce things in Māori. My sisters and I would constantly cringe and correct to no avail.

speech bubbles pink

….and then DUN DUN!!!… her mokopuna were born.

Manukorihi Mia Arita Wilson, John Kanuta Rewiri, Wiremu Michael Rewiri, and my boy, Tanirau Tahurākau Inia… and she HAD to learn to say their names. Boy did things change like the Pantene advert promised. On their arrival, she finally got why it was important and went about working out how she was going to make it work for her. Choosing avoidance and reasons was no longer an option. Some of these strategies are shared below.

Māori words

How hard is it?

So let’s unpack some of Mama Thelma’s reasons, because she does make some valid points. Learning a language is hard work; getting your ear tuned in and tongue twisted around new words is not easy. The research argues that there is a critical period in language learning, and although a second language can successfully be learned as an adult (not just as a kid), developing a native-like accent is often NOT achievable. However, improving accent is VERY possible. This is especially true in Māori, as most of the sounds are also present in English; it’s all about cracking the code and matching up the puzzle pieces like the following examples:

Today is Tūrei, the number two day is Tūrei
Dead eel mouldy

Kōrero Māori

Many errors in pronunciation are made because people read Māori words with their English reading glasses (coding). The first example, Tūrei, sounds similar to the English ‘Two day’, and ‘te reo Māori’ to, ‘Dead eel mouldy’. The same letters, but the codes are quite different. Some letters make different sounds, like wh, r, t, ng, as do the vowels and vowel blends. And if that wasn’t enough, how we break up syllable sounds in a word is also not the same.  So much to remember!!!  It’s all about tips, tricks, time you commit, but most of all knowing for yourself why giving it a good crack is important.

Some tips and tricks.

There are loads of websites, apps, and books that have pronunciation guides and tips like Kōrero Māori.  Below are some of the tried and true top tips I have used and shared.

speech bubbles

I don’t make mistakes. My hypotheses merely require reformulation.

The inter-language continuum (my favourite second-language acquisition theory) taught me as a language learner and a self-professed perfectionist, that I NEVER make language mistakes. What a weight that lifted! Instead, on the language-learning journey we make and test language hypotheses. Some are spot on, others need reviewing and resetting so we right-shift along the continuum from newbie to being in closer proximity to a native-like speaker.

Inter-language continuum

inter-language keys

There are two groups who live on the continuum. The right-shift travellers are the Wants to, Tries to, who just do it, then there are the Can’ts, Won’ts who don’t. They have set up camp and aren’t ready to shift yet, and may not. The continuum gave me the power and permission to give everything a crack without all the pressure of getting it WRONG. When I owned that, right-shifting was smoother. I now gift this to you, if you don’t already own one — and here is a spare one to share with a friend. Choose to do with it, what you will.

Moral of the story is Mama Thelma found bigger reasons WHY, to over shadow the WHY NOTS, and sniffed out strategies that worked for her. She’s nudging right on the continuum, and in our whānau Manukorihi Mia Arita Wilson, John Kanuta Rewiri, Wiremu Michael Rewiri and Tanirau Tahurākau Inia know their plump, Pākehā nan from Porirua wants to, tries to, and does say their names with all the love and respect they deserve.

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Creating the ‘talanoa’ conversation is all it takes…

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We all like to talk, discuss, and laugh, and we feel relaxed when we have things to share — or even better: having something in common — because we all have something to talk about. However, it is easier said than done with the majority of our Pasifika parents, families, and communities who may still need that support when sharing their thoughts around their child’s or children's education in Aotearoa.

communication

Pasifika cultures involve story telling when establishing connections

In many of our Pasifika cultures, it is all about story telling, or telling our story to make the connections. When I am in a Pasifika gathering and I meet other Samoan delegates, they will always ask me for my name and surname, and then will they start making the connections. They will then move onto my father’s name and slowly you see them thinking and coming up with the question, “Is he from Vailele?” Or, if they ask for my mother’s name, they would say, “Does she come from the village of Afega?”. This is how we connect, and this is when relationships are built, and how the story goes on.

How do we best connect with parents of our Pasifika children?

We, as educators in Aotearoa, find this quite difficult. How can we create this kind of connection with our Pasifika parents, families, and communities? As a Pasifika educator we love to talk, and share our stories, and make things easy for ourselves — it’s the environment that we are in — that plays a big part.  It’s a safe environment where the space or ‘va’ is respected. The ‘va’ is a space between you and another person — creating a connection with your Pasifika parents, families, and communities is about taking the ‘time’ to understand where they come from, and let the Pasifika learners give you a head start with telling their story of who they are and where they come from. When you know your Pasifika learners’ backgrounds, and you know how they learn, you will have a better understanding of their parents and where they come from. This sort of information should give you a greater indication, or insight, into how to approach or start a conversation with your Pasifika parents.

The Talanoa model

I want to share with you the ‘Talanoa’ model that I have found helpful when working with school leaders and teachers.

Talanoa model

I have interpreted the above Talanoa model in a way that schools can use within their contexts, that can be used in many settings. I need to acknowledge the Pasifika academics who have developed this model (Manuatu, Vaioleti, Mahina, Seve-Williams).

Below I unpack this Talanoa model in relation to my work in schools.

The word ‘talanoa’ is a term meaning to talk or speak. The four elements around the word ‘talanoa’ are attributes that make the ‘talanoa’ more meaningful and rich. They are Tongan words with similar meanings used in other Pasifika languages.

Ofa/Love — When we talanoa with our Pasifika parents, families, and communities, whether we are in parent interviews or Pasifika parents fono/meeting/hui, we start with questions about ourselves. O ai a’u?  Ko ai au?  Who am I?. This sets the scene of your talanoa and shows that you are sharing your love with everyone by acknowledging who is in the meeting. This ‘ofa’ can mean different things, but in this case it’s about who you are. This becomes a time when barriers come down and you start building a relationship or connection with one another through knowing who you are.

Mafana/Warmth — Throughout the ‘talanoa’ the conversation is warm and not threatening to both parties.  At times, teachers just want to get to the point and then move on. Having this warmth in a conversation builds rapport, developing a connection to bring in the trust of the parents. The talanoa becomes more of a heart-to-heart, and a supporting of one another rather than picking up the bad points of the learner.

Malie/Humour — We love humour in our ‘talanoa’. The talanoa needs to have a bit of humour in order for the conversation to be real. Pasifika parents will often use an example that the teacher has given them and they will turn it into something hilarious. This indicates that both parties are starting to trust one another, and the relationship building is becoming stronger. You can often find something funny in a situation by over-exaggerating something to the point of being ridiculous. This is a great way of building that mafana as well.

Faka’apa’apa/Respect — The respect is the final element, but it is also woven  throughout the four elements, and this is where the ‘talanoa’ comes to fruition. Both teachers and parents start building the ‘where-to-next’ stage because of the mutual respect from both sides. This helps to build a shared understanding between the teachers and Pasifika parents, families, and communities.

I have used the Talanoa model with the schools that I have worked in, and I have seen the changes that it has made with building relationships and connecting better with Pasifika parents, families, and communities. I am looking to reinforce the Talanoa model by embedding it as part of CORE’s facilitation practice in schools.

Faafetai lava

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