I recently had the privilege of sharing some insights into what culturally responsive practice looks like in Aotearoa from a Māori-educator perspective with the Howick Pakuranga Principals' Association eLearning Network in Auckland. The majority of participants were familiar with the Ministry of Education’s starter kete of Māori education strategies such as, Ka Hikitia — Accelerating Success 2013-2017, and curriculum resources like, He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora. I chose to flesh out the cultural competencies discussed in Tātaiako using anecdotal evidence as examples.
Source: Tātaiko: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners
I chose not to take the normal approach of using guest speaker stories, PowerPoints, handouts, and two-minute discuss-amongst-yourselves-and-report-back-to-the-group style, as these are only surface-scratching stuff. As the educator of this present moment, I’m totally about being a better person than yesterday and fulfilling one’s personal legend (perhaps even helping you discover your own?). I like to make these cultural competencies more tangible, mash it up a bit with some online resources and practical ways to help integrate the principles in your classroom and kura.
Whanaungatanga
Hands down, the most important thing in te ao Māori is our connection with each other, our whenua, and our universe. What makes us a great teacher is how we can build and maintain a strong, respectful relationship with our learners, their whānau, hapū, iwi and everyone in between. Get some ice-breaker stuff happening in your learning space, use a Web 2.0 tool or an app like Animoto to create a digital mihi, such as the one below.
Tangata Whenuatanga
The hub of all cultural locatedness is our marae. Whenever I go onto a marae for the first time, it is my responsibility to find out who its hapū and iwi are. I learn the names of the prominent landmarks connected with that marae like its mountain, waters, buildings, and also get a basic understanding of their protocols.
- Do you have a connection with your local marae?
- Are you able to help your Māori learners if they don’t know their own marae?
One of my definite go-to websites is Māori Maps — a bilingual website that allows you to connect with the ancestral marae around Aotearoa using the Google Maps screen or the Quick Search tabs, and useful for a whole range of identity and culture related activities.
28th Māori Battalion is another fabulous website to support teaching and learning programmes of local history with engaging contexts and especially handy for Anzac celebrations and learning units.
Ako
Māori learners succeed when they can see their identity, language, and culture in all contexts and in all learning spaces. One simple and effective example of showing your commitment to Tātaiako is demonstrated in most of our local libraries — bilingual signs. Both of these websites have some great background information, tips, and translations you could use to reo up your school:
- He puna taunaki: te reo Māori in libraries
- Māori Subject Headings
Wānanga
Communication, problem solving, and innovation. Whānau engagement is perhaps one of the most challenging priorities for change for a lot of schools, whether English or Māori medium. The Ruia: School-whānau partnerships for Māori learners’ success website has a plethora of information using videos, case studies, inquiry cycles, reviews and more to help strengthen your competency in this area.
Manaakitanga
Our values of integrity, trust, sincerity, and equity are universal. One indisputable, essential aspect of manaakitanga not discussed in Tātaiako, however, is kai! You can never go wrong with a feed and the gift of sharing food. It’s a commonly known fact that a good professional learning and development conference is remembered by what you learnt, but a great one is remembered by what you ate. Check out this interactive housed on the Te Kete Ipurangi website: Let’s make a hāngī. Get your learners to make their own kai interactive and share it on the school website.
Give these a go, share your experiences, and keep on keeping on, as I know it can be overwhelming at times. But inevitably, you’ll be the better teacher for it and, more importantly, for our tamariki. And, like one of my most formidable leaders, Princess Te Puea Hērangi quipped:
“Mehemea ka moemoeā ahau, ko ahau anake.
Mehemea ka moemoeā tātou, ka taea e tātou.”
If I dream, I dream alone.
If we all dream together, we can succeed.
Kia ora rā tātou katoa!
Follow me on Twitter: @temihinga
Te Mihinga Komene
Latest posts by Te Mihinga Komene (see all)
- Keepin’ it Reo on Twitter - May 14, 2015
- Tātaiako-E: Cultural competency must-haves - September 26, 2014
Ngā mihi rangatira kia koe Te Mihinga mo te blog nei e pa ana ki te kaupapa nei, ara ki Tātaiako-E: Cultural competency must-haves.
Thanks for this Te Mihinga I sooo tautoko your korero and whakaaro around the must- haves. Loved the way you have "mashed up" and shared your whakaaro.
A great read and I tautoko your whakaaro
Mauri ora kia koe
Tēnā rā koe e te tuakana mō ngāu kupu mihi nei. What a fabulous endorsement, thank you! I'd be interested to know if you know of any other ways kaiako have been adapting Tātaiako in their classroom, especially if they've used apps or Web2.0 tools as well. Ka nui rā te mihi ki a koe, Phebs!
Kia orana Te Mihinga, Thank you so much for this wonderful step by step presentation which further teases out practical and meaningful ways to support teachers using Tataiako. It has given me insight and direction to explore with our ece team, whanau and tamariki. Many thanks too for the references to support this. Your talk is a great inspiration to me and a resource I will use with our team….many many thanks for the clarity and guidance you provide. Kia ora Johanna
Kia ora Johanna, ngā mihi nui ki a koe mō te whakahoki kōrero whakamiha mai ki taku rangitaki. Thank you for your wonderful comments on this blog. Being able to apply a document like Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners to something we know and do everyday, especially if it's fun and using a digital tool, makes more sense and it also brings more life into something that we need to do anyway but all the better for making it more enjoyable I reckon. I'd love to hear about your ECE team, whānau and tamariki's exploration of these ideas and indeed what spin-offs may happen. There must be a nursery rhyme in these cultural competencies somewhere too :) Ngā mihi
Nga mihi nunui ki a koe e hoa ma. Completely tautoko your mashup of Tātaiako – incredibly important to be creating nga ara mo nga kaiako to successfully learn how to work alongside our Māori students effectively. Am off to check out Ruia :)
Nga mihi ano,
Alex
Nei rā ngā mihi nui ki a koe, Alex, mō ō kupu tautoko nei. Let me know what aspects about Ruia you think will work with your ākonga, kaiako & whānau. Ka kite au i a koe ki tā tātou hui ULearn14 ki Rotorua.
Hei konei mai i roto i ngā mihi, Te Mihinga
Kei tōku tuakana – ka wani kē tēnei rangitaki whakamiharo, he tino rawe ki te kite i tō tuhonohono atu ki te tā tātau kaupapa Tātaiako – wetiweti!
Tēnā rā koe, e rangi me ngō whakaaro nui nei ki te tuku kōrero mai. He tika tāu, ko tāku he rapu huarahi ngāwari, ngahau hoki hei taunaki i ngā mahi a ngā kaiako. Mā te aha i te tuku whakaaro, nēhā?
Thank you for unpacking the Tataiako Competencies. It has really given me more insight into each competency and how I can use it with my Mahi and Pasifika Education Plan! Our cultural values are what makes us unique, no matter what century we live in! As you put it kindly, Keep on keeping on, make a difference with our Tamariki's! Really enjoyed the Read e hoa!
Fa'afetai tele lava, Anthony!
Finding ways to ensure our cultures are respected and valued in all situations is what we constantly do so I like the blog platform which enables us to share ideas with others who are not so familiar with our cultures. Reach out!
Manuia le aso :)
Thanks, a great blog post, unpacked the Tataiako competencies in a simple understandable way and gave me some great resources to add to my kete.
Tēnā rā koe, Māka :)
I’ve got more resources to share if interested that will get your kete overflowing and you’ll need to get more harakeke to replace the handles. This is just a little taster to start the ideas flowing so please share if you have any too. Ka nui te mihi!
Wow, i stumbled across your page when looking up tataiako information. As a student teacher, i loved looking at your resources and i was wondering if you had any others you would be willing to share with me.
Thanks
Stacey
Tēnā rā koe Stacey me ō kōrero.
Thank you so much for your comment about Tātaiako. I definitely have a lot of links to resources that I am able to share with you, in particular, te reo Māori me ōna tikanga. Please email me at: temihinga.komene@core-ed.org for any specific resources you are interested in.
Kia kaha rā koe i ō mahi ako hei kaiako,
Te Mihinga
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