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Nichole Gully

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Gen Z learners

Engaging Māori students and whānau in future-focused education

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Nichole Gully

From the uLearn16 blog: a review by Nichole Gully of Janelle Riki’s presentation – Friday 7 October 2016

Educators from around Aotearoa descended on the Janelle Riki’s uLearn session to wānanga (discuss) similar questions:

  • How can we better engage Māori learners and whānau in future focused education?
  • As our schools are transforming, how do we ensure our whānau and Māori students feel empowered?
  • How can we ensure that our schools are truly bicultural and breathing life into the Treaty of Waitangi?
  • How can be inclusive of all learners and create pathways to success for all?
  • How can pedagogy and practice in a modern and innovative classroom align with the values and practices of Māori?

This presentation discussed these and a lot more, providing examples of how a transformative journey to innovation in education will be more successful if everyone is in the waka together.

Janelle Riki family

Janelle talked to her audience as much as a māmā bear of a blended whānau of five as she did as an educator. She prefaced her remarks that in the next hour-and-a-half people would probably feel uncomfortable, and that she did this intentionally, from a place of love, in order to renew our perspectives and invite change.

So, forewarned, Janelle launched into an emotional raw story of her 16-year-old’s journey through education. A journey fraught with deficit views of his intellect, behaviour, and motivation. Labelled as the ‘typical’ Māori boy, more interested in being the naughty off-task kid than focusing on reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic. Report after report after report states, “Lots of potential but…”, “Lots of potential but…”. The negative perceptions of his teachers is the antithesis of who Mr Sixteen is at home. A teenage boy with the biggest heart for his siblings and cousins, respectful to his elders, a talented sportsman, a strong orator, and an extremely hardworking perfectionist. So, how is it that in a lifetime of schooling, none of these qualities have ever been noticed, fostered, and leveraged?

Russell Bishop quoteIs what we focus on all we see? As teachers, are our perceptions of kids shaping their experiences? If this is the case, if we see them as capable, driven, intelligent learners, how might this transform their experience in education? Janelle went on to talk about Russell Bishop’s research asserting, “What works for Māori in education, will work for ALL kids.” Why? “Because it is all about good practice”. She warned, though, that it doesn’t go the other way. What fits all, doesn’t necessarily fit Māori. And the stats speak for themselves.

Transforming educational outcomes for Māori like Mr Sixteen starts with knowing who they are and teaching to who they are. Valuing them. So, who are these Gen Z Māori, really? Janelle says, “They are really easy to love, but really hard to like sometimes”, but, if you make the effort, the payoffs are innumerable. And so, she unpacked who these kids are, starting with their language, Gen Z Māori lingo:

Gen Z Māori learners

  • Skux / Steezy (cool, keep doing what you are doing)
  • Salty (grumpy, so smile)
  • Snake (men who befriend lots of girls)
  • ACTUAL (truth be told, for real)
  • On the grind! (Getting fit, training, they actually value hard work)
  • TBH (to be honest)

It is this last phrase that really highlights the values that Gen Z Māori boys have. TBH – to be honest.

  • TBH u look skux
  • TBH u r a mean league player
  • TBH ur awesome at haka
  • TBH u smashed that exam

Their social media posts to their mates are splattered with positive affirmations of things they notice about each other, and they share them freely and publicly. What generation has ever done that? What would happen if teachers took this into the classroom every morning and everyone had a TBH session. TBH loved your writing yesterday, TBH your art inspired me to try new stuff, TBH… Normalise making mihi (positive affirmations) cool!

In these Gen Z Māori, we are seeing an emergence of kids connected and wanting to connect to their culture. They are smart Gen Z. They can process huge amounts of information really quickly. They can skim, not read line by line by line. Does that mean they know what to do with that information? No it doesn’t. So, we need to teach them how to analyse the reliability and validity of that information, summarise, and repurpose it. What do the oldies think —and, for your information, 25 and above is OLD to them! We think they are anti-social, have poor literacy skills, and that they are self-absorbed because they take lots of selfies. We could interpret it as self-absorption, or, we could interpret it as confidence and self-expression. We make really quick assumptions about these kids.

Angus McFarlane and his colleagues talk about how schools need to allow and enable students to be who and what they are. How are we enabling our kids to be Māori? Janelle asks, what would I hear, see and feel when I come to your school that sends the message, “We value and will celebrate your culture here?” Janelle goes to schools as an educator, but also wearing her Mum eyes. If she entered your school, what would she see and feel as a Māori mum? What signs would she see, and what would she hear that sends the message that we value and will celebrate your culture? How is she greeted as a parent when she goes to your school or your class? What might she see on your school website or read in your newsletter that will encourage her to enrol her beautiful tamariki at your school, safe in the knowledge that they will be cherished here, as Māori?

Janelle stated that, “It is not a privilege to be connected to the place you go each day. It is a right! Kids deserve to go to school and know they are home. If I was standing in your school, how would I know I was in a school in Aotearoa?” Furthermore, Janelle asked, “Shouldn’t I be able to choose any school in this country for my kids and expect that their language, culture, and identity will be celebrated and grown? This is Aotearoa, and Māori are tangata whenua, Te Reo Māori is this country’s first language. This is a school where my kids should be supported to grow into the Māori leaders of our future.”

Māori Achieving as MāoriSo, what is the recipe for Māori Achieving Success as Māori? We returned to Mr Sixteen’s repeated reports, “potential but…, potential but…”. But, Janelle asks, What are you as the teacher, as the school doing for him? His potential is his and it is not him that hasn’t realised it. That is the job of schools, to draw this out of our kids. He has potential but … what are you doing about it?”. What will it take for teachers to change their view, change their lens for kids like Mr Sixteen to realise their potential? See them in all their greatness, see all of their potential and enable them to apply what they are good at. It’s really not rocket science.

What might this look like for Mr Sixteen? How could we tie art into learning maths and sports into literacy. Where are the opportunities for him to leverage off his oral story-telling talents and working collaboratively on creative projects. Here is the box, fit in it. You don’t fit, you fail. The one-size-fits-all approach to learning doesn’t fit him and lots of other ways of learning and presenting learning do.

Janelle asserts that, “The label of failure is actually just unrealised potential.” If Mr Sixteen was born into pre-European settlement Aotearoa, he would have been considered off-the-charts gifted and talented with his oral abilities, physical prowess, and interpersonal skills, and yet he is not in our current system. He is a ‘failure’ in the NZ education system. A system that does not see or recognise his natural abilities and leverage off these. And Mr Sixteen’s experience is typical of many Māori in education.

If you are Mr Sixteen and you suck at reading, writing, and maths there are very few opportunities to to shine at school and feel good about yourself. What are other ways that all kids have time to shine. One strategy is the Tuakana/Teina wall. On one side teachers and learners write on stickies with their name, “I am good at…”, and post them on the tuakana wall. On the teina wall they can write, “I need help with….” Schools who have worked with Janelle have put this in their weekly programme and celebrate everyone’s skills. All attributes, skills, and abilities are valued, not just the ones considered valued national standards skills. What other strategies could work?

perceptionIn closing, Janelle finished with the saying, “Perception is everything! Intention is nothing”. As educators, if we want to collectively transform the experience of Māori across the education system, we need to address our perceptions and actions. It takes persistence and tenacity to shift the focus from others to ourselves, and we need to work with whānau to do this. It takes a big person to ask, What is my part in this? How can we then make it better? She says, the system is failing some kids and perception is the number one killer. We are failing our Māori kids with our perception of them and their perception of what they think we think of them. They think teachers don’t know them, don’t want to know who they are, and don’t care. Our kids have made assumptions and have gotten used to teachers having negative assumptions of them.

We have stuff in our profession we must unlearn. We have developed some bad habits and we have to learn new ones. We have to be open, critically reflective, and honest in turning that mirror around as the change starts with us. She implored teachers, as a Mum of five beautiful Māori kids in the education system to do this, so children like Mr Sixteen are no longer labelled as failures and become damaged in their journey through our education system. We cannot wait; we must act now. Our babies are too important, and our future depends on us growing the very best leaders we can.

Check out CORE’s Culturally Responsive Practice offerings.

Additionally, check out the Te Reo in English medium offerings.

Contact us to find out how we can help you and your school

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Charisma Rangipunga

Kei te kapakapa rānei te ngākau o te reo Māori? E kai ngā mata i te rā! — Spotlight on Charisma Rangipunga

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Nichole Gully

From the uLearn16 blog: a review by Nichole Gully of Charisma Rangipunga’s presentation – Thurs 6 October 2016

Kei te kapakapa rānei te ngākau o te reo Māori? E kai ngā mata i te rā!

Charisma RangipungaI tatū atu a Charisma Rangipunga nō Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Taranaki ki uAko2016 e wānanga ai i te oranga rānei o te reo Māori. Hei tā Charisma, e hia kē nei ngā ara kua whāia hei whakarauora i tō tātou reo engari he haere kurī noa iho ērā haerenga, kua ora ake rānei tō tātou reo i aua mahi? Ko te whāinga o te kauhau kia matua mōhio te hunga whakarongo ki ngā āhuatanga o tō tātou reo Māori me tōna ora i tēnei ao hurihuri, hei āwhina i te hunga e ngākau nui ana ki te reo i ā rātou mahi. I whakaoreore i a Ngākau, i a Hinengaro kia aro ki ngā mahi whakarauora reo, kia whai whakaaro hoki ki te wāhi ki tēnā, ki tēnā o tātou i ēnei mahi.

Aua atu ngā mahi rangatira a Charisma Rangipunga hei whakarauora i te reo Māori. I te uepū whakarauora i te reo o Ngāi Tahu mai i ngā tau 90. Ko ia tētahi o ngā tino ringa tōhaunui i kōkirihia te rautaki Kotahi Mano Kāika, Kotahi Mano Wawata mai i te tau 2000. He Kaikōmihana a Charisma i Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, ā, i te kāhui i kawe nei i Te Ture Reo Māori 2015. Ahakoa te hekenga o te werawera, ko tāna, kāore he mahi tua atu i te mahi hākui me te whāngai i te reo i te kāinga.  Kāore hoki he wāhi i kō atu i te kāinga hei whakarauora i te reo. Kei pōhēhē Ngāi Tātou, mā te kura te reo e whakarauora, ka ora rānei i te marae. E hē!

Charisma-tamarikiHe māmā a Charisma o ngā makimaki tama e toru, 17, 10, e 8 ngā pakeke. He reo Māori te reo i te kāinga pō noa te ao, ao noa te pō. Heoi, ki tā Charisma, ehara rawa te whāngai reo i te kāinga i te mahi ngāwari. Kia aro mai ana poai, me ū ki te reo o nāianei tonu, me mārama tana reo ki a rātou, me whai rautaki hoki ia e manawareka atu ai ngā tama ki te kōrero Māori hoki rātou ki a rātou, ki te hapori arero Māori. Hei tā i te pikitia, i kōrero ia mō te hararei ā-whānau ki Tahuna, ki ngā waka reti raima (luge) mahi ngahau ai i te taha o ngā tamariki. Tae rawa atu ki reira, ka raru katoa ia i te korenga o tana mōhio ki ētahi rerenga kounga nei kia Māori te whakaahua i ngā rerenga Pākehā nei:

  • Son, don’t use your foot as a break. 
  • Did you see how I slid around the corner?
  • Son, your big head won’t fit in the helmet, go ask for another one.

Ka pātai tana pōtiki, “Māmā, he aha tēnei mea te Gondola?” I whakautua tana pātai engari, kāore i a ia ngā kupu i hāngai ki ngā taputapu gondola, ngā kupu hei whakaahua i te hanga me ngā oro. I raru anō hoki ia i te taenga mai o te iwi Pokemon. Nā reira, ko tāna i ako ai, me āta whakarite rautaki e whakawhāiti ai i aua tū reo i mua noa atu i te haerenga.

Ko te Kahoot (kēmu 248488) te huarahi i ako ai ngā apataki o tēnei wānanga i ngā auheke me ngā aupiki o te reo Māori mai i te taenga o Ngāi Kiritea ki Aotearoa. He ā

ta titiro ki te heke o te kōrerotanga o te reo Māori. I matapakihia he aha ngā āhuatanga i tāmi ai i te kōrerotanga o te reo? I kōrerohia:

  • Te heke haere o te taupori Māori i te whawhai, i te māuiui, i te aha, i te aha
  • Te heke haere o te rahinga o ngā tamariki i kōrero Māori i roto i ngā tau, ināhea hoki i tīmata anō ai ki te piki
  • Te whakakoretanga o te reo i ngā kura
  • Te hua o te nuku ki ngā tāone nui o te motu
  • Ngā pūrongo kāwanatanga i mea “Kāore ōna take” o te reo Māori ki te ao hou. The Hunn Report – me Pākehā te Māori. I whakamahia e ngā tari kāwanatanga katoa
  • Te tau i takatū a Māori kia whai mana te reo Māori – 1975
  • 1975 – Te wiki o te reo Māori (hei whakatenatena i te pai o te reo Māori)
  • Te whakatū i ngā kura reorua hou (Ruātoki )
  • Ngā iwi me ngā rautaki – Ko Raukawa te tuatahi – Whakatipu Rua Mano
  • 1953 – 56% ngā tamariki kōrero Māori
  • 1975 – 5% ngā tamariki whai reo Māori
  • 1985 – Ko Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi te kura kaupapa Māori tuatahi.

Charisma presenting

I whakatūria ngā apataki 10 o te katoa o te rūma kia kite ā-kanohi, kia rongo ā-tinana, ā-whatumanawa anō hoki i ngā raraunga e hāngai ana ki te oranga o te reo o Māori, ka matapakihia ai ngā pānga o ngā raraunga.

Charisma Rangipunga

  • E 3 o te 10 e noho ana ki Tāmaki. 1 o te 10 e noho ana ki Ōtautahi. He aha ngā rautaki whakarauora i ēnei wāhi? E whaitake ana? Ka pēhea?
  • 15% kāore i te mōhio nō hea rātou.
  • E 3 o te 10 e mōhio ana ki te katoa o ā rātou pepeha.

Mena ko te marae te wāhi ka rangona te reo Māori, he aha te pānga o ēnei ki te oranga o te reo?

  • E 6 o te 10 – kua tae atu ki tōna marae i tētahi wā nuku atu rānei – 4/10 kāore anō kia tae atu.
  • E 3 o te 10 – te rahi kua tae atu i tēnei tau kua hori
  • 15% kua tae atu ki tōna marae i tēnei 12 marama nui ake i te wā kotahi.

Mena ka riro mā ngā kura te reo e whakarauora, ka pēhea ēnei raraunga?

  •  E 2,500 ngā kura o te motu. Tōna 60 ngā kura rumaki (KKM+) taumata 1-2.
  • 1 o te 10 ngā tamariki Māori e kuraina ana ki ngā kura taumata 1-2.

Mena kāore a Māori e tae atu ana ki te marae, ruarua noa iho ngā Māori e kuraina ana ki ngā kura arareo Māori, ki hea kē whakarauora ai, kōrero ai i te reo?

Tokohia ngā Māori e kōrero Māori ana?

  • E 2 o te 10 ngā Māori e mea ana he āheinga reo Māori mai i te reo tapepe, kupu ruarua nei, tae noa ki a Tīmoti Kāretū.
  • E 2% o te katoa o ngā kaikōrero Māori e kōrero Māori ana i te kāinga.
  • E 4% e ruarua ana.

E hika mā, ko te nuinga o Ngāi Māori e kōrero Pākehā ana ki te kāinga. Ahakoa ngā kura, ngā whare wānanga, ngā reo irirangi, ngā pukapuka, te pouaka whakaata Māori, ko tātou katoa he kōrero Māori. Kei te kapunga o ngā ringa te oranga rānei?  Ki te kore koutou e whakahoki i tō koutou reo ki ō koutou kāinga ake, ki ō tamariki, he aha te hua o tō koutou reo? Kaiako mā, he aua noa te mahi i te kura arareo Māori. E kai ngā mata i te rā!

audience

 

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

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Nichole Gully

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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