I have finally caught my breath. It has been a particularly busy time for us of late as we put ourselves forward to become accredited facilitators. I was tempted to decline the offer to the write this blog, but it really was a welcomed distraction. If anyone is a journal writer, they will understand the solace of putting words to paper — somehow it alleviates the stresses of life. I have pondered about a potential theme to engage you all — some radically inspiring, deep and meaningful, innovative, next-level guru post — but maybe ‘simple’ does it best. Perhaps something light might bring a smile to your face in the busyness of your work life too.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata” is a well-known adage. It has become so common, it’s almost a cliché. It does, however, make me think. If people are indeed the most important thing in this world, is this manifested in my life? In our lives as facilitators and educators? To what extent do we truly honour those we work with? Perhaps we have slipped into a default mode of going through the motions of our ‘work’ — meeting criteria; educating; and trying to inspire others because it is our job. A wise man once said, (well actually he was my husband), “People before programme”. I often get hōhā with him talking for ages with everyone he knows down the street. He takes the time to have quality conversations with everyone he knows, regardless of where he really should be — like picking me up from the supermarket! I am once again confronted by this concept of ‘tangata’ being the most important thing in this world. People before programme.

Hubby’s manaakitanga of others is not contextualised. He is always consistently caring for others. He has an acute awareness of the power of positivity, and he shines. I don’t want to bore you with stories about the love of my life, but I have learnt a valuable life lesson from him that is worthy of sharing. In all we do, we really can make others feel good. We can show them they are valued. From every person who gets on your nerves, to someone you actually do like, taking a few minutes to engage with them authentically can make a difference to their day. Be the rainbow in someone else’s cloud (random internet quote that I found when I was bored).

To sum up, I learnt from Oprah a few years ago to “be mindful of the energy we bring to a place”. She has it written on the wall of her studio, to remind her staff that one’s energy truly affects others. Self-awareness of the energy we bring to our work can be more impacting than frameworks, theory, intelligence and programme. There is value in the adage — our forefathers were wise when they instilled in us that people are the most important thing in the world.

Okay, that about does it. Going to sign off with Aunty’s top Make-other-people-feel-good tips:

1. Smile, all the time.
2. Say thank you often, sincerely.
3. Make the time to talk to people, genuinely.
4. Be kind, every day.
5. Choose to do good.

Homework versus work at home. The homework debate: Should children be given homework? If yes, what type and why? Here is the million dollar question everybody should know the answer to: ‘Does homework really improve learning?’

Firstly, I would like to thank Cath Rau and Ted Glynn who inspired my thinking around homework back in 2008. I also want to acknowledge matua Hurae White a friend and colleague who has influenced some of the ngohe/activities. The homework grid or papa mahi kāinga ā-ipurangi is an online alternative to homework.

The main purpose of this blog post is to support kaiako teaching in Māori medium settings in the primary sector. However, please note this same resource can be easily created for children learning any language and at any level. An example of this tool can be found at the end of this blog.

Teaching in bilingual settings can be a struggle when one is bound by school policies and a whole lot of hard questions like: What language should I target? Māori, English, or both? How much of the target language should I use? What if the parents/caregivers don’t know te reo or the content to support their child at home? Should I set content below, at or above the understanding of the child?

These are some questions I have asked myself when teaching in a junior rūmaki (full immersion) situation. One of the most difficult things I have battled with over the years is trying my hardest to support five year olds learning te reo as a second language when they are quite often the only speakers of te reo Māori in their family or household.

Let me ask you are few questions to ascertain what your beliefs are about homework:

• Have you ever tried to help your own child/ren with their homework, to realise you do not have the skill or knowledge to support?
• Do you believe homework is a ‘link’ between home and school?
• From your experience, does homework promote happiness or headaches?

In my experience as a teacher and a mother, homework has been a tiresome journey. Giving weekly homework became a chore and I found myself giving it because it was the expectation of the school. I remember the day that I heard about the homework myth stating the notion that homework failed children. I became really annoyed and frustrated because I would spend hours creating, marking, and chasing up homework. In a lot of cases incomplete or non-returned homework came with creative yet not so original excuses like, ‘It was eaten by the dog', or 'left in a wet bag', or that 'siblings who had drawn all over it or ripped it up'! I found myself questioning the relevance of giving homework if I was failing students? I started to really question the purpose of everything I sent home. In 2008 I discovered the homework grid which I trialled and it proved to be successful!

What does literature have to say about homework

Pink (2009) has a quick and easy three-part test for teachers to gauge whether the homework they give is truly helping children engage or to note whether teachers are actually stealing children’s free time?

Test yourself by answering these three questions and be honest with your answers:

1. Am I offering students autonomy over how and when to do their homework?
2. Does the homework promote mastery or something meaningful?
3. Do my students understand the purpose of their homework?

If your answer to any of these questions is “No”, then the result of your homework may be a meaningless exercise or what could be termed as ‘busy work’ and ‘time wasting’.

Furthermore, you may not be aware that you could be promoting disengagement at home and at school. An example of this is when children who complete tasks at home because they ‘have to’ and not because they want to. Negative consequences from home and school follow; Not to mention the numerous arguments some families battle, which often become the normal routine. Thus, no real learning occurs, but instead homework headaches are created.

I believe with a little thought and effort we can turn homework into home learning. An example of this could be a child teaching their parent or caregiver a song, a game or a strategy they have recently learnt. This type of sharing supports dialogue, communication and relationships in the home.

The Rhetoric and The Reality (Hood, 2015) promotes public debate about the current secondary schooling system in New Zealand. Hood stated that not even the threat of detention persuaded him to conform to homework, as there were more interesting things to do after school. How many of us have experienced this? Hood only gave homework to consolidate what had previously been taught; assignments took a few weeks to accomplish and these assignments were always returned with quality feedback to his students. Hood cites John Hattie’s research which says “…. the correlation between doing homework  and achievement is insignificant” (Hood, 2015, p.67). Hood challenges schools, teachers, and communities to be honest with senior management regarding such concerns and seek innovative ways to better this.

Personal homework headaches working in Māori Medium

(Personal perspectives from child, caregivers and teacher. Please note that these comments are in no particular order)

Kei hea te rongoā? Where is a solution?

Te Papa Mahi Kāinga ā-ipurangi, The online homework grid

The concept is based on Ian Lillico’s research of more than 25 years, where he searched for better ways to engage boys through more practical and hands on approach to learning.

Originally the homework grid was given as paper tasks either in a homework book. However this day in age, what can be done on paper can be done online, so why not try and create your own homework grid to support home learning.

Why is this type of homework successful?

• Promotes agency
• Promotes mastery
• It is purposeful learning
• It is easy to organise

How do you create your own homework grid?

• Feel free to MAKE A COPY from my example and start from there. This example was created to suit a junior rūmaki classroom of years 1-2 students. The same idea can be used for any language or year group. The activities will need to be set according to the children in your class.
• It is so easy to create. I used Google slides.
• I also added a monitoring sheet for reading and a monitoring sheet for kete kupu to show evidence of what students had read and completed at home. This is by choice.
• Children monitor their own work by dating and marking off the task       as they complete it and parents can validate their work also.
• Change it up every 2-3 weeks, depending on your students of course.
• The amount of activities and choices, including curriculum areas are up to you and your class (you may want to only have 9 squares) Keep this manageable for all parties.
• The activities should be negotiated with the tamariki and their caregivers/parents so that everyone knows what to do and how to do it.
• You may need to create a video of yourself explaining how to do certain tasks so there is no guess work that needs to happen when children return home.
• If you have certain skills and strategies you want the children to know and learn you may want to consider creating a re-windable video of yourself teaching the task, then the child can watch and rewatch content at their own pace and as many times as they need.
• All you need to know is how to insert a link into the grid if you are inserting youtube clips or other content like google docs.

Tip for teachers:

• Remember Daniel Pink’s three-part test for homework to promote autonomy, mastery, and purpose?

Have a go at creating your own homework learning grid! Besides what is the worst that could happen?

Links to resources:

• Link to the papa mahi kāinga grid example
• Homework hassles, headaches and happiness blog
• Link to my homework webinar for Connected Educator week
• Link to my Mahi Kāinga vs Kāinga Mahi powerpoint
• Homework policy example explaining the homework grid
• Further reading into engaging students rather than making them comply
• Homework is wrecking our kids blog
• Further reading on Daniel Pink book with 19 Top Ideas for Education in Drive
• Research about the homework grid & engaging boys by Ian Lilico

Ngā tohutoro

Hood, David (2015). The Rhetoric and The Reality: New Zealand schools and schooling in the 21st century, Fraser Books. Retail: $39.50. Books available from David Hood, davidhoodassoc@xtra.co.nz
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books.
Lillico, Ian (2004). Homework and The Homework Grid. Perth:Boy’s Forward Institute. Retail: Aus $15.45, Boy’s Forward

The Māori privilege debate continues to do the rounds.

Over recent years, as I have become more involved in my own tribal activities, it irks me that many communities still cannot get a grasp of the place of mana whenua within the wider community.

This was best played out in my community last year during the New Plymouth District Council Māori Wards referendum that went to the vote, and was resoundingly voted against by 83% of the wider community.

The online and letters-to-the-editor rhetoric in the local Taranaki Daily News reminded me of the 1950s and 60s’, “We need to watch out for these uppity Māori”. And, amidst the usual diatribe came the, “Why should Māori get special treatment?”, and other Māori-privilege comments.

It made me think, are Treaty of Waitangi workshops and cultural responsiveness programmes really hitting the mark at a school level, let alone amongst our wider society? Are they getting us to a place of really seeing Māori as tangata whenua, as mana whenua? It has been 40 years since the beginning of the Māori renaissance of the early 70s — why are we still grappling with these treaty issues? I often think and publically announce that we have come a long way in those 40 years of Kōhanga Reo, Kura Kaupapa, Māori Radio, and TV, treaty settlements, but still 83% of my community said No to Māori representation.

And that is the crux of what the Treaty means for us as Māori. Māori are tangata whenua, one of the treaty partner’s, though some people still want to dispute that. That partnership gives Māori mana whenua rights and responsibilities. We are not just another member of our multi-cultural society. For Māori, this is our homeland, the only place we can speak our language — an official language — since 1986. The only place we can live our cultural beliefs, to just be Māori. Other cultures can return to their homeland to speak their language, to live within their culture.

Taranaki is my pou. When I look to my mountain I feel connected, I feel grounded, I feel strong. Taranaki is my tipuna, my identity. When I travel away and return, I see my maunga and I know that I’m home.

I visit my mountain often, when I need time to think, to reflect and to be re-energised. My two boys have started coming with me and it is exciting to see them connect as I have from before I can remember.

Beneath its shadow lies the rugged Taranaki coastline, the whenua where my tipuna lived. My father was born on our family farm next to my marae at Puniho Pā and my favourite memories are coming here as a boy with my cousins. This is my turangawaewae, like my mountain, it is the place that anchors and sustains me.

Ko Taranaki te maunga
Ko Matanehunehu te awa
Ko Tarawainuku te marae
Ko Puniho te papakāinga

When my wife was hapū we looked at different options for a place to raise our family. We wanted our children to know who they are and where they are connected. Puniho Pā was the obvious choice.

Following conversations with whānau, kaumātua and marae trustees we relocated two old buildings, and joined them together to make our home at the pā. We established a garden, built a deck, installed a coal range and solar panels to cook and heat our water. We are very much amateurs at living here but have benefitted from the learning that has happened over the last seven years.