conversation

Feeling you need to have that conversation?…Help is here

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Photo: Allie Lehman

The other day I asked a scientist from a research company about what was important to him in employing new people. Unhesitatingly he replied:

“More and more, I’m finding that the way we communicate with all sorts of people is really important. This is actually what we’re looking for – people who can communicate with each other so they can collaborate and also with the ability to work with our diverse clients to ensure their needs are met. So they need to be good listeners first. We can get ten people with the knowledge background we need, but we need communicators …”

We’re hearing this everywhere. So what does this mean for our learning places? For learners in the classroom and for teachers and leaders needing to provide good role models? What does it mean for the raft of others working in schools — community workers, advisors and facilitators?

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Must reads to dive into this summer

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If you’ve been a follower of the CORE blog over the last few years, you’ll notice how many of our CORE whānau are inspired by local and international thinkers and their practice, with these inspirations and ideas infused into their professional practice and conversations.

In 2016 CORE plans to bring a new offering to our blog community, and share with you
Who and what is inspiring our practice and thinking?

To give you a taste of what’s to come, we asked some of our prolific CORE readers to share some of their notable reads of 2015.

We hope some of these titles are new to you, and offer ideas and inspiration to infuse into your thinking and the practices at your centres, kura and schools in 2016.

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Kickstarting conversations with ‘Most Likely to Succeed’

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Our school system was designed in 1893

“The students showcased in Most Likely to Succeed represent what’s possible when you give kids more responsibility that you think they can handle and ask them to bring all their knowledge to bear on a single task…” — Fast Company

It is the sad face of a young girl in the opening scenes that catches your attention first. This glum expression belongs to the documentary maker — Greg Whiteley’s — daughter as she appears to be tuning out of school at the grand old age of eight. In a parent-teacher conference, her teacher tells her that this disillusionment needs to be endured, that it is a good preparation for life — and thus we are invited to think about the stories we tell our young people about why they are learning and how we might offer something more authentic and motivating. This is the catalyst for the film, a journey into why largely-Western countries, such as the US, construct education systems as we do and what possible alternative pathways for schooling might look like.

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Online language learning

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tereo online

I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my te reo Māori learning this year. The importance of learning te reo Māori has been discussed in previous CORE blogs by Wawaro Te Whaiti and Rochelle Savage. Key ideas mentioned in these blogs are the benefits for your first language and future language learning.

This year, I have had the pleasure of co-facilitating CORE Education’s te reo Māori courses: Te Reo Puāwai Māori and Te Manahua Māori. These courses are aimed at beginner level speakers of te reo Māori, with both courses spanning 10 weeks and involving a blended approach to learning te reo Māori. Here are some of my reflections.

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A Sense of community: Reflections on the Rehu Tai Festival of Oral Language

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Earlier this term, I was asked to be a part of the Rehu Tai Festival of Oral Language. This was initiated by the Papakura Principals’ Association and developed by primary and secondary school principals. The event itself was hosted by Hingaia Peninsula school, and led by principal, Jane Danielson. The intention of the day was ‘to embrace and celebrate the diversity of oral language within our community, both culturally and generationally.’

The event was open to students in years 5–8 in the categories of speech, rap, flash talk, and spoken word poetry. Each category or stream had its own rubric, but were all loosely based on speech construction, presentation and delivery, content, language, and vocal inclination.

Prior to this event, participating schools held their own internal competitions in order to select their top student entrants.

What followed on the day was a variety of powerful and engaging presentations exploring the theme of, ‘Who I am’. As a judge, it was a challenge to select an eventual ‘winner’ from a group of such talented and committed individuals. It was clear that all participants had prepared and worked diligently to be at the event, and I felt privileged just to be in their company, let alone a member of a judging panel. The lead teachers from each school provided their support and guidance, which ranged from helping students to prepare their item leading up to the event, to giving them direction and cues on the actual day.

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