I feel like the second half of this assignment has become about uLearn, but like Mind Lab, uLearn has given me a lot to think about, In a very tangible way this has been a year of tremendous growth for me.
Pat Snedden's closing keynote speech from uLearn 2015 was inspirational. Snedden asked "how might it be if we formed a society based on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi" Snedden challenges us all to develop a robust and practical relationship with the Treaty and to establish cultural coherence with clearly understood values with universal subscription.
Pat Snedden talked about the affirmation of rangitiratanga leading to kawanatanga which speaks to learner agency and self directed learning within a system which promotes collaboration and responsibility. I don't believe my school has a strong grounding in the Treaty of Waitangi. I searched through my policy documents and couldn't find a statement. There is nothing in our school website. We have not engaged with the Treaty in a robust and practical manner.
Yet my school has a bilingual unit.
Retrieved from : Core Events
And then I listen to Russell Bishop who states that it is agentic teachers with appropriate support who will bring about the biggest changes for Maori students. These are teachers who have agency, who understand themselves. This makes me think more and more about my own practice.
Wow. I wonder how I am weaving things together in my classroom to create a learning context for Maori because my understanding of what it is to be Maori is not the one shared by most Maori. I am Maori, born to two Maori parents. I don't claim other ethnicities in my gene pool. I was born in Canada, I speak with a North American accent. I am highly educated.
I connect with learners through making sure that they understand that their knowledge and their cultural understandings, the way they make sense of the world, what they bring to the learning conversation is legitimate and valid. As Bishop states it’s that level of engagement that brings about engagement and further engagement.
But how are the learners at our school being valued if I can't find anything that anchors us to the Treaty of Waitangi. How are we engaging with the document which underpins Aotearoa? No wonder Pat Snedden calls Maori refugees within their own country.
References
Bishop, R., Berryman, M., Cavanagh, T., & Teddy, L. (2009). Te kotahitanga: Addressing educational disparities facing Māori students in New Zealand.Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(5), 734-742.
Edtalks.(2012a, May 30). Mike Hogan: Culturally responsive practice in a mainstream school. [video file].Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/43097812
Pat Snedden's keynote address at uLearn15 retrieved from goo.gl/3GL4Bx
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