Key change in my professional practice

The Change in Practice 
(activity 8)

My last blog and time to reflect on what I learnt.  I enjoyed looking at the different types of leadership and collaboration. 

What: WHĀNAUNGATANGA: engaging in positive and collaborative relationships with our learners, their families and whanau, our colleagues and the wider community.  This has been a driving key in our Kura.  I first became involved in the kura in 1997, my youngest child was a student of the school.  2000 I took up a teaching position in the kura.  Teachers, whānau and the governing board were actively involved in the daily running of the kura.  Parents were and still are encouraged to participate in the learning of their tamariki.  Somewhere along the way parents are less active and jobs that were once organised by parents are now falling on staff.  In an article by Linda Starr she writes, Research shows that children are more likely to succeed academically and are less likely to engage in violent behaviour if their families are involved in their education. Many parents say, however, that they feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in their children's schools. Teachers often feel under attack by parents who are highly involved.

So What: We understand that families and whānau and the wider community trust us to guide their children and young people on their learning journey and to keep them safe. By acting with integrity and professionalism in all that we do, we maintain this trust and confidence.  In recent years I have seen a decline in the participation of our newer parents. 
What can I as a senior staff member do to encourage parents to become more actively involve with the daily running of the kura.  I would like to see the parents take a more active role in the learning environment of the tamariki.   So much has now been left to the teachers to take care of. 
Now what:  How do we encourage parents to play a more active role in the daily running of the kura? 
Put Out the Welcome Mat
·       Create a kura climate and structures that support family involvement.
·       Provide families with a list of required mastery skills for each subject taught at your class.
·       Invite families to share hopes for and concerns about children and then work together to set student goals..
·       Create a classroom Web site and include a parent page such as Seesaw.  I have started a seesaw group this year but am still a long way from mastering how to use it.  Hopefully 2019 see’s me being more active with Seesaw.
·       Invite parents to present talks and/or demonstrations about their specialized knowledge or skill.  We have a very talented whānau and have offered their skills which have been received with much appreciation.
·       We have a fortnightly newsletter that is very detailed.  Parents are kept up to date with up and coming events and just a general update of what has happened at school with plenty of colourful photos.

Change in leadership has given the staff more opportunities to use their knowledge and skills to create a happy learning environment.  We look forward to more positive  changes in 2019.
https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf

https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr200.shtml









Comments

  1. I agree about your comments on relationship building. Our school is going through major curriculum change for 2019 and I believe this is probably key to success or failure for the changes. I was just doing a presentation on exactly what you were eluding to on the whanau not being involved. I ran workshops for whanau to come in and learn about how to sew as many wanted to help with costumes for the polyfest and I had a thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if the whanau were n the class with the students learning along side with them.

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  2. Yes Heather that would be a wonder idea for whānau to come and learn along side their tamariki or if they have skills to support staff that would be most welcome. We have sewing lessons at school as well. We only started in term 2 this year and because it is very new for the children and difficult at times as myself and the other staff member can not get around all the tamariki with their machine issues. We have asked parents to come in to support this new kaupapa but no result. However they have been amazed by what their children have sewn. As you know teachers appreciate it when parents help out at the school! I believe parental support is vital in the education of their children. Children seem to do better if parents are involved in their learning.

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  3. Āe tika tahau Iwa ehara i te mahi ngawari te whakakōtahi i te katoa o te kura ki te hoe tahi i te waka. I tēnei ao hurihuri, kua kite te panoni o te tautoko a tēnā, a tēnā ki ngā kura. Kua rerekē ngā tau kua pahure i te timatanga o ngā kura kaupapa Maori i kaha whakapau werawera ngā whānau ki te tū te kaupapa. Ki au nei. ehara i te mea e kore rātou e hiahia ana ki te tautoko ēngari kei te kī ngā oranga o ngā mātua, kei wi, kei wā rātou e whai ana i tēnā, i tēnā o ngā kaupapa. I roto i te taone nei, he ruarua noa iho ngā tangata o te kaupapa nā reira ka taumaha haere rātou. Mā te whakatau tika, te powhiri ki ngā kaupapa rawe o te kura, ka kite rātou painga o ngā mahi o ngā tamariki . He mea nui hoki te whai reo ngā mātua, me te tautoko te kura i ō rātou wawata.

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  4. Ae Kim kua whai ahau i te kaupapa nei mā te 35 tau inaianei. He rereke ngā mātua i ēnei rā. I te wā he pakupaku aku tamariki i te hiahia mātau ngā mātua i te mea orite. I te hoe tahi mātau i te waka. I tangi i te tangi orite, i whawhai i te whawhai orite kia whai oranga a mātau tamariki i te reo i o ratou ake ao. Inaianei ko ngā mātua o ēnei rā ka tukiu i ngā tamariki ki te kura., mā te kura a rātau tamariki e whangai i ngā mea katoa o te ao Māori. He tere hoki ēnei mātau ki te patua i ngā wairua o ngā pouako. Kāore rātou i te mohio ki te whāwhai i whawhaia e mātou, me kī ngā morehu o te whawhai.

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  5. Tēna koe Iwa, auē ka tuku aroha ki a koe, koutou ko o hoamahi i tō ake kura. He tino nanakia ērā mātua me ō rātou whanonga. Auē taukiri e. Ae, e tautoko ana ahau i ō raruraru, ō hiahia, ō whakaaro hei toro atu ō ringa ki ngā mātua. Me te mea anō hoki, me pehea tātou e whāngai ana te manaakitanga, kia whakakotahi ngā iwi? Ahakoa, kaore mātou e whai ake te ‘Aho Matua’ e mōhio ana ahau ngā uara me ngā matapono i roto i taua hōtaka. (me kī). He raruraru anō tā mātou ki te hapori nō kōnei. He mahi taumaha tā te Kaiako i ēnei wā. He kura auraki tēnei, heoi, he whānau rūmaki reo kei waenganui nei. He ōrite ngā whakaaro, ngā piki me ngā heke, ngā whānau rawe e tautoko ana te kaupapa me ngā whānau hōhā hoki. Kei a mātou he whārangi pukamata. He pai mō ngā pānui, te whiti kōrero, me te messenger(private msg) ki te nuingā o ngā matua. Kia kaha tonu koe e te whānau ki tō kura me ō koutou nei wairua. Mauriora e hoa.

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    1. Ka aroha e hoa. I timata au i tetahi kura auraki i te Tairawhiti, he nui te pakanga ki te whakarite i te akomanga kotahi i aua momo kura. Ko tetahi atu amte ko te rere o te reo Pākeha. Ka aroha ki o tātou whānu, hapū, iwi.

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  6. Oh! Āmene ki tēnei Kōkā!
    Kāore pea au i reira i te wā i kaha āwhina te whānau, ngā mātua i roto i ngā kaupapa katoa o te kura, heoi, e mārama ana au ki taua āhua. E mārama ana nō te mea, kāore e kaha kitea i ēnei rā. Ko ngā mea ōrite i ngā wā katoa kei te taetae mai i ngā wā katoa. Ki ngā hui, ki ngā kaupapa, ki ngā hui whakangahau kaiako me ngā mātua. Ko ngā mea orite i ngā wā katoa tautoko ki te kawe i ngā kaupapa.

    E mārama ana te kite, kāore ētahi mātua i te tino mārama ki te kaupapa o Mana Tamariki. Te āhua nei, ko ētahi i kuhuna ā rātou tamariki mo te reo Māori anake te take, heoi, ko te ahurea Māori, ko te ao Māori, ko ngā tikanga Māori, auare ake! Ko te noho tahi me te mahi, auare ake! Nā reira he kōhāo nui i reira i te taha paerewa, haepapa o ngā mātua/whānau.

    Tērā pea me whakaturetia (make compulsory) tētahi hui, e hui ai ngā kaiako me ngā mātua, pēnei i te hui marau, ka pūrongotia te/ngā /mātua/whānau he aha tā rātou hei whakatinana i te reo Māori, otirā, Te Aho Matua.

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    Replies
    1. Ae e hoa, i te wā i timata māua ko taku pepi ki te kura, koira te ture me tae atu te mātua kōrero Māori ki ngā hui katoa. He rereke te whānau i taua wā. He whānau kaha kōrero Māori i te ao i te pō. Ki te rongo ngā tamariki i tetahi kupu Pākeha i aue rātou katoa. Ki taua hunga he hara nui rawa atu, mōhio hoki rātau te haere atu ki te pouako ki te rapu kupu Māori ina kāhre i te mōhio ki te kupu Pākeha. Engari ko ēnei inaianei kare he aha. Ka aroha nui ahau ki te reo me tā tatou kaupapa.

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