Our Whakapapa, Our Knowledge, Our Way... Mauri Ora!

Tribute to Haeata and any other school committing to and learning from a personalised learning curriculum.

This past weekend I witnessed fear. This fear was in the form of professional educators using a poorly written article to challenge the need for our education system to provide anything more than doing the basics well. If you really want to read the article I'm sure you can find it on the net somewhere. What's not so easy to find is a blog in response by Robin Sutton, Tumuaki at Hornby High School... so here it is... 

I am currently on a study break from teaching science and maths in a secondary school in Turanganui a kiwa (Gisborne.) My studies are focusing on contemporary education at a masters level. My teaching experience has included 3 years in a small area school in our region that was committed to rethinking & redesigning education in a way that better serves our rangatahi. It was during this stage in my professional life that I began learning how to design and implement personalised learning programs.

That in itself exposes me as a believer that our current system needs to change. But if you aren't so easily convinced by that single statement, (hopefully you need more evidence...this is what critical thinking is after all...) here are some stats.

source: educationcounts.govt.nz

To read comments about focusing on subject specialist knowledge and "doing the basics better" or "tinkering with the system" is concerning. This is not recognising the significance of this issue. To seriously think that a curriculum that is solely knowledge-based will address this critical issue is ignorant. It is from a position of privilege to assume that this tinkering would be enough. 

It's from a privileged perspective because it implies that incremental improvement is enough. It's from a privileged perspective because this disparity is not really warranting substantial changes. Let's not avoid the social statistics associated with education not meeting the needs of minority groups.

As Robin Sutton said; 
"Only those who have historically been successful could object to this. They have a vested interest to protect because their power rests in educational inequity. "

How is "doing the basics but better" any different from the past? We've always tried to do better, but it's rarely shown any improvement for Māori in relation to Māori students attaining equity in terms of outcomes compared to Pākehā students. Why do you think this is? 

Would it be shocking to know that Māori are descendants of masters in many areas of knowledge? Masters of environmental science and maths. Masters of philosophy and art. Masters in meteorology and astronomy? Master Voyager and Navigator Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr spoke about this truth in this interview. 

"The education system in Aotearoa has never been a system that emphasises how good our traditional knowledge has been. And so, it’s been left in this realm of myth and legend. But to be able to get on a waka and do all this stuff — and to see that there’s a traditional science. Well, they understand. I’d be doing things like: “Let’s figure out how fast we’re going. Without using any instruments.” Then, I’d show them how to do that. Really, it’s all physics and maths. And they’d say: “But our tūpuna didn’t do any of that stuff.” And I’d say: “Yeah, they did. They just didn’t call it physics and maths. They called it living.”

Our rangatahi have a mastery embedded in our culture, our identity and in their whakapapa, yet the model we use is unable (or unwilling,) to allow it to be realised in its full capacity. Having a small percentage who are capable of learning in a western model is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

We need to find a model that works for all students. This is the challenge and it's not going to happen with schools tinkering around the edges. But by courageous schools and communities experimenting with research-based strategies. Personalised learning programs that operate like they do in Haeata are designed to meet the individual needs of their learners. This may not always work... that's education. It's not a one size fits all system in spite of conventional practices. The industrial model is not fit for purpose.

Personalised learning a step in the right direction. Although it is not specifically from te ao māori. At least it enables the learner to draw from mātauranga māori if they choose. This is the point of personalised learning. The potential of this is determined by the learner, not by the teacher or by the school. It takes amazing leaders and amazing learners and amazing support for this to occur.

For change to happen we need heroes to act.
For change to happen we need visionaries to share.
For change to happen we need critical thinkers to evaluate.
For change to happen we need courage to continue.
For change to happen we need collaboration to create and refine.
For change to happen we need time to master.
For change to happen we need reflection to learn.

This is in my opinion Haeata. #KiaKahaHaeata