WHAT DO TEACHERS DO  ON THOSE TEACHER ONLY DAYS?

     Last Friday, while your child was able to play at home with you or was in childcare, it was a full on work day for all teachers at Waikanae School.  We tackled the question of how we might increase outcomes for students, especially for those who identify with ethnicities that differ from the largely European / New Zealand that make up most of our school and school community.  We looked at  ideas around inclusiveness and practical ways of implementing inclusive practices in our school.

     The teacher’s only day was a productive time as we explored a document called  Ka Hikitia  and Tātaiako - Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners.  While the emphasis was on approaches to help Maori students succeed in the NZ school system, the principals could apply to students from all cultural backgrounds.

     A key concept was the idea that a child should be able to learn in a way that was consistent with their cultural perspective and cultural understandings, and not have to put them aside to be a successful learner or to integrate into the school culture.

    In our sessions we considered how we could teach using a “culturally responsive pedagogy” terminology which to me means the nurturing and empowering of a student to fully participate in relevant, life-building learning experiences that enable them to contribute and participate in the community.  This would include acquiring the knowledge and skills that are needed to be involved in and contribute to positive community transformation.

We talked about the ‘golden triangle’ where parents, children and teachers form the 3 apexes.  The understanding of what is taught and how it is taught comes from consultation between these stakeholders, the students, the school, and the cultural communities. 

It also means more than consultation – it means working together and that each has a responsibility for active engagement, and that each have a part to play to achieve the agreed successful outcomes for the child, the school, the family and the community.

1    Miss Johnson records our discussion and ideas on a group chart.

         On a practical classroom level culturally responsive pedagogy encompasses things such as co-ownership of teaching and learning, in a climate where there is an understanding of reciprocity.  This includes the idea of the teacher also being a learner and students functioning in teaching roles.

This idea can be seen in the way students learn from each other, using their strengths and knowledge to coach other students.

    A practical example your child would be familiar with would be our maths earlier in the term where children worked in groups to problem solve, or in reading where children identified and shared their understanding of the interesting vocabulary from texts.

    There was also discussion around the legislative requirement to continually demonstrate and provide evidence of cultural competency as part of the ongoing registration of teachers, which occurs every three years for all registered teachers. This requirement includes providing hard data to show culturally relevant practices that support learners are being actively demonstrated in the classroom.

An outcome of the day was for each teacher to plan at least three practical tasks or projects to increase the levels of cultural awareness and culturally relevant teaching practices in the classroom.

Our teachers are learners too. Our learning occurred in group discussion, through video, reading, analysing and summarising relevant readings, and recording our ideas and understandings, all with the assistance of an outside facilitator.

The day also demonstrates that teachers are learners too. We continue to grow in our understanding of what makes an effective teacher, and because we care abut the children we teach day by day we are committed to doing all we can to see every child succeed.  Educational research, societal change, technology, government policy and legislative requirements, resouces, levels of financial input and many other factors continue to shape and change the education your child is receiving.

So in summary, while we realise that it may have caused some inconvenience for some parents, we see that the outcomeswill benefit families, students and teaching staff.  it was a busy and productive day for us, and will help us to better assist our learners, our families and our learning community to be successful and achieve the hopes and dreams of all concerned.

Working together,

Peter