According to a paper on languages in Aotearoa New Zealand, published by the Royal Society of New Zealand, ‘New Zealand is now home to some of the greatest cultural diversity in the world’. The paper goes on to say that over the past few decades we have witnessed unprecedented increases in ethnic, cultural, social and linguistic diversity to the point that we now have in excess of 160 languages spoken in New Zealand. The city of Auckland is described as one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. It is predicted that by 2016 only 56 per cent of the Auckland population will define themselves as ‘European/ NZ’ whilst 25 per cent will count themselves as Asian. If we examine the demographic statistics specifically for the eastern region of Auckland identified as Botany, there is even greater evidence of a multi-cultural mix. The latest (2006) Auckland Council profile shows 52.5 per cent of Botany dwellers speak English as a first language whilst 40.9 per cent speak other language combinations. Yue (Cantonese), Northern Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Korean, Semitic, Afrikaans, Samoan, Punjabi and Arabic are all regularly spoken out in the suburbs of Botany. Deidre Alderson, Principal of Howick’s decile nine Willowbank School in Botany, would suggest that since 2006 the growth in the number of Howick residents for whom English is not a first language, has increased even more. Whilst it is well known that some 40 per cent of Aucklanders were not born in New Zealand (Auckland Plan, Auckland Council), Deidre suggests that in Botany the number would easily exceed 50 per cent. ‘Here at Willowbank School we have children representing thirty-one different languages,’ says Deidre. ‘We have over seven hundred children attending our school and whilst our biggest group of students is New Zealand European children, they outnumber our Indian children by just fifteen and our children of Chinese origin are just another thirty behind,’ she says. It doesn’t stop there. Children also originate from Vietnam,
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Kampuchea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Samoa, Niue, Africa, South Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Cook Islands, the Philippines and Korea. ‘The cultural mix is fluid,’ says Deidre. ‘When the school first opened in 2001 the dominant ethnicity after European/New Zealanders was Korean. After twelve years the mix has changed considerably, with Indian and Chinese children now dominating our statistics whilst only two per cent of our currently enrolled children identify as Korean,’ she says. The school is an important feature of the Howick community. It was set up before the local neighbourhood was established. ‘Willowbank School was the centre of a dust bowl when it was first built,’ says Deidre, ‘but as the residential area took shape it very quickly became the hub of the community and the means by which new people of different ethnicities could be brought together,’ she said. ‘New parents look to the school to connect with others who speak their language and share their culture,’ says Deidre. ‘Linking families together is so important because many arrive feeling incredibly isolated. They may not speak English and in some cases mothers will have travelled to New Zealand with the children leaving their husbands and family connections behind in the home country, so they have no support when they get here. This makes them very vulnerable and so the school plays an important role in helping parents establish new relationships,’ she says. Connecting parents with each other and connecting parents with the school are key priorities for Willowbank School. ‘We recognise that according to their cultural values, practices and previous educational experiences, groups of parents can have wildly different expectations of schooling,’ says Deidre. ‘It is so important that we endeavour to understand the parents’ expectations and clearly communicate what is expected of the
(left) Group in foreground lead the after school dancing classes. It was their initiative, they organize it, run it, tutor the kids who are in it and report to the principal on progress and raise any resourcing issues. One of these girls also single handedly runs the lost property service for the school. (right) The dragon
children at Willowbank school and what we expect of parents so that we don’t have any misunderstandings,’ she said. ‘Different ethnic groups of parents regularly meet with the principal and senior team members so that parents of the same culture have an opportunity to share their views with us and give us feedback on what we are doing at school,’ says Deidre. This practice helps establish open communication with parents and allows those still struggling with English to be supported by their native speaking peers. It is an opportunity for parents to contribute their ideas and help in strategic planning for the school. One factor that does seem to be common to all parents irrespective of ethnicity is that they want their children to be fluent in English and to grow up as good global citizens. ‘Many of the parents of our children are in business in their home countries,’ says Deidre. ‘ They recognise that one ‘business language’ for the future is English. They want their children, whom they see as one day taking over the family business, to be fluent in English early on so that they are advantaged for the future. Further, they recognise that the skills their children will require to be successful in the future business world will involve the ability to question and critique, to be creative and to innovate,’ she says. It is very common to find the inquiry method applied in New Zealand primary schools and this is another draw card for parents who want their children to develop inquiring minds. ‘We operate on principles of reflection at Willowbank,’ says Deidre, ‘In accommodating so many different cultures and languages, we are constantly having conversations with the children and with parents to bridge cultural gaps and to better understand the different points of view,’ she says. This practice quite deliberately spills over into the children’s learning. Children are the centre of their own learning and are encouraged to take charge by doing their own reflection and contributing through conversations with their teachers to setting their own next learning steps. They must learn to think and then think about their learning. This is not a process that comes naturally to all children, especially not those who are accustomed to accepting rather than questioning and simply rote learning rather than critically thinking. ‘We strongly believe in children having a powerful voice around their own learning and in taking on responsibilities including support of others, respecting others and taking up
leadership opportunities at school,’ says Deidre. ‘We want all our children to feel excited about ‘having a go’ or taking a risk because this is how they discover their own potential,’ she says. To this end there is a multi-level system designed to give greater opportunities for discovering children’s potential, developing their learning and nurturing their relationships. ‘We run what we call the ‘Awhina’ concept,’ says Deidre. ‘The children learn and socialise in three different ways. First they have their classroom, then they are each placed within a year level team and finally they have their Awhina group, which is similar to the traditional ‘house’ structure that many schools operate and is a cross-school and cross-year level structure’ she said. This three-layered structure allows children to have strong nurturing relationships with staff, and to have buddies in all these different settings. It is especially helpful for new arrivals with little or no English. These children can be matched up with older children through their Awhina group who share the same cultural background and native language. ‘It is this structure which gives leadership opportunities for children,’ says Deidre. ‘We have the buddy system and also peer mediators alongside the student-elected Awhina captains,’ she says. ‘We want to build a school culture of caring for one another as much as having a strong learning culture – and the children play an important part in the pastoral care of their peers,’ she says. The Awhina captains have the added duty of organising fundraising activities and donating funds to charities nominated by the different Awhina groups. ‘We not only want our children to grow up as well educated, caring, global citizens, we want them to have a healthy social conscience as well,’ says Deidre. From time to time, children will want to organise a ‘sausage sizzle’ as a fund-raising activity. The suggestion is more likely to come from one of the Kiwi kids, and at Willowbank School can be fraught with problems. ‘This is where kids have to really stretch themselves and understand that not all people have the same world-view as them,’ says Deidre. ‘A simple sausage sizzle will require a separate halal barbecue and there will be those families who cannot eat meat at all. There would have to be considerable distance between certain sizzling sausages and other vegetarian options so that there is no contamination between the two and no contamination between halal prepared meat and non-halal meat. A ‘sausage sizzle’ at our
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(left) With children representing over 30 ethnicities, lunches are a global fare! Sushi, curry, noodles and a wide range of other exotic culinary delights are just normal here at Willowbank school. (right) Fo Guang Shan Monastery
school has to be a meticulously organised event,’ laughs Deidre. Having so many different cultures on hand means everyone can benefit from the diversity and richness of sharing experiences. For example, to wander the playground as the children eat their lunch is a gastronomically global experience on its own. There are few examples of the classic Kiwi sandwiches, biscuit and banana. Lunches are much more likely to comprise rice based dishes, noodles or noodle cakes, hummus and roti or naan bread, curries, samosas or bibingka Filipino rice cakes. It doesn’t stop at food of course. This term the school will be celebrating its diversity through a series of celebratory events which will involve the whole school community. ‘Of course we have so much diversity, we have plenty to celebrate,’ says Deidre. ‘Each child brings so much cultural wealth to our school and shares that with the wider society so we are all better off. We are a melting pot of cultural values and beliefs!’ she says. Managing such a multicultural school has its challenges for the school leadership team, but the benefits for all of the children are huge. Willowbank is a school where globalisation is normalised, where kids practice cultural tolerance every day and have a broad cultural understanding that will serve them well wherever they end up in the future. ‘There are many facets to our multi-cultural mix that we have to accommodate,’ says Deidre, ‘and that includes religious rituals and practices. We have Islamic children, for example, who are required to pray three times a day, so it is important that they have a place to do that for example when we are on school camp,’ she says. There are visual reminders all about the suburb of Howick, telling visitors that this is not your traditional Kiwi ‘burb’. For
example there is not a plethora of typical Christian churches of the Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic or Methodist variety. But there is a hugely impressive Chinese temple called the Fo Guang Shan Monastery, established on four hectares of land, complete with café and art gallery which promotes Buddhism. There is much to impress the visitor to Willowbank School but perhaps the stand-out feature is the way in which over seven hundred children from thirty-one different cultural and linguistic backgrounds can mix so easily and support each other so naturally. The children cross political, religious and cultural boundaries. They adhere to the school values of nurturing and supporting one another; being socially responsible; discovering their learning potential; and being good global citizens. They are a school rich in diversity and representative of our biggest city. They are the look of our country’s future, and if we use the children of this school as a model, what a wonderful future we can look forward to. There is no doubt that the school’s leadership has an important part to play not only in creating the appropriate leadership structures within the school for the children to learn, thrive and develop but also for bringing all the teachers on board with the school’s well defined direction and values. In this regard, Deidre Alderson is a stand-out leader who has chosen to re-organise her management structures to meet the challenges created by her roll growth and the diversity of her students. She looked to a sustainable leadership model which sits comfortably in this environment and her deputies would agree. In the end, the best thought out structures and practices in the world, cannot alone produce the results. It’s about forming and maintaining relationships and that is the real secret of Willowbank School’s success.
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