On Breakfast this week I watched John Campbell interviewing Supreme Court Justice Joe Williams (who has just become Sir Joe) the youngest-ever Māori judge appointed to the Supreme Court and the first Te Reo Māori speaker on the Court of Appeal. John Campbell’s first question was, ‘What were you told as a child about what was possible?’ This question has really stuck with me and I have asked myself, ‘How do we communicate a sense of possibility to the tamariki and rangatahi in our schools?’ In the same week I watched Priya Sami, a travel agent who lost her job during Covid, talk about how much she loves her new job as a tradie. She wishes her school had talked to her about this as a possibility. It has got me thinking about how the young people in our kura see themselves in the role models we hold up for them. If we look at the diverse community in our classroom, do the people we offer as role models reflect this? How do we communicate what is possible? In concluding his interview, Tā Joe Williams was asked
to give his message to the young people of New Zealand about what they can achieve. He said, “My mess age to [tamariki] is to dream and imagine in a way that their parents and grandparents did not. My message to their parents and grandparents is to dream for those children. Because the world we are in is changing, and the Māori dimension of Aotearoa is going to take it to the stratosphere. This is their time.” So how do we create aspiration and possibility in our children and young people? As you walk around your school this week, I challenge you to take note of the role models on display – because your students certainly will. Think first about the role models offered to girls in your school. Do they see female tradies at work? If not check out the video stories and resources offered
by Women in trades womenintradesnz.com/news-info. Are they ex blackfern and the MP who introduced the bill which led to aware of women in science – think of our very own Suzie Wiles, NZ becoming the 13th country in the world to legalise same sex in mathematics try the movie Hidden Figures. Our Head of Art marriage. In a recent NewsHub Nation Backstory interview she is currently contacting recently graduated students who have reflects that things have got better as she shares the trophy with gone on to have careers in creative arts and is producing posters a statue of a male player that she received when named Women’s about their careers to inspire other students. Rugby player of the year in 1997! As we look beyond gender, what aspirations do we create for According to the New Zealand Disability Strategy, disability LGBTQI+ young people in our schools? At the most basic level, is ‘something that happens when people with impairments Aotearoa has the highest rate of youth face barriers in society; it is society that suicide in the developed world, with How do we create disables us, not our impairments.’ How do rates for LGBTQI+ people, even higher we focus on those with different abilities? (Skylight Trust.) Many young LGBTQI+ possibility for students We could focus on our Paralympian young people talk about being aware that of diverse ethnicities athletes or the growing inclusivity of NZ they are different from a very young age. Fashion week for models with disabilities. Ensuring that we have clear messages of and faiths Loading Docs is a series of short films support for those who are looking could which often focusses on diverse young be as easy as wearing a rainbow badge, a within our schools? people like Petra Leary who is an aerial poster in your office like the one above Relationships can be photographer and ambassador for ADHD and a staff wide agreement to stand NZ. Leighton Clarke is well known on against use of the word gay in a derogative built through taking an social media as Uncle Tics and is featured sense – as in “That’s so gay . . . ” Resources on NZ Prime series Living with Tourettes. on the Ministry’s Inclusive Education site interest in culture and How do we create possibility for https://www.inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/ beliefs. students of diverse ethnicities and faiths supporting-lgbtiqa-students/ are excellent within our schools? Relationships can be and can help teachers to inform themselves about ways to support built through taking an interest in culture and beliefs. As a girls’ children and young people with a growing awareness that they high school we have a growing roll of Muslim students. Every are different. year we hold a pre-Ramadan lunch to recognise the special Some examples for role models can be found at tearaway.co.nz/ month they are about to begin and for those who will be fasting out-and-proud-lgbt-role-models/. One example is Louisa Wall we ensure they know where they can go to pray and where they can gather on rainy days to avoid watching other students eating. Creating possibility for these students might be showing them the Iranian women’s football team who fought to overturn the FIFA ban on wearing hijab (headcovering) and avoiding the stereotyping of Muslim women as oppressed and marginalised by talking about the fact that whilst the USA has never had a female president, to date 8 Muslim countries have had female leaders. Given that our country is changing and in Joe Williams’ NZ’s leading words, ‘the Māori dimension of Aotearoa is going to take it to the stratosphere,’ how are we presenting possibility to young supplier of Māori students? Recently I was looking at our NCEA results and laser cutting comparing them to national norms. I was stunned to realise that & CNC Router the percentage of female Māori Y13 students gaining University Entrance nationally in 2020 was 32.5 per cent compared to solutions for 58 per cent of female Y13 students of all ethnicities. Given that we schools need Māori at the table to redress biases across the professions, in medicine, social work, law and education where are those young professionals going to come from? How do we talk to tamariki about the possibility of going to University– particularly those who may be the first in their family to do so? I would suggest this begins at primary school. There is a great Facebook Page We don’t just sell boxes! Your machine will be called Māori Role models with profiles of Māori such as Dr Lance delivered, installed, your staff will be trained & O’Sullivan and those we might not know like Mana Vautier an ready to go. aerospace engineer who subcontracts to NASA and aspires to Contact us today for more information and to be be the first Māori in space. connected with your nearest reference school. Young people cannot be what they cannot see – so what are we showing them about what is possible? 0800 810 365 info@makerspace.co.nz www.makerspace.co.nz LASER CUTTERS | PLASMA CUTTERS | CNC ROUTERS 3D PRINTERS | EXTRACTION
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