Unteach Racism

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
What is the most important thing in the world?  It is the people, it is the people, it is the people. Maori Proverb.

Ubuntu

Dis is die mense

It is the people

I appreciated that the teacher's council does not see this program as criticism indicating that somebody has done something wrong or right. But rather helping us to accept where we are as a country with regards to racism, and triggering a starting point to unteach racism. 

This statement by Takunda Muzondiwa from Mount Albert Grammar School hit a chord in my heart. 

"At the age of 7, my family immigrates from Zimbabwe to Aotearoa. I pass through Customs but my culture is made to stay behind. In the classroom, I am afraid my tongue beats back to its African rhythm, is concussed by fear, or has all its memories obscured by amnesia. Yesterday I was an African, today I am lost."

My journey will consist of 3 stages: 

Identity

Confront

Dismantle

Racism is taught, you are not born a racist. It can be unlearned. And one might think you are not a racist, however, you could be implicit bias. Treating students differently than others for different reasons e.g. they might not be able to do the work, or based on where they are from. The question is how am I bias? I did the Implicit test. Not what I expected. I am taking a hard look at how my implicit bias will influence my learners. Our roots are deep. Racism is taught through many, many generations. But we have the choice to slow this taniwha down.

Here are some suggestions of what we can do:

• If Māori children are to achieve, it is crucial for teachers to lift their expectations of students and treat all students as having the same potential for achievement
• Check resources used - stereotyped?
• Having safe and productive conversations with people around me
• Start a conversation with colleagues using Tātaiako outcomes of learner and whānau voice to identify whether any learners are privileged over others in your setting.
• Make a list of the things you hope all your learners and their whānau would say about your learning community.
• Identify one activity you could put in place to understand if what you hope they would say is close to reality.
• Start a conversation on Hapori Matatū about what changes can be made in learning environments to agitate for equity
• create learning environments that promote access to equitable outcomes for all our learners.

What will I do first?

1. I will focus on lifting my expectations of my students and treat them all as having the same potention.
2. I will double check the resources that I use, that they represent my students and not the white privileged community. 
3. Have a conversation with my colleages and make a list that we would like our learners and whanau to say about our learning community. 

LifeKeepers

 A great course with valuable tools to recognize signs indicating suicide and how you can help. 

I now know: 

- More about preventing suicide

- Understand risk and protective factors

- Can identify warning signs

- Appreciate cultural differences linked to suicide prevention

- Know how to intervene with C.A.R.E.

- Know where to get the right support 

Growth Inquiry

Term 3

As part of my WSL role is my own inquiry in Growth Coaching. The goal that I set for myself with my external coach is: 

By  the end of Term 4 2021, (Friday 9 December 2021)  

I  have deepened my understanding of the GROWTH coaching  Framework and elements (Framework, skills, coaching way of being) so that I can coach my teachers in their inquiries to enable them to improve their teaching practices in literacy.

I had the opportunity to coach my DP while being observed by my principal. At the same time being videoed.

When I did the coaching my initial thoughts were that the questions I'm asking are not really getting to the root of the problem. It's hard to explain, but I felt like I wasn't asking the right questions. However, as soon as I started really listening to what she said instead of focussing on my notes, my questioning or prompts became better. 

This session was super powerful for me, as the feedback from my principal made me aware of what I was doing right (structured coaching session) and what I need to get better at  (setting my goals). We had a good discussion around the difference between what the goal is and what the next steps are. I was getting confused between the two and made my next steps (tiny achievable steps) my goal which could actually hold the process back, as coachees might think that that is all they have to do over a 5 or 6 weeks period of time. I grabbed the opportunity then to redo my DP's goal while co-constructing it with the help of my principal. 

Further, I shouldn't be saying, "Anything else?" I should be saying "What else?". 

Follow up with my ASL: 

I had a coaching session with my ASL and had the opportunity to coach her. The feedback was good which gives me the confidence that I am on the right track. 

When being coached by my ASL I found that my thinking process was better as I have an understanding of how the process works. So I don't feel anxious if she asks "what else?" as I did the first time I was coached. It's not a trick question, it's just the opportunity to think deeply. 

Feedback from my colleagues that I'm coaching: 

I asked feedback from my coachees to help me in my inquiry. 

The general feedback was that they liked the Growth Coaching model and that setting the goals that they feel is achievable was good. 

Here is what some of them said: 

"It is good to have you as a coach and keep me on track and motivated. I like that we reset my goal and made this clearer and more realistic as I was feeling a little bit over whelmed by the tasks I had set." This was after my session with DP that I went back to my coachee and we corrected her goal. 

And the other said, "In terms of feedback, I get the sense that you still feel quite a strong sense of responsibility to ensure that the process is happening properly, and ideally that sense of responsibility should shift to the person being coached (me)".

So my next step is to trust the process. Have a really good understanding of what a follow-up or check-in should look like. Know my coachees really well. Who needs more check-ins and who needs less. Supporting them does not mean pushing them...