Yesterday Brenda McPherson Came to chat with us about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. She shared some valuable information about the origin and the implications of the Treaty. It was sad to hear how the Moari people were treated unfairly and what the implication was for them. It hit close to home for me, coming from an unfair system of appartheid.
However, as Brenda emphasized, she did not share the information with us to make us feel heavy-hearted but to highlight the reality and the role we as teachers play in the way moving forward from here, especially as the Ministry of Education is not acting on this.
The question that was left with me to ponder on was, what was I going to change or do next year, to uplift and build our Maori students.
Our students have the right to enjoy their education, make progress and to achieve. Their culture should be respected and acknowledged as much as possible.
So what am I going to do?
I will start of with using the lovely Karakia that Brenda shared on her slide.
