Reflections

I have always worked in schools that are high percentage Maori students. I have been emersed in the culture, helping with Kapa Haha, school hangi’s and whanau days, etc for the last 7 years before Te Kura. I love it and embrace it; having no problems feeling ‘at home’ with the culture, yet I still struggle to speak it. I understand quite a bit of basic phrases and words in Te Reo however, because I struggle with speaking in front of people in English, even in a casual setting like our staff meetings, I have shied away from speaking more than just greetings and basic phrases in Te Reo. Looking back, I wish I had made myself speak around others more to help break down that barrier of speaking Te Reo so that it became part of my natural and everyday speech. To be honest I think it has a lot to do with my expectations that I put on myself. My partner calls it my life trap of unrelenting standards. I think he is right and it has a lot to do with this, as I know I am not good at it, so I avoid it. My goal is to start using Te Reo in group settings so I get use to it and start breaking down the barrier of anxiety I have around this. 

I am not very confident speaking in front of people anyway and have always struggled with this. I really don’t like speaking in public settings, so it is a real struggle for me to do this in English, let alone in Maori. I know this is good for me though and is a good reminder for me about what we as teachers ask the kids do in situations where they are put under pressure, like speeches, tests and reading out loud in groups or even just to you. I think it is easy to forget what it is like, as exam days are long gone and it’s only on occasion that we as teachers are put in a position where you feel really pushed outside your comfort zone. 

I do try to use Te Reo for greetings and farewells when communicating - phone, email, text, feedback, oral and face-to-face. After the Bilingual Strategy PLD on Tuesday, it really made me think about how important it is to use this Te Reo consistently. To be honest, sometimes it feels ‘token’ for me to use kia ora and Nga mihi all the time. I have tried to branch out and slowly and have been building on my farewells and figuring out more specific vocab to link to the emotion or convey the message of what I am actually wanting. I have been watching some of these YouTube clips which I find really good because Jerome the presenter gives clear and concise explanations and is quite entertaining. https://youtu.be/7Il9BxKezbM?list=LLP98qZTlveMmU55TVuGzkOg   

My goal is going to make sure that I am completely consistent with greeting and farewelling across all these media and settings. Even though it seems small it’s like what Ashley said at the PLD; it’s about respecting the language by using it all the time, no matter who you are talking too. He also talked about if all you say is kia ora and a few words and that is where you are at, then that is where you are at and you just go from there. This made me feel a bit better about the token thing and that you have to start somewhere, even if it is starting with speaking a few words or sentences. 

What I know that I do well though, and probably why I have been able to get around speaking Te Reo a lot all these years - Is my practice and Tikanga. I know from conversations and my relationships that I build with students and whanau that I provide an inclusive learning environment that caters for diversity, through an authentic and individualized approach, utilizing technology increasing engagement and flexibility.