My inquiry is FINALLY beginning to make sense. It's like someone trying to see their reflection in murky waters.
My inquiry this year focuses on something internal, raw, real, truthful. Yes, my focus is on Identity & Cultural competencies and my inquiry questions about "Accelerated Shift" in literacy through teaching in a more culturally responsive way...BUT, it still doesn't quite hit the nail on the head with what I really want to share.
I've been a CoL teacher for Glen Taylor since Term 3, 2018. Now, in 2021, the processes are beginning to make more sense to me. You create an inquiry question, plan and hypothesise how to achieve the question, begin your investigation/study, research it and present your findings at the end of the year. Then you repeat it the following year. But I think it's more than that. It takes more than testing and data collecting to change data results of students from Pacific backgrounds. I say this, because I was one.
If I think back to my primary years, testing was based on answering questions about something I was unfamiliar with. At times, I remember I had to write about 'skiing', and I had no idea what to write because I'd never touched snow before.
But it was in Year 8, I remember when my South African teacher organised an 'international food day' and we all had to bring a cultural dish from home to share with our Syndicates. I remember standing at the front of the hall in my cultural attire, sharing, smiling and dancing away when the Tongan flag appeared on the screen and a Tongan song was playing in the background. The next day, we were told to write about the experience. I remember getting an 'excellent' for that piece of writing. I had a smile that painted my face that whole day.
That one experience had lived with me till now. This is what I do in my class with my kids. Restoring the faith in them that they are good 'writers' or 'readers'....but through a cultural approach.
I believe the teacher holds the key. If the teacher does not change their practice, then how can we expect a change/shift in student achievement? To teach our dominantly Pasifika & Maori students, you HAVE TO make a connection, and that comes from within.
Dr Rae Si'ilata stated at our Term 1 Teacher only Day, "English can never translate the depth of our Reo & Talanoa".
We need to encourage our learners to come into the room with the voices that have raised and taught them. Privilege the native speaker, recognise the language and cultural resources. Teach through the medium of their languages.
This is why I decided my inquiry will focus on IDENTITY & CULTURAL COMPETENCIES. Rather than focusing on 1 particular learning area, I apply this practice in all learning areas in my class but because the criteria for CoL achievement challenges expects us to choose a learning area, I decided on literacy. Literacy provides the space for expression and story telling. It enables the learner to speak from the fatu or write to 'hit the fatu'. This is why I chose literacy as my subject of focus.
As teachers, it's important you understand your own distinctiveness, identity and culture in deep and meaningful ways in order to genuinely engage and respond to the distinctiveness, identity and culture of others. For young Maori and Pacific people in NZ, research shows that the stronger our cultural identity, the stronger our wellbeing is (Hawk et al, 2002). If we embrace and strengthen cultural identity, we strengthen our wellbeing. The more we teachers understand ourselves, the better we can understand our learners.
Documents being used & how: TAPASA & TATAIAKO
- TURU 1: Identities, Languages and Culture -
- Use experts in the class all the time - use them as experts
- Learn to pronounce my name correctly
- Don’t be scared to ask the kids the questions.
- Learn greetings in our home language
- Watch them before school or in the playground play and interact (especially Pasifika)- how to take it into learning programme.
- Ask what they’d be doing at church time especially celebrations
- Pg 7: number 2, not be frightened to get pronunciation wrong and show i’ve given it a go but follow up with the question of ‘have i pronounced that right’, can you help me.
- Be out in the carpark and talking to families in the carpark, supermarkets.
- TURU 2: Collaborative and respectful relationships and professional behaviour
Build relationships with Pasifika communities and cultural leaders.
TURU 3:Effective Pacific pedagogies
Observe, listen carefully and waited longer - don’t interrupt children’s thinking.
