Tweaking

I have read a lot of words over the past few days, honorable, hopeful words. Te Hurihanganui, Tirewa Mātāmua are excellent, but how can we implement them in our current school model and society?

Our schools need to change more, much bigger changes – eg: why do we persist with age grouping, eg year 5s all in the same class. If we want a whanau model, we need a whanau structure… actual opportunities for ako, tuakana teina. We need abilities to be spread over the group… to have group projects and successes over individual ones. Getting rid of streaming by age, and ability is shared. Maria Montessori – 1800s.

How can we support te ao Māori when kids spend most of their time inside? Doing one hour of maths and literacy!!! Can we not like Elwyn Richardson (Into the early world 1964) have education outside and be of our world… or Reggio Emila – our environment is our third teacher.

How can we do mana Ōrite, te Ira tangata, when we tell kids what and when to learn, we have no trust in them? Why do we persist in saying 5 is when you should learn to read or you need intervention? If we get all 5 year olds reading, will we change it to 4? The Stiener system doesn’t “teach” reading until 7, and they do not have a lower literacy rate. Gwen Somerset (Sunshine and Shadow, 1988) waited until children came to her and asked. Peter Grey, and Dewey talk about democratic education – letting children have agency over what and when – as is successful in the Summerhill school, Sudbury schools (have the age band of an area school all together), Playcentre…

How can whanau be involved when families are discouraged financially from having a parent at home while the kids are at school? We know whanau is important, so why can’t we pay a parent to stay home?

How can we expect education to solve issues when the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs isn’t tackled first. Pay people more – no more share market profits without first having to address pay inequality between the top and the bottom, actually do socialism.

Make education not about readiness for a job but readiness to be a part of community/society. Education just for fun, power.

Rant over…