Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)
This year’s Māori Teachers’ Conference focused on the need for Māori teaching and support staff to take time out for themselves.
A line-up of inspirational speakers, dynamic workshops, amazing food and 192 enthusiastic attendees were the ingredients for an awesome PPTA Māori Teachers’ Conference, held in Wellington in mid-July.
The theme of the conference this year was Tiakina te Tangata, looking after you. “Very few of our Māori staff take time out for themselves to rejuvenate and spend time with whānau. Too much time is spent of Māori teachers giving of themselves,” says PPTA Te Wehengarua Te Kaiahautū Māori hōu, Miriama Barton.
“So the conference was an absolutely awesome opportunity for teachers to network, share resources, teaching kaupapa, planning and their love of teaching. It was also an opportunity for them to impart their love and manaakitanga. And of course, they enjoyed listening to the valuable keynote speakers.”
Impressive speakers inspire attendees
Speakers included Hon Kelvin Davis, Associate Minister of Education (Māori Education), Māori Party president Che Wilson, Māori Party MPs Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Manea Creative Director and Team Manager Joby Hopa, NZ representative at the World Dignity University, Dr Keri Lawson, and Director of Māori-medium schooling projects for Victoria University of Wellington, Rawiri Toia.
Former New Plymouth Mayor Andrew Judd proved to be an extremely popular speaker. When Miriama Barton was in the throes of organising the conference, she contacted Mr Judd to ask him what his preferred title was. He told her, “recovering racist”. Miriama says attendees loved Mr Judd’s speech, particularly his calls for more education about the Māori history of Aotearoa New Zealand towns and cities, and greater recognition of te tangata tiriti as a term which is taken to mean ‘people of the treaty‘ and refers to all non-Māori citizens of New Zealand.
In 2014 Mr Judd received national media attention when he and his council supported the establishment of a special Māori ward in New Plymouth in a move intended to increase Māori representation, lift iwi participation in council decision-making and fulfil Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. Mr Judd also called for all councils in New Zealand to have up to 50% Māori representation. The proposals were widely criticised by politicians, including New Zealand First leader Hon. Winston Peters describes arguments for the ward as childish nonsense.
Tips, ideas and an awesome movie
On the Monday morning of the conference, attendees had an extensive range of workshops to choose from, with subjects including manawa ora, mana kōrero, an update on the NCEA change programme, fostering collaboration, Indigenous Māori knowledge in the core curriculum and new NCEA te reo Māori curriculum level 1. These sessions gave attendees plenty of classroom tips and new ideas.
Miriama says a particular highlight of the conference was the screening of the movie, Cousins, on Monday evening. The movie, released this year, is based on a book by Patricia Grace (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Te Āti Awa) about three Māori cousins, connected by blood but separated by circumstances, who spend a lifetime in search of each other. Both Patricia Grace and her daughter Briar Grace-Smith (Ngāti Wai) who co-directed the movie, attended the screening.
On Tuesday morning, attendees enjoyed a cultural excursion to Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum of New Zealand.
The only negative comments in the conference evaluation feedback were that the programme was too full-on, which is probably the best kind of criticism a conference organiser can receive.
