Cultural+Voice



//**He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata! **// //What is the most important thing in the world? It is people! It is people! It is people!//

**Why is perspective so important in a classroom?**



Te Kotahitanga Research Project “The teacher I liked best wasn’t Māori but he could have been. He knew all about our stuff. Like he knew how to say my name. He never did dumb things like sit on tables or patting you on the head. He knew about fantails in a room. He knew about tangis…He never made a fuss…He expected us to work and behave well. We went on picnics and class trips and the whānau came along. We planned our lessons together. “ “Good teachers give you a say in how things are done around the school and in the classroom. They listen to you. You can suggest another way of doing something and they don’t put you down.”
 * Data from the Project (Student Voice) **

“Let us co-operate about the work. Yeah we have good ideas, good sensible ideas about how to do things. Just ask us.”

“Mostly everywhere we go the teachers tell us a bit and then make us write a lot. It’s like they pour the stuff into us.” "Good teachers know where we are coming from. They recognise that I am Māori and I have things to bring with me to school. They take you for what you are and that stuff...They want to know how I'm thinking about things. Good teachers really listen to you. They listen to your opinion. They find positive ways to make us learn." “When I first started school I had a Māori name but none of the teachers could say it. So now I am T” “Mostly everywhere we go the teachers tell us a bit and then make us write a lot. It’s like they pour the stuff into us.” “Situations from our own experiences, experiences that are important to us. I think that will make it easier for students to learn from.” “They have to laugh with you instead of just sitting there, but still keeping us in line. Keep the class in order, but still laughing with you…that helps you like the subject.” “He always came and saw our whānau at home, more than once during the year. He invited the whānau into our room anytime…He was choice.”

"If you don't like something we're doing tell us quietly... If we much up them warn us and if we are too thick to listen then move us."


 * Technology tasks are open-ended, they let students show you how they see it, you don't need to tell them what it looks like!

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 * Make sure you show them some possibilities if you want quality work.

[|Free Digital Storytelling Resource for Teachers]

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