Twirling the taonga of histories and culture in Tāmaki Makaurau

Ferguson Intermediate principal Ronnie Govender, deputy principal Fuatino Li’aifaigā, educator Jude Parkes, curriculum lead Renu Sikka, kāhui ako across-school lead Miriama Cameron and fellow Ferguson Intermediate deputy principal Imteeaz Mohammed.

Me tiro whakamuri, kia anga whakamua. If we want to shape Aotearoa New Zealand’s future, start with our past.

These words set the tone for a Teacher Only Day at Ferguson Intermediate School in term 3, which brought together six primary and intermediate schools, the Ministry of Education, Sport NZ, the National Library of New Zealand, Papakura Museum, and other agencies to unpack and give life to Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ Curriculum.

Also setting the tone was opening keynote speaker Graeme Ball, NCEA implementation facilitator for Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. His impactful and engaging address tackled ‘Te Tiriti-honouring curriculum – understanding colonisation and its impact’.

“It’s essential to learn about the process of colonisation, what the impacts are of that today, and how that came to be.”

Speaker Graeme Ball in conversation over morning tea.

The former chair of the New Zealand History Teachers’ Association, Graeme was involved in writing the Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories curriculum. He shared his thoughts on the importance of this mahi.

“I personally believe that most New Zealanders are fair people and if they knew more about this history it would make them think more about the issues of today and think more about where we are going as a society.

“An important part of this is not to attach blame or shame or guilt to anyone today around this. Nobody here today was there, nobody here did this. But once we have the knowledge, as educators, it’s incumbent for us to look at how we address the imbalance that exists because of historical issues.”

Unpacking history

Embedding the new curriculum into classroom learning was a major focus of the day, and Renu Sikka, a curriculum lead for the Ministry, delivered a resource-rich talk. After opening with a karakia gifted by Dr Wayne Ngata and eminent experts in mātauranga Māori, Renu described Te Takanga o te Wā and Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories as being “the first cab off the rank” for Te Matāiaho | the refreshed curriculum and redesigned Te Marautanga o Aotearoa.

The new Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories content is integrated into the refreshed social sciences learning area. There was a requirement for schools to implement the content at the beginning of 2023. However, the requirement for the implementation of the rest of the refreshed curriculum is the beginning of 2027. The exception to this is the refreshed mathematics and statistics and English learning areas, which are required to be taught from 2025.

Chapel Downs Primary School deputy principal Emily Mason  engaged in an authentic learning experience making poi, while learning about its whakapapa and significance.

Together, Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories within the refreshed social sciences learning area encourage ākonga to be critical citizens – learning about the past to understand the present and prepare for the future.

“It is the first step on a bigger journey,” Renu told educators, “and this has been designed to be easy, clear, and inclusive.”

Renu addressed the question of how these educators should bring the refreshed curricula into their school, introducing film footage of Professor Wally Penetito.

“Begin where your feet are,” he advised, as a starting point for place-based history education. “Start with what you know.”

Wally reminded the room, “History isn’t just about books. A big part of this, for Māori, is storytelling; pepeha, kōrero, exchanging views, being on a marae and learning about what’s going on there.”

Using the new Oho and Ata resource box kits stimulated conversation around personal histories and how educators may lead with these to weave personal stories into their classroom learning. Prompt cards led to much sharing in small groups and with the wider school hall, about how these cards can generate authentic, meaningful discussion.

One session participant reiterated how our past informs our present and our future, sharing, “If you don’t know your past, you don’t know who you are and you don’t know where you are going.” While another shared on the inquiry topic question, “What makes Ōtara, Ōtara?”

Robyn Wills of Wymondley Road School told how her class had been looking at history, but with an environmental twist.

“We put a recycling lens onto this by looking at the history of packaging, and how we got to the stage of using all the plastic packaging these days.
We went way back in time to what was used before plastic, and this led to us asking what action we could take, by using all this knowledge of the past and how things were done in times gone by.

“It also led to some fascinating debate around the effects of plastics on our environment. One child told the class that we can’t use plastic because it kills turtles. He was so engaged and passionate, and this led to further learning.”

Te Puke ō Taramainuku Kāhui Ako across-school leader Miriama Cameron said, “I think it’s great that we can finally talk about the history of New Zealand without it being a scary subject or a taboo. We are bringing more of Te Tiriti into the classroom, and it’s being recognised.”

Renu suggested inquiry be based around three pillars – participation, perspectives, and power.

“While using the new curriculum framework of Understand, Know, Do when planning and exploring rich inquiry topic ideas, use the social science pedagogy to help: participation is about people and groups working together; multiple perspectives and how they can change over a period of time; power – who holds the power? Is it fair?”

Power of poi

The practical session that followed proved popular and was the source of some playful performances and shared joy.

Off the back of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, Taku-Anne Jones, Poi Tukua project lead for Sport NZ, led a poi making challenge which brought high energy to the room.

Taku-Anne Jones, Poi Tukua project lead for Sport NZ, led a poi making session.

Taku-Anne shared her experience of helping fill stadiums across Aotearoa with twirling poi for the global sporting event throughout July and August this year. She is now tasked with introducing the power of poi to more classrooms in Aotearoa.

“I like to think of poi as one of the taonga we bestow on the rest of the world. It’s been beautiful to see stadiums full of poi during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and to know that they’ve been seen all over the world. We already have the haka as a well-known taonga, now the world has seen we also have poi.

“People love culture. With such a large audience from overseas, creating a rich cultural experience for people during this global event was of the utmost importance. And it was not only about sport, but it was also about uplifting all wāhine toa. Poi was a beautiful, visible, powerful way to do this.”

Taku-Anne shared poi making resource kits with educators, each tasked with creating their own poi and asked to deliver a group performance with their nearby co-creators at the end of the session.

Step-by-step instructions were given, with materials and music also provided. Then came some colourful creations and energetic dance moves.

Vaoesea Ieru with her poi.

A highlight was Ferguson Intermediate’s Matua Eddie and his group’s little and large ‘Pāpā and Pēpē Poi’. Eddie said, “It’s been a lot of fun, today. Imagine how much the students are going to enjoy doing this activity!”

Deputy principal at Ferguson Intermediate Fuatino Li’aifaigā was pleased to have so many educators sharing knowledge and learning at her school.

“A lot of the feedback that I’ve heard today has been that people have really enjoyed the day. It’s been a great collaboration between the contributing schools and the Ministry of Education.”

Ferguson Intermediate educator Jude Parkes concludes, saying, “There has been a wealth of knowledge shared by experts and it’s culminated in a successful event. And, importantly, it’s been fun.

“I think that’s what staff and students need to have! When you’re having fun, that’s often when you’re most open to learning.”

Understand, Know, Do

For all learning areas within Te Mātaiaho | the refreshed NZ Curriculum, there are three elements: Understand, Know, and Do.

These elements are not separate, and they are not in sequence. Weaving them together ensures that learning is deep and meaningful and supports ākonga to use it for informed decision making and action.

Understand: At the heart of each learning area is a unique set of big enduring ideas that all ākonga can relate to and access.

Know: Contexts enable the illumination of these big ideas and bring them to life.

Do: Ākonga develop practices that enable them to think and act as ‘experts’ within each learning area and across the learning areas (eg, as an artist, a social scientist, or a storyteller).

Prepare for your November Teacher Only Day

Te Poutāhū is supporting schools and kura to run their second (of four) curriculum, assessment and aromatawai change Teacher Only Day, which will be held between Monday 13 November and Friday 24 November 2023.

These days give schools and kura time to understand and prepare for the various curriculum, aromatawai and assessment changes.

A wide range of online resources are available to help schools and kura make the best use of their day.

Visit temahau.govt.nz/teacher-only-days-2023-2024(external link).