Underpinning our national
curriculum document, Te Whāriki (2017), is the vision that children are
Competent and confident learners
and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging
and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society.
This vision implies a society that
recognises Māori as tangata whenua and assumes a shared obligation for
protecting Māori language and culture. New Zealand children are growing up in a
society that comprises people from a wide variety of cultures and ethnicities.
Te Whāriki acknowledges the educational aspirations of Pasifika peoples, and as
kaiako we work in partnership with whānau, family and ‘aiga from all
backgrounds to support tamariki in growing up strong in their individual
identity, language and culture.
2020 marks the first time we have recognised Tongan Language Week within Mairtown curriculum, and we were proud to be able to make links with the funds of knowledge held within our Tongan whānau and finding authentic ways to celebrate Tongan language and culture within our daily curriculum. This honours values we express in our centre philosophy Inherent in our practice is our focus on being welcoming and inclusive of the diversity of all our children and whānau. We love to acknowledge and celebrate cultural diversity within our community, and value the opportunities that enable us to learn about different people, their beliefs and way of life.
We were so
grateful to Maci and Paulie’s Auntie, who shared with us the finger play song ‘Mālō
e lelei’, which introduces useful Tongan greeting phrases. We practised this at
whānau time each day and the tamariki became very involved in learning the song,
singing out clearly and strongly by weeks end. They appeared to enjoy interacting
with the Tongan language, and the familiar tune and actions used in the ‘Where
is Thumbkin’ finger game helped support their learning. In a similar way, we sang
the Ma is white song but using the Tongan names for the colours, and again the
familiar structure involved the tamariki quickly in using the initially
unfamiliar words.
Our Pukapuka o te
Wiki was the traditional Tongan story “The Mouse and the Octopus”, by Lisala Halapua. This story was
traditionally used when teaching children the art of catching an octopus using
a lure. The book was humorous, as the mouse plays a trick on the helpful
octopus, and a steady number of tamariki chose to engage with it each day.
In our art area, we provided examples of Tongan Ngatu, or Tapa cloth designs. These engaged tamariki with their clear outlines and colour fill, and the methodology again had similarities with other art provocations and methodology we have used e.g. Hundertwasser. This built on the confidence and competence of the tamariki, while offering them a new perspective and insight into the Tongan culture.
During whānau time Tamariki engaged in discussion of the geographical location of Tonga and the annual migration of the Humpback whales from Antarctica.
What was
particularly interesting was while on Monday none of our tamariki volunteered
during group discussion that they were of Tongan identity, as the week passed there
was increased sharing of their own experience of the culture, especially by one
tamaiti. “This song came from my Auntie” “I have family who speak Tongan all
the time at home”. It was very rewarding to see the ownership and pride in having
this unique and special identity developing.
Hoko pe fai mo
e fau – Joining together the hibiscus cord with hibiscus cord
To connect two
strong characters or people, then they will be successful
Critical
multiculturalism encourages teachers to assess and support children
holistically through exploring and developing an understanding of the child's
cultural background. Through working in partnerships with parents and supporting
their cultural background teachers are able to support children in their sense
of worth and belonging which promotes their overall well-being. One of Te
Whāriki’s goals is for children to develop a sense of identity and belonging within
their early childhood centre, as a positive identity and sense of belonging are
an essential part of learning (Hargraves, 2020).
This year’s
theme was 'Kia kaha te reo Māori’ — ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.
Strength for
an endangered language comes from its status, people being aware of how to
support revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language
having the right words and terms to be used well for any purpose.
— Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission)
This was a
busy and emotional week for our kindergarten whānau, including within it the sadness of Susie’s last day with us, and
the welcome return of Zair while Susie’s replacement is found.
Te wiki o te
reo Māori provided a wonderful reminder to us as kaiako to remain naturally connected
with all aspects of Te reo me nga tikanga Māori within our curriculum, practice
and relationships.
Following our
favoured approach of building on the existing understandings and funds of
knowledge of our tamariki in order to support their identities as tamariki of the
bicultural nation of Aotearoa, we followed the familiar pattern of working within the understood framework of our daily curriculum.
We shared
the pūrakau ‘In the Beginning’ by Peter Gossage as Pukapuka o te Wiki. This pūrakau, describing the separation of Papatūānuku and Ranginui and introducing the Atua, their children, and their respective roles as kaitiaki of our world, is a favourite with our
tamariki.
Sarah worked
with the tamariki to create a Kākahu by working with harakeke to form moka,
which was bound into a garment and then gifted to Susie, carrying our aroha and
manaakitanga with her on her journey of healing following her surgery. In this
experience, tamariki engaged with not only the technical skills, but also the
traditional use of a valuable resource and the tikanga inherent within that.
Following on
from our Ngatu art, tamariki then had the opportunity to explore traditional
Māori designs within their art, and moved on to expressing both of these on
pieces of wood, which we look forward to proudly displaying in our environment.
At whānau
time, tamariki enjoyed singing’ Hoea te waka’, and ‘Ma is white’ – a song we
can now explore using three of the languages within our kindergarten whānau.
Perhaps this is something we can continue to build on further!
In the paper
Culturally responsive pedagogy in ECE, prepared for The Education Hub, Dr Vicki
Hargraves states, Culturally responsive approaches emerge from an understanding
of families’ backgrounds that connects families’ cultural heritages to the
setting and effects more equitable opportunities for both children and
families. Children’s cultural backgrounds are drawn on to determine teaching
approaches, selection of materials and environments, and interactions with
children and their families. Given that early childhood education experiences
are the first experiences that children have of education outside the home,
curricula and values that empower children’s identity and values, and uphold
their rights, are of paramount importance.
We are so
proud of the inclusive way that the tamariki of our whānau explore and embrace
the cultures and understandings which form our special Mairtown kindergarten
whānau. These two weeks have shown us yet again just what amazing learners our
tamariki are, and also serve to remind us of the richness which is within our
community and the value to be gained from sharing our knowledge. We would love
to continue learning more about the cultures of the individual whānau within
our community.
Mā te Wā
Anne