Our Mairtown Kindergarten Treaty

 

As our kindergarten whānau were settling in to the new year together, and Waitangi Day was approaching, I reflected on two things; how could we introduce the importance of Waitangi Day to our tamariki in a way which was meaningful and relatable to them, and how could our establishing community strengthen common understandings about working together and relating to each other and our environment in positive ways?

It seemed that te Tiriti ō Waitangi could open a door to beginning a shared kōrero, building towards both goals.

The New Zealand Curriculum states: “The Treaty of Waitangi is one of eight principles in The New Zealand Curriculum that provide a foundation for schools’ decision making.

The Treaty of Waitangi principle puts students at the centre of teaching and learning, asserting that they should experience a curriculum that engages and challenges them, is forward-looking and inclusive, and affirms New Zealand’s unique identity” (Clements, 2016).

 

During whānau time in the week of Waitangi Day, I spoke with the tamariki about how te Tiriti had been created, and signed by Māori chiefs, more than 180 years ago, with the intention of making it possible for Māori and the new English settlers to share life in Aotearoa. This is a special document which only our nation has. I wondered if they felt it would be useful for our whānau to think about and discuss what we needed to consider, for tamariki, kaiako and our environment, in order for everyone to enjoy kindergarten life and learn together too?  There was a general agreement that there were things that we needed to talk about, so the process of creating our own Mairtown Kindergarten Treaty began.

Throughout the ongoing education experiences our tamariki will experience, there will be many opportunities for them to discover more about the history of Aotearoa, and of te Tiriti, but at this stage my desire was to introduce an understanding of the existence and intention of the document by allowing them to explore the principles of te Tiriti ō Waitangi, those of Protection, Partnership and Participation, within a context which had meaning in their own lives and experience.

Our next step was to discuss each principle individually – what would this look like at kindergarten, and how could we make sure we were making it happen in our daily life?

Over a period of time, we would talk together at whānau time. One by one, I introduced a principle by name, and we shared what it meant, and how that could look at Mairtown kindergarten. We began our treaty with We will… to show that if this was to happen, we would all need to do the mahi together.

When it comes to introducing early childhood classroom rules, it’s best if you get the students to invest in the rules, too. If you’re really smart, you’ll get them to think that they came up with the ideas themselves! Getting students to help you come up with the ground rules is a great way to get them invested as well as get them to take ownership of each rule. (Knechel, 2021)

Throughout the process, I was so impressed with the engagement, contribution and thoughtfulness of tamariki and kaiako, with so many ideas being offered and discussed. It was agreed that Protection meant that we (including our environment) would all be kept safe, Partnership meant that we would be a team, and Participation meant that everyone could take part where they wished to.

As we unpacked each principle, we talked about what we would all need to think about and do in order to make it happen, and many insightful ideas were shared.

When all of the principles had been talked about individually, I created one document from the three lists, then re-presented that to the group. I asked them if they felt that I had put all of their ideas down correctly and in the right place. Interestingly, there were some who felt it was not quite complete, or that actions were not noted under the correct principle, so I noted down the changes that needed to be made and re drafted the document.

 I then re presented the document again, and this time there was consensus that the document was acceptable to everyone and that they felt happy to sign that they would uphold the treaty as now written.

Once our signing ceremony was done, our treaty was placed on the wall beside our whāriki. This final step was reached after several weeks had passed, but the revisiting of the discussion over a number of opportunities had allowed all of our tamariki to be involved, to consider the concepts we discussed, and to be heard if they had thoughts they wished to share.

Since these discussions, it has been amazing to hear tamariki reminding each other of them in play or bringing thoughts about them into group conversations. As with all community structures, we are not all always perfect and living within our treaty has its bumps and wobbles, but it is so helpful to build our community within our shared understandings. This process was also a great way to introduce understandings of the unique identity of our bicultural nation in a positive and aspirational way to our young learners and future leaders, as tamariki experience the importance of upholding a shared agreement of what we all need from each other in order to live and learn successfully together.

Ultimately, the rules become a tool for learning about being a member of a democratic community. Each rule represents a step in the process of our children learning to live together in a community of their own creation. And teaching community building skills is one of the most important things we do. That's the road to happiness. (Teacher Tom, 2009)

Ko te kai a te rangitira he kōrero

The food of chiefs is dialogue

Ma to wā

Anne Bawden