NZEI National Pasifika Fono 2018 - Day 2

Here are my notes for day 2 of the workshop

Fa’anana Efeso Collins (Auckland Councillor) was the MC for day 2. 

Keynote Speaker: Gilbert Enoka - Smoothing the Waters

'He is internationally renowned for his 18-year history with the All Blacks, first as their mental skills coach and now as All Blacks Manager - Leadership. He has been with the All Blacks for over 200 tests and during that time the team has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, one Laureus Award (for the best team in the world), 14 Bledisloe Cups, three Grand Slams, seven Tri Nations and five Rugby Championships.' (Taken from NZEI Pasifika Fono site)

'Great to Great' - A Personal Story

1. What one word or phrase would you use to describe where you and your role in your work currently stands - today?
2. What does next level of performance look like for you and your role in your work?

2011 & 2015 - All Blacks back to back world champs

Strong lessons for those who are chasing great and pursuing greatness:

1. Set the challenge high! Vision needs to mobilise the heart and spirit. Aim: to be the most dominant team in the history of world rugby. Set vision high, pull current reality up to meet the vision. 
2. Get the right Mindset. Above the line (open, curious, committed to learning) and below the line (defensive, closed, committed to being right). Below the line - different belief, negative. Above the line - listen deeply, creative, innovative, location - where am I? most people go below the line
3. Having a clear mind. 
4. Be deliberate with your energisers. All Blacks played overseas (France) - had to energise staff and players. Did pig racing (not real pigs), whoever wins gets paid money. Releases brain chemicals, releases stress. All Black groups had a task to take a group photo in front of iconic things. Energisers allow to release stress and grow. 
5. Coming together as One Force - a surging mass of Black. Black Jersey defines us. AIG (had to have this company coz a few All Blacks associated with it , Silver Fern connects everyone to this country. Uniting energy to understanding. Video of Tana Umaga leading the haka. Coming together as One Force - a surging mass of Black. ‘Vision, Belonging, Environment, Values’ - If split on a triangle, 

1. Sense of Belonging is at the bottom of the triangle. Need to feel that you belong. Use peoples names. Sense of belonging is huge. 
2. Environment is second. Reinforces persons sense of belonging. Environment is shaped in a way that connects what people have to do. 
3. Values.
4. Vision. 

Person who has a strong sense of belonging is more likely to adhere to values and vision of a company, school, job etc. 

6. Fear is okay. Can’t have courage without fear. You have permission to get the jitters, the butterflies, the fear. Feel it…move through it…just don’t get stuck…..keep moving! Willie Apiata - ‘Fear kept me alive’. Richie McCaw was a great leader. 

Gilbert Enoka - Jan 2016 - NZ order of merit award. Grew up in a children's home. 

Greatness will always be up to the choices we make and the opportunities we take. 

Journey with Joshua Iosefo - Workshop 1

Ice breaker - important to know the world the kids are from

23 yrs old

Samoan/Niuean AUT graduate

Joshua is well known for his spoken word poem 'Brown Brother' that he wrote when he was only 17. He also spent some time working at our school in the Intermediate block with students back in 2013.

Purposeful Currents:

The Chosen Current

* Joshua pulled out of a high decile school to attend a decile one school. Noticed that there were obvious differences e.g. many kids had not lunch. Finally believed he was smart. Developed more empathy towards his peers. Current changed for him as he became the top of the class student.

* Inquiry learning. Kids were protesting about an issue and realised that they were agents of change.

* Noticed that older kids tended to drop out of school by Year 11.

* 'Listen to the whispers in your life' - Oprah

Unwanted Currents

* 'Can you not' currents

* He struggled to make friends in high school

* Felt disconnected to his peers

* Important to build resilience in students

Conflicting Currents

* 'Crap, I didn't think about that' current

* When entering Tertiary study, students feel most vulnerable and most anxious

* Some subjects chosen at college are not suitable for Tertiary study in some areas

* Pressure on students to juggle study, sport, family, commitments, jobs etc

Currents - What’s your current situation?

I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop. Joshua is an engaging and energetic speaker. He did really well to remind us how we need to recognise and understand that our students live in a different world to when we were students. We were asked to reflect on our current teaching situation and think about where our 'waka' is in this current situation. 

Keynote Speaker 2: Dr Jemaima Tiatia-Seath

“Pushing the Boundaries”

Epeli Hau’ofa - ‘Our Sea of Islands’ 1991

“We should not be defined by the smallness of our islands, but by the greatness of our oceans”

Sia Figiel - ‘Where we once belonged’ and ‘Freelove’

‘Caught between Cultures’ - Jemaima Tiatia

Received some support and backlash. Discussed issues e.g. church, financial commitments etc

Racism: As a 17yr old, experienced some racism. was not considered academic material. pushed her to prove them wrong. 

Need to be open to diversity. Allow youths to follow their own path. 

Dealt with youth suicide and Tongan youth. Worried about working with Tongan communities. 

Approaches to suicide are different for different cultures.

Suicide - 20 years experience

• Connection. disconnection is where we lose our youth, ethnic identity, racism, social support, 
• Mental health literacy - schools, need to get better at identifying signs of depression, withdrawal etc
• Not just a health focus but a sociocultural approach
• Access, cultural competency
• Gay community + messaging - need to get safe messages out there
• Showing vulnerability, ok to show weakness, ok to grieve
• Pacific resilience isn't built - how do we frame this resilience? what is it? kids who are leaders, responsible etc…that's resilience
• Pacific frameworks - normalising/be the mainstream

Way finding through her work. Uses model of the waka and the roles of people in the waka

1. front of the waka, Stroke, the researcher
2. Caller - research teams, advisors, university
3. 4&5 - Engine Room - family, values, spirituality
4. (6) Steerer - Youth, communities - they get a complete view of whats in front of them. Youth are the ones who should have the solutions for suicide

Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction - on the panel, 6 on the panel. 

'Diary of a Mad Brown Woman' - Vasa Fia Collins

Workshop 4

Lack of diversity in workplace

Still a long way to go for our PI students

Lack of PI leaders in schools

Cognitive Heuristics

Can't just have a gender mix, need diversity mix too

Increased Creativity and innovation needs diversity and diversity of thought

Everyone has cultural capital. How do we ensure that peoples talents are utilised

Important to have leadership buy in

Diversity is powerful

 - images, visual mihi, stories about our life, cool ice breaker, 

Cognitive heuristics is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgements quickly and effectively. Not always fair or accurate - biased

People are bad at recognising their own biases.

Cognitive Heuristics and Leadership

5% of decisions are made consciously and the rest is made unconsciously

Blind Auditions: US Orchestras. Likelihood of selecting a female improved by 500% previously made up of white males

Lots of bias in names too. 

iceberg model - conscious mind = tip of iceberg (choice), rest below = unconscious bias (beliefs, emotions, habits, values etc)

Critter State (basic needs, are we alive or dead?) vs Smart State (thinking outside of the box)

Brains feel under threat by Difference

harder for different/diverse people to share ideas in a group coz ideas are not always accepted. 

By age of 5 kids have already developed stereotypes. Doing something ‘like a girl’ is sometimes viewed as an insult.

Cognitive heuristics - empathetic response was higher for people who viewed faces of same race compared to faces of other races.

Invest in relationships with people who are different to us.

Overall Reflection: 

I think that the selection of speakers and workshops at the Fono was fantastic and I only wish that I was able to attend all the workshops. The two MCs Karl Vasau and Efeso Collins were awesome, full of island humour and kept the Fono running smoothly. I valued the fact that I was there with a couple of work colleagues (Andrea and Sally) so that we could bounce ideas of each other. The lunches provided by Waipuna Hotel were delicious. 

I can't wait to attend the next Fono. My only suggestion would be to provide some workshops based around the use of digital technology and possible career paths for our Pasifika students in either the Tech Industry or in STEM based industries. 

Actually I would also love for there to be a Pasifika Fono for Intermediate and/or College age students (Year 7 to Year 10) where they can be surrounded by other like minded peers and Pasifika role models in a wide range of industries: Sports, Media, Arts, Tech, Science/Medicine etc. Teachers can only do so much to encourage all of our students to succeed, but our students need to believe in themselves too, and have access to the support systems to help them to succeed. 

NZEI National Pasifika Fono 2018 - Day one

NZEI Pasifika Fono 2018 - Wayfinders

During the first week of the school holidays I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Pasifika Fono which is held every two years. I went along with Sally and Andrea who are both teachers at our school and who are also of Pacific descent. It was held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Auckland on Thursday 19th April and Friday 20th April. I felt very privileged and grateful for the opportunity to attend this event. 

Karl Vasau (Principal of Rowandale School) was our MC for Thursday. 

Here are some of my notes and key ideas from the day. 

Speaker: Linda Stuart 

Principal of May Rd Primary School and National President of NZEI Te Riu Roa

* Schools are not businesses and shouldn’t be treated as such. 

* Genuine collaboration across the system can make such a difference for our students.

* Diversity should be at the heart of education system - language, culture and identity needs to be acknowledged.

* Crisis in education - The new government needs to fix it. There are less teachers getting trained and many don’t stay beyond 5 years. 

* The common message across NZ is that principals/teachers are not doing their job properly due to the lack of time and resources. 

Keynote Speaker: Lilomaiava Ema Sinope - Wayfinding

* Hokulea and Hikianalia - Wayfinding in the Pacific

* Talks about a man called Papa Mo who became a master navigator, a way finder

* Responsibility to Serve with Love

* At the core of way finding is culture - foundational values of love, respect and humility, and at the centre is light

* "Don’t pray for good weather, pray for courage"

* Talked about the Pacific Voyaging society and Hokule'a 

* Papa Mo successfully navigated the Hokule'a to Tahiti without the use of instruments

* One Ocean, One People

* 1985 - Hokule'a voyage of discovery - sparked a reawakening of genealogical connections. Proved that pacific people were best mariners in world. 

* Voyaging was intentional, not by accident.

* We come together because we are duty bound to ensure that our children are given the best possible chance of life in this changing world.

* It's our children’s right to have knowledge of our history of way finding.

Cultural Competency - Helen Varney - Workshop 1

Principal Target Road School

* Culture First

need to be able to understand culture - its soft wired into our brain -

it connects all of our experiences and helps to make sense of the world.

* Awareness

identity, culture and language are vital to the way we learn

it's a way of being - do our staff understand and have this way of being?

* Cultural Competence

• ability to recognise cultural displays and meaning making
• understand that students are culturally different
• know yourself first before knowing others

* Influences that change who we are:

• where we are born
• who we are born with
• what do you know about yourself? what do you value?
• what do you tell your children?
• schools
• friends
• those we love

cultural competency - Teachers: 

• Mana
• funds of knowledge and skills essential for household or individual functioning and well being
• a set of conceptual scripts that guide our comprehension of the world

* vital to know who you are

importance of knowing cultural background - gives mana to your culture

Tama itu - TedEx talk

mana - everyone has it, roots you to your past, present and future

* forming relationships with students, common ground, connections, share where you all come from, how to connect, create opportunities to share, give mana to the land - Te Reo

encourage kids to talk in their language, treaty - bi-cultural pathway through Maori side

need to encourage and value language

* what are your cultural roots?

value, unpack, share

lots of documents available as resources: TKI, Tapasa, Pacifica education plan, tataiako, ka hikitia, tu rangatira, hautu, 

look at culture like it’s an iceberg

surface features and deeper features

deep culture

if lots of cultures in classroom: focus on deep culture, roots of culture - world view, core beliefs, group values, some commonalities

4 Key Points:

1. Value Culture, Language and Identity
2. be a learner
3. build intellectual capacity
4. take action

need to listen closely to what kids say, dig deeper, get to know the kids background 

Keynote Speaker 2: Damon Salesa

NZ’s Pacific Futures - book published

Matalasi Pasefika

Youth, tech, digital natives

* 95% of Samoans use Facebook but use English not Samoan

* most pacific societies have not only retained the integrity of their cultures, language and societies, but have often used new tech to consolidate them.

* pacific digital - uses foreign platforms and tech eg. facebook, twitter etc

limited infrastructure, but with cell phones it doesn’t matter, prepay economy

* kids have access to anything online now - protected from certain types of information in the past

* communication - kids connect using cellphones, changed concept of time esp. island time

* generational difference - our kids are different from us, more likely to have English as first language, marry outside of ethnicity, no religion, born in NZ, less likely to own own home, more likely to be unemployed

* severe wealth inequalities, less than 18% of P.I. own homes

* Pacific Innovations e.g. 3 Wise Cousins  - 10th highest grossing movie in NZ

* PI parents decide that kids will be their retirement investment strategy, PI live in large families to save money, look after babies and old people

* home ownership is important

* now pacific people are moving more e.g. out of auckland coz rent is cheaper

* changing market e.g. working alongside Asian businesses/products

Mana Moana: Planting Your Feet 

Ailaoa Aoina and William Pua - Workshop 2

      

William Pua, Ailaoa Aoina and Evangelene have spent 4 years collectively developing their Mana Moana practice in their respective fields of psychology (Youth forensics, Private Practice, Mental health), social work, community development & education as well as collaborating on various conjoint projects. 

This workshop will demonstrate how they have used Mana Moana in education, leadership, and therapeutic settings, allowing for Pasefika ancestral knowledge and wisdom to inform and guide our practice. Whilst also giving access to young people to see, feel and experience the wise and healing ways of our tupuna and cultures, so that even in this urban contemporary context of Aotearoa, they may find their way ''home''. (Taken from NZEI Pasifika Fono programme/website)

When we entered the room to this workshop there was a large woven flax mat covering the floor. Labels with the different countries around the world and the pacific was placed on the mat. Participants were given paper cut outs of feet and were asked to write their name and key members of their family on each piece of paper. Then four participants were selected (including myself) to share where they came from and had to place the footprints (paper cut outs) on top of the names of the country they were from. 

I thought that this was a great idea/activity to share with others. It was an interesting way to find out where others came from and their backgrounds. It would be neat to carry out this activity with my students. 

DFI Workshop - Part 5: Google Keep and Google Sites

Time to reflect and share with colleagues:

What did I learn that increased my understanding of Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy? That a teaching programme needs to be multimodal to suit the needs of all learners. No two people learn exactly the same way so its important to engage all the senses to maximise learning and understanding e.g. video, text, sound, images, songs, activities etc

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow as a professional? I learnt how to use the new Google site more effectively to make it more multi-modal for my learners. 

What did I learn that could be used with my learners? How to embed code for carousel function (for images) onto a site or blog. 

What did I learn that could improve my confidence, capability or workflow in my personal life? I learnt how to use Google Keep more effectively. It is linked to my phone through the app so that I can update/check it whenever I need to.


Link to site: Conservation and Emperor Penguins

You can click on the link above to view the site that I created today. I practiced how to add images, text, links, YouTube clips etc. I am looking forward to improving my own class site and I am keen to create another separate site for next term.