Activity 7: Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness in my practice
Activity 7:
Bucher's (2008) writing about the importance of cultural intelligence related to me. The global consciousness and intercultural communication is important because it deals with moving across boundaries, exchanging ideas, and looking at the world from multiple perspectives. Being half Chinese and half American, this is very important because I have been walking down this very road seeing things from my dad's perspective (Chinese) and my mother's (American).
My school has fostered a very diverse school. It has a large international department as well as a very established Kapa Haka group. The school is focused on making faculty aware of our Maori students and this is an integral part of the core values. There are many school-wide activities including the cultural show, pacifica awareness, and also a Maori leadership club that meets weekly. These indigenous-focused pedagogies are specifically chosen to inform staff and students and enables a culturally responsive and respective school atmosphere, which is great for our diversely cultured school.
Step 1 (What)
Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness to me is the ability to recognize and understand the native (original) inhabitants' customs. As well as pushing aside my own formal way of thinking and experience things from their point of view. In New Zealand the indigenous inhabitants would be the Maori descendants.
In the United States the indigenous groups would be the Native Americans (Indian tribes) that inhabited North America. This culture was not respected and almost annihilated closely similar to the Maori with the British settlements.
That is why I really enjoy my school's core values and school-wide activities that showcase the Maori culture. This focus ensures staff and students have appropriate awareness and forward-thinking ideals which is further promoted during assemblies and school activities.
Step 2 (So what):
Looking at Pohatu (2011) explanations of the meaning for a different Maori approach and self being, I followed up on two of them, Mauri Oho and Mauri Ora. This entails being proactive and the other is being actively engaged.
My school's Mauri Oho has emerged from the Maori language teachers and kapa haka leaders. They have made it a mission for staff to be engaged and understand the customs of the Maori culture. Pronunciation of names is one of the biggest issues that they come across. As well as the inconsistency of stopping individuals from sitting on desks. Teachers not being actively aware or not showing "Mauri Ora" was considered very disrespectful to the Maori culture and consistently over-looked.
The school then created a teacher-only day for specific professional development that utilized the staff and students with Maori heritage. They shared their experiences and this was the first time in my teaching career that I witnessed an entire school being actively engaged with the workshop. The entire experience was moving and emotional when the staff and students shared their experiences with being Maori and what they witnessed their teachers do that was culturally insensitive or overlooked.
Step 3 (What next)
The next steps that my school should consider in order to move to the next level of cultural responsiveness is to make sure that we, as a school, are following through with the professional development that has occurred. Speaking to veteran staff this was the first of its kind at the school and thus keeping it relevant will be an issue. Heads of Faculty should make sure that departmental goals are designed within workshops with the Maori teachers. Currently Maori leaders are available to help teachers with the pronunciation of student names.
The Math's department is currently using Maori related material in activities. The Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (2011,p. 167) has said that, from a Maori student perspective, more focus is seen on "changing Maori achievement rather than professional development for teachers to become culturally responsive."
Bucher's (2008) writing about the importance of cultural intelligence related to me. The global consciousness and intercultural communication is important because it deals with moving across boundaries, exchanging ideas, and looking at the world from multiple perspectives. Being half Chinese and half American, this is very important because I have been walking down this very road seeing things from my dad's perspective (Chinese) and my mother's (American).
My school has fostered a very diverse school. It has a large international department as well as a very established Kapa Haka group. The school is focused on making faculty aware of our Maori students and this is an integral part of the core values. There are many school-wide activities including the cultural show, pacifica awareness, and also a Maori leadership club that meets weekly. These indigenous-focused pedagogies are specifically chosen to inform staff and students and enables a culturally responsive and respective school atmosphere, which is great for our diversely cultured school.
Step 1 (What)
Indigenous knowledge and cultural responsiveness to me is the ability to recognize and understand the native (original) inhabitants' customs. As well as pushing aside my own formal way of thinking and experience things from their point of view. In New Zealand the indigenous inhabitants would be the Maori descendants.
In the United States the indigenous groups would be the Native Americans (Indian tribes) that inhabited North America. This culture was not respected and almost annihilated closely similar to the Maori with the British settlements.
That is why I really enjoy my school's core values and school-wide activities that showcase the Maori culture. This focus ensures staff and students have appropriate awareness and forward-thinking ideals which is further promoted during assemblies and school activities.
Step 2 (So what):
Looking at Pohatu (2011) explanations of the meaning for a different Maori approach and self being, I followed up on two of them, Mauri Oho and Mauri Ora. This entails being proactive and the other is being actively engaged.
My school's Mauri Oho has emerged from the Maori language teachers and kapa haka leaders. They have made it a mission for staff to be engaged and understand the customs of the Maori culture. Pronunciation of names is one of the biggest issues that they come across. As well as the inconsistency of stopping individuals from sitting on desks. Teachers not being actively aware or not showing "Mauri Ora" was considered very disrespectful to the Maori culture and consistently over-looked.
The school then created a teacher-only day for specific professional development that utilized the staff and students with Maori heritage. They shared their experiences and this was the first time in my teaching career that I witnessed an entire school being actively engaged with the workshop. The entire experience was moving and emotional when the staff and students shared their experiences with being Maori and what they witnessed their teachers do that was culturally insensitive or overlooked.
Step 3 (What next)
The next steps that my school should consider in order to move to the next level of cultural responsiveness is to make sure that we, as a school, are following through with the professional development that has occurred. Speaking to veteran staff this was the first of its kind at the school and thus keeping it relevant will be an issue. Heads of Faculty should make sure that departmental goals are designed within workshops with the Maori teachers. Currently Maori leaders are available to help teachers with the pronunciation of student names.
The Math's department is currently using Maori related material in activities. The Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education (2011,p. 167) has said that, from a Maori student perspective, more focus is seen on "changing Maori achievement rather than professional development for teachers to become culturally responsive."
References:
Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 39, No. 3, August 2011, 183–198
Bucher, R. (2008). Building cultural intelligence (CQ): Nine Megaskills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Pohatu, T. W. (2011). Mauri - Rethinking human wellbeing. MAI Review, 3, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.review.mai.ac.nz/index.php/MR/article/v...
You mention that supporting Maori achievement is a focus in math, but do you think cultural responsiveness supports Maori achievement?
ReplyDeleteI think any sort of Cultural responsiveness in the classroom aids learning because it supports making connections with students and this can lead to achievement or the want to achieve in a classroom.
ReplyDelete