What makes you so special?

Believe in yourself to deliver every lesson, every teaching and every skill to the best of your ability. It is through belief that I will capture my learners into wanting to learn. I will believe also in my learners so that they can believe themselves that they can achieve whatever it is they want to achieve in life. “The world is your oyster”

Trust in yourself to uphold and stay firm to your own values. Trust that you are never alone through your journey and there are always others to help you along the way.

Sympathise and show an understanding. All children come from many different backgrounds i.e. Violence, Solo parenting, Divorce and Sexual Abuse. I believe that it is important to understand all the different backgrounds of children as it affects the way they learn. Showing such an understanding makes the child feel a sense of appreciation.

Honest to yourself. With honesty come respectful relationships between you and your children, you and your children’s families and also between you and colleagues.

Respect yourself before respecting others. Respect always begins within and by respecting yourself you will learn to respect those around you.

Passion for your role as a Teacher. Having passion is very important to portray with anything you do in life. If you don’t have passion for what you’re carrying out then all the above points will not be taking into consideration.

These are all values that contribute towards what makes me so special. I find it difficult to talk about myself as many people find as a challenge. I struggle to find the words to explain what it is that makes me so special but after many thoughts, my family is what makes me so special. Having the privilege to be brought up in such a loving family. Knowing how it feels to be loved and supported by parents and siblings. Being able to know and believe that family is forever. My parents have been my backbone through everything I have been through in life. They have always supported each and every one of us kids. They never forced anything upon us as they allowed us to follow the path we wanted to follow with their guidance and support every step of the way.

“Family; like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain the same” Simply stating that although we all stem off into different areas of life in different parts of the world family will always be there.

The Changing Paradigm of Education

Ken Robinson: Changing education Paradigm is seen to be a huge eye opener worldwide expanding his thoughts on the current education system. I agree with the basic argument of his talk - that standardisation, testing and an industrialised approach to education cannot prepare children for the pace of change in the modern world.

I believe that if we want to really do something to change the world, we need to block our strong human desire for instant gratification. We need to teach our children how to think, not what to think. Let them create their own future, not give them ultimatums on what lies ahead for them. Teach them that dreaming is their brain re organising the infinite possibilities that their mind and thoughts keep asking for. History is a by-product of Time. The Future is what you will do in the moment after you have your next thought and the moment after that is the past. Live, Love Learn and Create by making learning your best friend. Tell them the only ego that can harm them is their own. The only person they ever need to be better than is themselves. The only man/woman that can truly judge them because he/she always knows the truth is the one in the mirror and above all 'love' themselves for who they are.

What are the important elements to embed when teaching?

Ko Taranaki toku Maunga
Ko Te Rerenga o Kapuni toku Awa
Ko Aotea toku Waka
Ko Ngati Tu toku Hapu
Ko Nga Ruahine toku Iwi
Ko Waiokura toku marae

Just like the song composed by Six60, 'Dont forget your roots my friend, dont forget your family.' Simply saying no matter where you go or head in life never forget where you come from and the people who helped shaped you along your journey. Whakapapa and Pepeha play a huge role in who I am and who iv become. Being Maori is an important element I will embed when teaching as that is who I am and I am very proud to say I am Maori. 

He kākano ahau i ruia mai i Rangiātea
I am a seed which was sewn in the heavens of Rangiatea
A famous proverb from the Aotea waka, which shows the important of your genealogy and your culture.

What are the important values for teaching that you carry with you?

Through my upbringing I have become a huge believer in self respect. I believe everything always begins with you for if you dont respect yourself then you wont respect those and others around you. It is important to know who you are. I was firmly taught to never try and be something your not, for if you feel inside that it isn't you then move on and try something new. Through these teachings I think it is important to never pressure a child to do something they don't want to do, always give praise and pass on lessons and experiences to students for them to absorb and extend onto their own personal development but to bare in mind that learning can not be done by force as it will damage them as learners in the future.

I remember a guest speaker by the name of Ted Pogai who talked about the importance of being able to pronouce a childs name. He said its better to give it a go as the child will feel respected. Simple things like being able to pronouce a childs name has a huge effect on how they will treat you as a teacher. Knowing their name gives them a sense of belonging and as he said, "feel like gold".
Ted also spoke said that you dont need a piece paper to tell you that your a teacher as everybody are born as teachers. Everyone teachers someone something through their lifetime whether it be good or bad. He also touched on the importance of allowing a child to grow through whatever they have a passion in as this will allow them to want to achieve and succeed as educators.

Believeability, Trust, Sympothy, Honesty, Respect and Passion are values I will carry with me through my teaching journey.