Well, what are you waiting for? Grab those Jandals and don't forget your Togs! Hurry! There is lots of learning to do... in the pool! Jandals = flip flops. Togs= swimsuit. Language is a funny thing. It is our greatest tool and yet also our biggest crutch in communication. As we fight to revive the language in the north, the Maori people continue to fight the same fight down here in New Zealand. We are discovering that they have made huge leaps in the right direction and we can learn a TON from them! We are bringing back ideas for fresh beginnings and a way to bring the language into the classroom for EVERY SINGLE TEACHER. I hope you are ready!
Today was the kind of day in a school where the world stood still in order to grow brains and push limits. We moved into different classrooms today in an attempt to be able to bring it all back together and share the experiences at the end of the day. I went to the Year 1/2 class while Mary and Sandra each went into different Bilingual classrooms. Our days were VERY different but the following stood out:
*School wide Classroom Management Strategies WORK. (as long as there is consistency)
* Kids are Beautiful People no matter where you are in the world. (I know, I said that already this week)
* There is a fight to keep the Maori language and culture alive JUST like there is a fight to revive it in the north.
* Teachers do in fact still TALK to each other- cell phones and social media have not replaced professional conversation and collaborative discussion.
* Cultural Ceremony to start activity is sacred and humbling through teachings of the roots of the ancestors- ex. a morning prayer, a lunch blessing and a departing word
* Traditional Maori Bread is delicious.
* Immersing in Language = Immersing in Culture.
* Morning Tea is cherished and appreciated. (even when the tea pot is missing and the boiling water box is busy)
* Barefeet are HAPPY feet.
* hundreds of other things that will see fruition throughout the remaining school year and into Summer Institute.
* Language does not die- it grows over time- Maori people have a word for APPs, WEBSITE etc.