Maori children were beaten once for speaking their own language, but these days te reo may be a way forward. GRANT ELLEN talks to Lisa Reweti about her work with Wellington primary school children: FOR Lisa Reweti (left), the impetus to promote Maori culture started when she was at school. She remembers being angry that teachers were not able to […]
Research in New Zealand
I received funding to do research in New Zealand in the fall of 2016. A self-motivated trip, these posts document my experiences traveling solo and doing research in a foreign country.
Maori Culture in schools: a Bicultural Nation
After meeting with Jim, I began to focus in on the prominence of Maori culture education in New Zealand schools. Almost every classroom I visited had some kind of Maori culture displayed somehow, whether it was a chart of words on the wall, a greeting from the instructor in the native Te Reo language, or […]
Project Lyttelton: Utilizing Social Capital
My initial plan to work with Project Lyttelton for my first two weeks to get acquainted with the area blossomed into living there my entire time in New Zealand. I think it’s a testament to place and community that it happened that way — initially I didn’t really expect it to connect to my work […]
Child Friendly Christchurch
A few weeks ago, I attended a community meeting regarding the push to make Christchurch a Child Friendly City. Admittedly, I had never heard of Child Friendly cities before this meeting. After some research, I learned that it is an initiative launched by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) to promote the democratic empowerment, health, safety, […]
Kaikorai Valley College
Today I met with Simon McMillan, the head science teacher at Kaikorai Valley College in Dunedin. I was referred to Simon through Jocelyn Papprill at Environment Canterbury, as they worked together on preparing New Zealand’s Education for Sustainability (EfS) curriculum together a few years back. Since I had been predominantly visiting primary schools, visiting a […]
Koukourārata Marae
Today I had the pleasure of joining Jocelyn, Environment Canterbury’s Youth Engagement Educator, on a visit to a local Marae, or Maori meeting place. This specific Marae, Koukourārata, is located about 45 minutes from Lyttelton, just over the hill and along the coast. We arrived just after 9am, and the sun was shining, creating a […]