What makes me so special?????

According to 'Statistics New Zealand (n.d)' in 2001 43.6% of Maaori left school with no qualifications, that's 122,472 young Maaori kids aged between 15 and 16. What makes me so special you ask? Well I was one of those children who left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications what so ever and also having no respect for learning or education. I understand what its like to not like school, to not excel in school, it has taken me twelve years to gain the qualifications and the respect that I now have for learning and education. To fully understand and appreciate education for what it is and what it provides, which is knowledge.I don't want our up and coming rangatahi to go through the same process of not liking education or its to hard to learn, education can be enjoyable, education can be fun, education can be empowering, education can be inspiring, education can mean transformation. I plan to be, do and achieve all those things within education for Maaori. The only way I can achieve these is to educate myself in the write tools to accommodate for the diverse tamariki of the future, staying current and up to date with the technology they are and will be using. Learning the easiest teaching methods, strategy's, formula's, initiatives and approaches to best cater for and excel the learning of our Rangatahi. As I believe we are 'forever learners' I would always be assessing the new information I receive to influence the development my teaching to  to suit the tamariki of that time and era.
"E tipu e rea moo ngaa raa o tou ao, ko oo ringa ki te raakau a te paakehaa hei oranga moo too tinana, ko too ngaakau ki ngaa taonga a oo tiipuna, hei tikitiki moo too mahunga, ko too wairua ki te atua, naana nei ngaa mea katoa." naa Taa Apirana Ngata

What are important values that you carry with you?

"Māori health is underpinned by four dimensions representing the basic beliefs of life – te taha hinengaro (psychological health); te taha wairua (spiritual health); te taha tinana (physical health); and te taha whānau (family health). These four dimensions are represented by the four walls of a house. Each wall is necessary to the strength and symmetry of the building." 
-Mason Durie

The education of young Maaori tamariki is my main focus and drive there for I only think it's right that carry Maaori values and beliefs with me such as Mason Durie's Te Whare Tapa wha model that has a holistic view on the health and well being of people, although in my opinion they are universal values when in Maaori it has a korero hohonu and it comes from a whakaaro Maaori that I believe our people no matter young or old can relate to. Since studying with Te Wananga O Aotearoa I have adopted Nga Uara me ngaa Takepu and adapted them to suit me.
Te Aroha - having regard for one another. Building respectful relationships. 
Te Whakapono - The basis of my beliefs and the confidence that what i am doing is right. 
Koha - Taa koha atu, To share what knowledge I have.
            Taa Koha mai, I dont know everything and there is so much people young and old just waiting to teach me                           something. Learning is a FOREVER, there is always something to learn.
Kotahitanga/Whanaungatanga - To unite as one big whanau, ahakoa noo hea mai koe, kia kotahi taatou.

My values and beliefs stem from the 'Modelling' of my tuupuna that I have had the pleasure to have experienced while growing up submerged in my culture around the Marae, the few I have stated  above would be the values that I carry with me in order to achieve ' Whanau transformation through EDUCATION'

Mauri ora whanau.

What are important elements to embed when teaching?

As a young child I was brought up on the marae, and as a adult this has become something extremely important to me, because I have come to realize it is like a modern day natural 'whare wananga', highlighting the importance of whakapapa, tikanga, kawa, Te Reo and my culture to me. It is where I have experienced Kotahitanga, Te Aroha, Te Whakapono, Nga Ture, Whanaungatanga, and Ahurutanga in its purist form, which has made me the person I am today, and this is what I would like to share with our young especially Maaori tamariki of today who don't return to their turangawaewae , so they get the opportunity to experience that for themselves within my classroom and my teaching. It is important to me to embed these elements into my teaching as I believe these are what make up a strong foundation for our young Maaori, to fell safe and WANT to learn.
Ko Mataatua me Tainui ngaa Waka
Ko Maunga Pohatu me Weraiti ngaa maunga
Ko Ohinemataroa me Waihou ngaa awa
Ko Tuhoe me Raukawa ngaa iwi
Ko Ngati Rongo me Ngati Hinerangi ngaa hapu
Ko Purewa raua ko Koperu ngaa tangata
Ko Tauarau me Tangata ngaa marae
Ko Okauia tooku turangawaewae.