Partnership can be strengthened in different ways

Carol Marks, 8 June 2020

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the context  of Te Whāriki is about the relationship between Māori and the Crown, and Pakeha  and included in that is everyone who has come to join us on these islands, our shared obligations, and our shared aspirations for today and tomorrow.” (Brenda Soutar 2018)

The Treaty of Waitangi is the founding document of New Zealand and calls for centres to understand and honour Treaty principles in all actions and decision making. It is about making our country’s  bicultural  foundations evident in policies,  organisation, physical spaces, whanau and community engagement and planning and assessment.

Te Whariki may be one framework but there are two pathways moving us closer to equity for Māori through an indigenous model Te Whariki a te Kohanga Reo and a Treaty based pathway that ensures a bicultural curriculum for all.

I was talking to a teacher this week whose inquiry this year through her appraisal was to focus on whether the relationships with whānau were deep enough to form a quality partnership. Even though whānau were greeted and conversations shared, she would return again and again to continue the dialogue and was rewarded with so much more warmth and interaction.

I was listening to Moana Jackson on a Livechat on Facebook this week when he gave caution about the word ‘Consultation’ when implementing Te Tiriti and suggested instead we implement ‘meaningful dialogue’, this is what this teacher has done.

This is about sharing stories, not just touching the surface where the single story of a culture may lie but rather going deep into the rich novel that has language, culture and identity woven within.