Reflection - 29.07.25

Today Te Tiriti o Waitangi is seen as a commitment under which Māori and all other New Zealanders may live together in the spirit of honourable relationships, with the promise to take the best possible care of each other. This requires the injustices caused by colonisation to be addressed and all New Zealanders to engage in creating a positive future that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. New Zealand is an increasingly multicultural nation, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi is inclusive of today’s new settlers. As with earlier immigrants, their ‘place to stand’ comes with an expectation that they will live here in a way that respects the commitments of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the position of Māori as tangata whenua. As teachers, we are committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi and we understand this has implications in all of our practice. How do you honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in your practice? In my practice I am continually striving to honour the 3 P's of The Treaty of Waitangi (Partnership, Protection and Participation) Partnership - On a class level, I do this by forming close relationships with the whānau of my akonga. One action that shows this is how I endevour to ring all parents at some point during Term 1 to check in. Protection - I firmly believe that I have an important role as a kaiako to protect Te Reo Māori. I do this through specific lessons to teach students kupu and phrases, and also through my day-to-day teaching through the integration of Te Reo Māori when giving instructions. School Tikanga is also maintained and protected through waiata, kapa haka and pōwhiri. Participation - This is something that I strive to do by setting high expectations for ALL learners. An example of this is planning for maths rich tasks. When planning these tasks I use the low floor, high ceiling philosophy to enable all students to reach their own potential, no matter where that may be.