Carrying the Tapa – Teaching Pasifika students for Non-Pasifika Teachers

“After the first day at Porirua College I wondered what I’d got myself into. I couldn’t pronounce many of the students’ or teachers’ names, I had no idea of their background and little idea of where to start in terms of building relationships with them – well, without sounding a bit thick or ignorant… at this point I knew I had a challenge ahead of me,” Helen Hardwick (HOD PE Porirua College).

This from Helen Hardwick who arrived in a NZ classroom from England in 2002. She has now been teaching at Porirua College for three years.

Ms Hardwick is one of the organisers for an upcoming course to try and assist non-Pasifika teachers of Pasifika students, Carrying the Tapa.

As NZ teachers work in more multi-cultural settings, increasing their skills and knowledge about how to forge cross-cultural relationships becomes essential.

Pacific Island students currently make up 9.7 per cent of the students in our classrooms, these students come predominantly from Samoa, Niue, Tokelau, Tonga and the Cook Islands.

We know that the achievement of these students is dependent on them having good working relationships with their teachers.

A good relationship is about mutual understanding and respect of values, beliefs, practices and then a shared vision with the student about the appropriate way forward for their education.

Gabrielle-Sisifo Makisi one of the Planning Committee members for Carrying the Tapa noted in her 2008 research of Samoan male school leavers “teachers’ behaviours and expectations were the most important factor in school achievement” and “for Samoan students, then, quality teaching will require teachers understanding and building on what Samoan students know and value and their preferred learning behaviours”.

This course is an opportunity for teachers to increase their knowledge about these Pacific Islands and their practices, values, language, religion, geography… and also to learn more about what it is to be Pasifika in NZ.

To learn more about developing good relationships with students, families, the community and how to develop those school-wide and to hear best practice from teachers and leaders who are breaking new ground in this area.

“When I began teaching I never imagined the differences in the students that I would face in just one class. Over time I realised that the differences is what makes me love teaching. The thrill of learning about those differences and building relationships with the students is why I still do what I do”. (Sheridan Mackenzie, year 11 Dean, TIC Polynesian Club, Wellington Girls College).

To read more about Carrying the Tapa, 12th-14th April, 2010, please visit www.trcc.org.nz