February 10, 2025 • 19 mins
Today we’re continuing to talk to three Māori leaders who worked hard to turn around learning outcomes for Māori ākonga in their English-medium kura. We’re talking about what drives and motivates these rangatira, and where they turn for support when they need it, including Te Akatea Maōri Principals Association.
My guests are:
- Tom Paekau, principal of Merivale School in Tauranga
- Bruce Jepsen, manukura of Te Akatea Māori Principals
- Ngahina Transom, tumuaki of Frimley School in Hastings
This podcast was produced for the Ministry of Education as part of Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals.
You can learn more about this topic by accessing Te Ara Tīmatanga mō ngā Tumuaki - The Beginning Pathway for Principals e-learning modules on the Education LMS: https://training.education.govt.nz
Show notes
Episode themes:
- Making a plan to turn around learning, and having the courage to do it.
- The power of connection – surrounding yourself with people who whakamana your mana and coach, mentor and support you.
- The challenges of standing up in te ao Pākehā as a Māori leader.
- Te Akatea and the support it provides Māori leaders.
- Advice for new tumuaki.
Additional information
Te Akatea Māori Principals https://www.teakatea.co.nz
Questions
00:40 It’s a heavy burden to start in a kura that’s not doing so well. How do you handle the stress?
9:18 Can you tell me about the mahi Te Akatea does?
14:59 What advice would you give new tumuaki about turning around learning in a kura?
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Eleisha (00:07):
Kia ora and welcome to The Principals, a podcast series
for new tumuaki in Aotearoa NewZealand. I'm Eleisha McNeill.
Today we're going to continuetalking about improving learning
outcomes for Māori ākonga withBruce Jepsen, former tumuaki and
manukura at Te Akatea, theMāori Principals Association,
Tom Paekau, tumuaki of Merivaleschool, and Ngahina Transom,
(00:30):
tumuaki of Frimley School. Tom,when you first start in a kura
that's not doing so well, it's aheavy burden for you, right?
Where do you start turning thataround? How how did you handle
the stress?
Tom (00:45):
Good question. Um, you're not going to make things worse
by not doing anything, but atsome stage you're going to have
to do something. So I guessidentifying what the problem was
within the kura. We knew pocketsof things that were were not
right and we wanted to fix, andsome of those were easy fixes.
Others we had to map out a timeframe to do those. And I think
(01:10):
that's that's also key. Knowwhat you can fix immediately and
do it and then have a have aplan and give yourself time
frames and checkpoints in orderto accomplish the other things.
And Ngahina and Bruce both know,you're never going to have the
perfect school, there's alwaysgoing to be something that
(01:32):
you've got to, there's alwayswork ons. But I think that's the
that's exciting part of actuallybeing a tumuaki or being in a
rangatira position in kura isthat you can affect change and
the last thing I would sayaround that is just sticking to
your guns as well. You know ifif you don't stand by what
(01:55):
you're wanting to put intoaction, you won't get anything
done. So it just being havingthat strong resolve and I think
like Ngahina and Bruce are bothstrong strong people as well who
were committed to seeing an endto things within their own kura.
So that that's also havinghaving that courage to to go
(02:17):
through and do it, but also notcommitting to stuff and then not
following through because that'salso counterproductive to to
affect change as well. So yeah,those would be the my, my
thoughts on it.
Eleisha (02:31):
Ngahina, what would you add?
Ngahina (02:33):
Yeah, I'm going to get a little bit deep, ka pai, kia
ora Tommy. I'm just yeah, mauriate pono, believe in yourself and
you go back to whatintrinsically what what drives
you, you know my turning pointin education for me was when I
became a mum. And I had two, Ihad twin boys. So the statistics
(02:55):
told me if I believed in themthat one of them would succeed
and the other would fail. Andthen that really, really drove
my internal, the puku, the fireof my belly to ensure that
whatever I was doing it, therewas always intent and it was
with passion. Believing inmyself and knowing what I'm
doing is because that is notright that is not right and I
(03:20):
was not going to, that statistic,well I wanted to wipe it out.
I'm just going to go back tohauora and as leaders, I think
we all are driven by challengethe three of us that are here
and we're in it for and we're in itfor the long, long gains. And if
we just go back to our tūpunahave fought all that time we are,
(03:43):
we are here in this moment andtime and place to continue that
whawhai and we will leave it ina better place so those that we
continue to build and grow asour future leaders will ensure
that that legacy continues. Sofor your own wellbeing and your
own hauora one, you surroundyourself with the people that
you know are going to whakamanayour mana and coach, mentor and
(04:09):
support you to be the best thatyou can be believing in yourself.
So Te Akatea is a great exampleof that. Huia Kaimanawa is a
great example of that, it's asafe it's a place where we can
go and be who we are, and thentake away what we need in order
to come back and continue to dothe mahi that we do. And, all of
(04:30):
us will be connected to ourmarae, our hapū, will be
trustees, we'll be we'll beleading our own iwi hapū whānau
mahi. So those things continueto feed you and ensure that your
your hauora, your wairua remainsintact. And the mahi that you do
when you pull the sleeves up anddo the mahi like Bruce said
(04:51):
right at the beginning. We canwe can hui hui hui. But we've
got to pull our sleeves up anddo, do the do, we've got to do
the mahi and lead that the bestway that we can and like I said
there's, like we've talked about,there's ebbs and there's highs
and there's lows, we're going tocome across that. But when we've
got our our safe people, ourpeople that we can ring, you
(05:12):
know, Bruce, I need you to canyou help here? I need this
tautoko, and when you've gotthose trusting people, it'll be
all okay, because we're alldoing the mahi for the same, our
goal is the same. And yeah,we're part of that story, that
(05:32):
pūrākau that ensures that wewe want the best for our
tamariki and kura, we want ourwhānau to be the best. My
successes - when our whānaucome, the gate is open and our
whānau come flooding into thekura. When I first arrived here,
I had kaumātua dropping theirmokopuna off outside in the car
and they wouldn't come in. Isaid, 'Mātua what what are you
doing? Come in. Haere mai.' 'Oh,no, that's okay. I'm going to
(05:55):
drop baby off here.' 'No, kāo,you're part of this whānau too,
nau mai harae mai. Come in.' Sowhen the whānau feel that this
is their place too, that's whenwe're winning, and everybody's
supporting each other. But Ithink that's that's really
important where we're all drivenby the challenge. We love it,
believing in yourself andsurrounding yourself with people
(06:17):
that will continue to make youcritically aware, too. Have you
thought about it this way?Continue to challenge you, give
you the affirmation when youneed it. But it's I think it's
ensuring that we are continuingto do the mahi the best that we
can.
Eleisha (06:35):
Bruce
Bruce (06:36):
You can't deny your whakapapa, you are who you are.
So when you turn up, you're justa product of your DNA, which is
a direct link to your tūpuna.And this is the importance. So
what you what you see and whatyou hear is because that's who
you are. I mean, this is theunderstanding we're trying to
encompass across our motu thatthat child that tamariki, that
tamaiti there, that's who theyare. There is a direct lineage
(06:59):
between that person and a chiefin this land. You said something
earlier, Eleisha, that thatsparks something in my mind. And
it was around all the questionsI've got. I'm not sure I covered
them. Well you have actually,because my thinking around that
is actually you're valuingMāori leaders' experience and
perspective, which often thequestion doesn't fit. You are
(07:20):
answering the questions, you'regetting new ones. We're getting
the ones that matter. We'revaluing Māori leaders
experiences and perspectives,and us three, we're used to not
being included in things, butwe're still going to turn up the
next day. We're still going tobe a direct product of our
tūpuna. We still are who we are.We have the same whakapapa and
(07:41):
we'd rather do it together andwe can all learn together and
that unwavering commitment. Andthat is where Ngahina did that
great example about saying thatchild is iwi, that mother there
is iwi because we're all of iwi.So iwi doesn't have to be
whatever is is this fixated ideaabout what iwi is and what that,
(08:02):
did that opens it up that everyMāori is of iwi. So when you're
engaging, go engage with thatiwi, go and engage with that
hapū, go and engage with thatwhānau and, and do the very
best and value what we'rehearing. Then sort of make a map
with those sorts of things andmake a way forward.
Eleisha (08:22):
That's awesome.
Bruce (08:23):
I reach out to Ngahina, I reach out to Tom, I reach out to
anyone that I can like anyoneelse, when I don't have the
answers or I feel I need supportand leadership is challenging.
These guys do double shiftsevery day. We have to stand up
in te ao Pākeha, we have tostand up to those colleagues and
walk down the street and be ableto hold our head high in that
(08:44):
space, we have to be able tolead in that space. But then we
have to do our other shift aboutwho we are. And we have to make
sure that all of our people aredoing as well as all other
people in our kura. We have tomake sure that that place is a
good, strong foundation, thatour tamariki have that safe
place that all the otherconditions and types of
(09:05):
environments that help ourpeople thrive. So there's a
double shift going on all thetime, every day. And I think
being mindful of that, you needyour people around you. You
can't do those things on yourown.
Eleisha (09:18):
Yeah. Talking about having your people around you, Te
Akatea, can you tell me aboutthe mahi that Te Akatea does?
Bruce (09:25):
So Te Akatea is 34 years old, going on 35, founded in a
garage in Te Arawa, Maketū. Andit was around that period in the
early nineties where the te reoMāori revitalization movement
was going on. Ngā Tamatoa,protecting our language as a
taonga, those sorts of struggleswere going on. Similarly around
(09:45):
the nineties in educationalleadership, there wasn't really
a space and it was identifiedthere's a gap. So a small number
of Māori leaders got togetherand said, hey, let's form an
organisation. Now iterativelyit's grown. So the three of us
have had varied time involved withTe Akatea, but I've seen it grow
(10:08):
from strength to strength, sonow it represents more than 400
Māori leaders. So that speaks toa whole range of things around
growth in Māori leadership,perspective and valuing Māori
leaders and then also thenetwork that we've grown into.
Te Akatea is a national PLDprovider, and Huia Kaimanawa
(10:29):
also currently we're the onlyprovider of emerging leadership
PLD that I'm aware of that isgovernment funded, and that's
for those leaders, HODs, seniorteachers, I'm not too caught up
in the label or theirpositionality, because a
rangatira is a rangatira. Somore about serving our people,
(10:50):
ensuring their growth anddevelopment within the system
and seeing a pathway for ourleaders to be be leading. And
there is a relationship betweeneffective Māori leadership and
outcomes for Māori tamariki,and we want to grow and harness
that. And I guess because it'sto stay on the point of Te
Akatea, that's a real fasttracked evolution to the growth
(11:12):
and the whakapapa of Te Akatea.and the membership encompasses
people that are in kura aurakior the English medium kura could
be reo rua could be juststraight English medium could be
kura kaupapa Māori and alsocould be kura ā iwi. So we have
a composition of all of those,in each area it is growing. Um
(11:36):
we've got a regional structure,so we've also got leaders within
regions across 15 regions. We'vegot a research and development
team that's full of academics sothat we can make sense of what
we're finding out aboutleadership and how we can grow
that. So it's going fromstrength to strength. And I guess
that's where you get that energyfrom is when you feel like your
(11:57):
people are being enhanced andit's doing the good then it's
easy to front up the next day.
Ngahina (12:03):
So I think it's based around whanaungatanga. It really
creates a whānau opportunityfor us. I've been in the past a
part of, you know, ruralprincipals groups, rohe
principal groups, associationsand groups. And there's nothing
like Te Akatea. But also in thedevelopment of Te Akatea too and
(12:26):
what it's purpose is for, andit's around really uplifting and
giving empowerment to ouremerging leaders yeah, affording
everybody the opportunity to, Iguess, tap into that potential
to becoming a leader so itprovides authentic experiences
for us. It creates this aka forus that we can come together as
(12:50):
Māori educators but we arearound empowering and growing
more Māori leaders and continueto support one another and know
who's on the end of the phone.That professional support for us
as leaders to continue to begoing on our own journey of PLD,
(13:11):
but in a real supportive andchallenging way. So a great
opportunity for yeah,professional development,
growing our leaders, being thereto support and mentor as well
and regionally growing so thatwe have a voice here in the rohe
to be able to encourage that forothers.
Bruce (13:31):
Obviously we have a constitution and our
constitution speaks into givingeffect and understanding to He
Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti oWaitangi So everything we do is
from that space. And and thenjust sitting in there and saying
the things that sometimes peoplewould will just sort of glaze
over.
Eleisha (13:48):
Mm hmm.
Bruce (13:49):
It's not easy being us in a room when you're outnumbered all
the time and you have to defendthe way you think, the way you
do. You know, like and I thinkthere's like 83 leaders here
Tommy, or something in TaurangaMoana, we walk in that room,
there'll be lucky to be ten ofus.
Eleisha (14:02):
Mm
Bruce (14:02):
So when you're, if that perspective we bring is
different to the generalconsensus then does that mean
it's wrong, no, often it's aboutthat gap, we're speaking about
that understanding we bring toTe Tiriti o Waitangi, equity and
then that lens and so sometimesit's it's by bringing that group
(14:22):
together we cut through all thatwe don't and we're not in a
position of defensive of ofhaving to give status to our
thinking and position and who weare, we're able to cut straight
to it. And so that's thatnetwork. But we're also there as
that network to help supportand grow others.
Eleisha (14:41):
hmm
Bruce (14:43):
Highlighted, you know, there's tangata Te Tiriti there,
and we're there to support allpeople so that all tamariki can
grow and we have this notion ofthis bi-cultural emerging
nationhood that's coming that'sgoing on. And we're all about
that.
Eleisha (14:59):
Definitely. I just wanted to ask if you were giving
advice to new tumuaki coming in,having had your experience, the
experiences that you've had withturning around learning in a
kura, what would your advice be?
Tom (15:14):
Gee, advice for new tumuaki... get to know the role and
probably the best thing to do isactually get to know your
finances because that can helpyou make the choices and
decisions that you you need tomake in order to move forward.
Um because a lot of a lot of thethe mahi involved, when you're
(15:35):
effecting change, it actuallycomes down to pūtea. So having
some financial smarts and takinggood financial advice is
paramount to that. Then you canreally mine down on on your
focus and the decisions that canbe made because it's no point
saying, hey, you know we'regoing to affect change and
(15:59):
improve attendance by buyingthree new minivans and going
around and picking up kids whenyou don't actually have the
finances to do that. So I guess,you know, just being really
smart about what what what'sachievable and how best to spend
school school money in order toget the best gains for your
(16:21):
tamariki.
Eleisha (16:23):
Kia ora, thank you. Ngahina?
Ngahina (16:26):
Listen to the voice of the people, know and understand
who the key stakeholders are inyour kura in your place. Because
I'm going to unpack this kupu -ranga-tira and then
ranga-tira-tanga. So ranga is toweave, tira is a waka group that
are rowing together, so ranga toweave, tira is the travelling
(16:47):
group and tanga is the action ofthat. How are we going to do
that. So as the rangatira of thekura, how are you going to weave
together this tira, thistravelling group of people,
because we're going to travel,we're going to navigate our way
through this choppy sea in orderto get to our vision, where
we're going. So know who thosepeople are, who are going to be
(17:09):
in your tira, understand them,get to know them, listen to them.
And then as the rangatira, weavethat together and not all
decisions are going to be agreedupon by everybody. But we all
need to be in this travellingparty, in this tira together. Kia
ora.
Eleisha (17:25):
Kia ora. Bruce?
Bruce (17:26):
We used to have this phraseology about know me before
you teach me, and that can beapplied not just to tamariki, it
could be applied to adults andboards and communities, but
before you try and do anything.So whatever it is that you need
to know when you're going towork in a partnership or in a
relationship there's a lot oflearning to do before you try
and do anything. And it's acombination of that listening
(17:49):
and understanding and thenputting that into application.
Who are the people, what are thepūrākau, what's important? How
do I connect? And then I'm goingto test all my theories too. I'm
going to have a coherent way ofworking and it's going to be
deliberate and it's going to beprioritized. And the ordering of
(18:11):
it is going to be based on thethings that we don't do that are
the gaps that address the needsthat are clear and evident. And
then I've got this belief thatwe'll probably all arrive in a
similar place because we've gotenough data about who's who's
doing what in this country. Andit will have this understanding
where everyone's being stretched.Because, you know, when you take
(18:34):
on another world view, there's alot of learning in there.
Eleisha (18:38):
Definitely. Thank you so much for your time. I know
how busy you all are, and Ireally appreciate you taking the
time to talk with me today. Sothank you. Kia pai tō ra. Join
me for the next episode where wecontinue talking about improving
student achievement. Mā te wā.
Kia ora and welcome to The Principals, a podcast series
for new tumuaki in Aotearoa NewZealand. I'm Eleisha McNeill.
Today we're going to continuetalking about improving learning
outcomes for Māori ākonga withBruce Jepsen, former tumuaki and
manukura at Te Akatea, theMāori Principals Association,
Tom Paekau, tumuaki of Merivaleschool, and Ngahina Transom,
(00:30):
tumuaki of Frimley School. Tom,when you first start in a kura
that's not doing so well, it's aheavy burden for you, right?
Where do you start turning thataround? How how did you handle
the stress?
Tom (00:45):
Good question. Um, you're not going to make things worse
by not doing anything, but atsome stage you're going to have
to do something. So I guessidentifying what the problem was
within the kura. We knew pocketsof things that were were not
right and we wanted to fix, andsome of those were easy fixes.
Others we had to map out a timeframe to do those. And I think
(01:10):
that's that's also key. Knowwhat you can fix immediately and
do it and then have a have aplan and give yourself time
frames and checkpoints in orderto accomplish the other things.
And Ngahina and Bruce both know,you're never going to have the
perfect school, there's alwaysgoing to be something that
(01:32):
you've got to, there's alwayswork ons. But I think that's the
that's exciting part of actuallybeing a tumuaki or being in a
rangatira position in kura isthat you can affect change and
the last thing I would sayaround that is just sticking to
your guns as well. You know ifif you don't stand by what
(01:55):
you're wanting to put intoaction, you won't get anything
done. So it just being havingthat strong resolve and I think
like Ngahina and Bruce are bothstrong strong people as well who
were committed to seeing an endto things within their own kura.
So that that's also havinghaving that courage to to go
(02:17):
through and do it, but also notcommitting to stuff and then not
following through because that'salso counterproductive to to
affect change as well. So yeah,those would be the my, my
thoughts on it.
Eleisha (02:31):
Ngahina, what would you add?
Ngahina (02:33):
Yeah, I'm going to get a little bit deep, ka pai, kia
ora Tommy. I'm just yeah, mauriate pono, believe in yourself and
you go back to whatintrinsically what what drives
you, you know my turning pointin education for me was when I
became a mum. And I had two, Ihad twin boys. So the statistics
(02:55):
told me if I believed in themthat one of them would succeed
and the other would fail. Andthen that really, really drove
my internal, the puku, the fireof my belly to ensure that
whatever I was doing it, therewas always intent and it was
with passion. Believing inmyself and knowing what I'm
doing is because that is notright that is not right and I
(03:20):
was not going to, that statistic,well I wanted to wipe it out.
I'm just going to go back tohauora and as leaders, I think
we all are driven by challengethe three of us that are here
and we're in it for and we're in itfor the long, long gains. And if
we just go back to our tūpunahave fought all that time we are,
(03:43):
we are here in this moment andtime and place to continue that
whawhai and we will leave it ina better place so those that we
continue to build and grow asour future leaders will ensure
that that legacy continues. Sofor your own wellbeing and your
own hauora one, you surroundyourself with the people that
you know are going to whakamanayour mana and coach, mentor and
(04:09):
support you to be the best thatyou can be believing in yourself.
So Te Akatea is a great exampleof that. Huia Kaimanawa is a
great example of that, it's asafe it's a place where we can
go and be who we are, and thentake away what we need in order
to come back and continue to dothe mahi that we do. And, all of
(04:30):
us will be connected to ourmarae, our hapū, will be
trustees, we'll be we'll beleading our own iwi hapū whānau
mahi. So those things continueto feed you and ensure that your
your hauora, your wairua remainsintact. And the mahi that you do
when you pull the sleeves up anddo the mahi like Bruce said
(04:51):
right at the beginning. We canwe can hui hui hui. But we've
got to pull our sleeves up anddo, do the do, we've got to do
the mahi and lead that the bestway that we can and like I said
there's, like we've talked about,there's ebbs and there's highs
and there's lows, we're going tocome across that. But when we've
got our our safe people, ourpeople that we can ring, you
(05:12):
know, Bruce, I need you to canyou help here? I need this
tautoko, and when you've gotthose trusting people, it'll be
all okay, because we're alldoing the mahi for the same, our
goal is the same. And yeah,we're part of that story, that
(05:32):
pūrākau that ensures that wewe want the best for our
tamariki and kura, we want ourwhānau to be the best. My
successes - when our whānaucome, the gate is open and our
whānau come flooding into thekura. When I first arrived here,
I had kaumātua dropping theirmokopuna off outside in the car
and they wouldn't come in. Isaid, 'Mātua what what are you
doing? Come in. Haere mai.' 'Oh,no, that's okay. I'm going to
(05:55):
drop baby off here.' 'No, kāo,you're part of this whānau too,
nau mai harae mai. Come in.' Sowhen the whānau feel that this
is their place too, that's whenwe're winning, and everybody's
supporting each other. But Ithink that's that's really
important where we're all drivenby the challenge. We love it,
believing in yourself andsurrounding yourself with people
(06:17):
that will continue to make youcritically aware, too. Have you
thought about it this way?Continue to challenge you, give
you the affirmation when youneed it. But it's I think it's
ensuring that we are continuingto do the mahi the best that we
can.
Eleisha (06:35):
Bruce
Bruce (06:36):
You can't deny your whakapapa, you are who you are.
So when you turn up, you're justa product of your DNA, which is
a direct link to your tūpuna.And this is the importance. So
what you what you see and whatyou hear is because that's who
you are. I mean, this is theunderstanding we're trying to
encompass across our motu thatthat child that tamariki, that
tamaiti there, that's who theyare. There is a direct lineage
(06:59):
between that person and a chiefin this land. You said something
earlier, Eleisha, that thatsparks something in my mind. And
it was around all the questionsI've got. I'm not sure I covered
them. Well you have actually,because my thinking around that
is actually you're valuingMāori leaders' experience and
perspective, which often thequestion doesn't fit. You are
(07:20):
answering the questions, you'regetting new ones. We're getting
the ones that matter. We'revaluing Māori leaders
experiences and perspectives,and us three, we're used to not
being included in things, butwe're still going to turn up the
next day. We're still going tobe a direct product of our
tūpuna. We still are who we are.We have the same whakapapa and
(07:41):
we'd rather do it together andwe can all learn together and
that unwavering commitment. Andthat is where Ngahina did that
great example about saying thatchild is iwi, that mother there
is iwi because we're all of iwi.So iwi doesn't have to be
whatever is is this fixated ideaabout what iwi is and what that,
(08:02):
did that opens it up that everyMāori is of iwi. So when you're
engaging, go engage with thatiwi, go and engage with that
hapū, go and engage with thatwhānau and, and do the very
best and value what we'rehearing. Then sort of make a map
with those sorts of things andmake a way forward.
Eleisha (08:22):
That's awesome.
Bruce (08:23):
I reach out to Ngahina, I reach out to Tom, I reach out to
anyone that I can like anyoneelse, when I don't have the
answers or I feel I need supportand leadership is challenging.
These guys do double shiftsevery day. We have to stand up
in te ao Pākeha, we have tostand up to those colleagues and
walk down the street and be ableto hold our head high in that
(08:44):
space, we have to be able tolead in that space. But then we
have to do our other shift aboutwho we are. And we have to make
sure that all of our people aredoing as well as all other
people in our kura. We have tomake sure that that place is a
good, strong foundation, thatour tamariki have that safe
place that all the otherconditions and types of
(09:05):
environments that help ourpeople thrive. So there's a
double shift going on all thetime, every day. And I think
being mindful of that, you needyour people around you. You
can't do those things on yourown.
Eleisha (09:18):
Yeah. Talking about having your people around you, Te
Akatea, can you tell me aboutthe mahi that Te Akatea does?
Bruce (09:25):
So Te Akatea is 34 years old, going on 35, founded in a
garage in Te Arawa, Maketū. Andit was around that period in the
early nineties where the te reoMāori revitalization movement
was going on. Ngā Tamatoa,protecting our language as a
taonga, those sorts of struggleswere going on. Similarly around
(09:45):
the nineties in educationalleadership, there wasn't really
a space and it was identifiedthere's a gap. So a small number
of Māori leaders got togetherand said, hey, let's form an
organisation. Now iterativelyit's grown. So the three of us
have had varied time involved withTe Akatea, but I've seen it grow
(10:08):
from strength to strength, sonow it represents more than 400
Māori leaders. So that speaks toa whole range of things around
growth in Māori leadership,perspective and valuing Māori
leaders and then also thenetwork that we've grown into.
Te Akatea is a national PLDprovider, and Huia Kaimanawa
(10:29):
also currently we're the onlyprovider of emerging leadership
PLD that I'm aware of that isgovernment funded, and that's
for those leaders, HODs, seniorteachers, I'm not too caught up
in the label or theirpositionality, because a
rangatira is a rangatira. Somore about serving our people,
(10:50):
ensuring their growth anddevelopment within the system
and seeing a pathway for ourleaders to be be leading. And
there is a relationship betweeneffective Māori leadership and
outcomes for Māori tamariki,and we want to grow and harness
that. And I guess because it'sto stay on the point of Te
Akatea, that's a real fasttracked evolution to the growth
(11:12):
and the whakapapa of Te Akatea.and the membership encompasses
people that are in kura aurakior the English medium kura could
be reo rua could be juststraight English medium could be
kura kaupapa Māori and alsocould be kura ā iwi. So we have
a composition of all of those,in each area it is growing. Um
(11:36):
we've got a regional structure,so we've also got leaders within
regions across 15 regions. We'vegot a research and development
team that's full of academics sothat we can make sense of what
we're finding out aboutleadership and how we can grow
that. So it's going fromstrength to strength. And I guess
that's where you get that energyfrom is when you feel like your
(11:57):
people are being enhanced andit's doing the good then it's
easy to front up the next day.
Ngahina (12:03):
So I think it's based around whanaungatanga. It really
creates a whānau opportunityfor us. I've been in the past a
part of, you know, ruralprincipals groups, rohe
principal groups, associationsand groups. And there's nothing
like Te Akatea. But also in thedevelopment of Te Akatea too and
(12:26):
what it's purpose is for, andit's around really uplifting and
giving empowerment to ouremerging leaders yeah, affording
everybody the opportunity to, Iguess, tap into that potential
to becoming a leader so itprovides authentic experiences
for us. It creates this aka forus that we can come together as
(12:50):
Māori educators but we arearound empowering and growing
more Māori leaders and continueto support one another and know
who's on the end of the phone.That professional support for us
as leaders to continue to begoing on our own journey of PLD,
(13:11):
but in a real supportive andchallenging way. So a great
opportunity for yeah,professional development,
growing our leaders, being thereto support and mentor as well
and regionally growing so thatwe have a voice here in the rohe
to be able to encourage that forothers.
Bruce (13:31):
Obviously we have a constitution and our
constitution speaks into givingeffect and understanding to He
Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti oWaitangi So everything we do is
from that space. And and thenjust sitting in there and saying
the things that sometimes peoplewould will just sort of glaze
over.
Eleisha (13:48):
Mm hmm.
Bruce (13:49):
It's not easy being us in a room when you're outnumbered all
the time and you have to defendthe way you think, the way you
do. You know, like and I thinkthere's like 83 leaders here
Tommy, or something in TaurangaMoana, we walk in that room,
there'll be lucky to be ten ofus.
Eleisha (14:02):
Mm
Bruce (14:02):
So when you're, if that perspective we bring is
different to the generalconsensus then does that mean
it's wrong, no, often it's aboutthat gap, we're speaking about
that understanding we bring toTe Tiriti o Waitangi, equity and
then that lens and so sometimesit's it's by bringing that group
(14:22):
together we cut through all thatwe don't and we're not in a
position of defensive of ofhaving to give status to our
thinking and position and who weare, we're able to cut straight
to it. And so that's thatnetwork. But we're also there as
that network to help supportand grow others.
Eleisha (14:41):
hmm
Bruce (14:43):
Highlighted, you know, there's tangata Te Tiriti there,
and we're there to support allpeople so that all tamariki can
grow and we have this notion ofthis bi-cultural emerging
nationhood that's coming that'sgoing on. And we're all about
that.
Eleisha (14:59):
Definitely. I just wanted to ask if you were giving
advice to new tumuaki coming in,having had your experience, the
experiences that you've had withturning around learning in a
kura, what would your advice be?
Tom (15:14):
Gee, advice for new tumuaki... get to know the role and
probably the best thing to do isactually get to know your
finances because that can helpyou make the choices and
decisions that you you need tomake in order to move forward.
Um because a lot of a lot of thethe mahi involved, when you're
(15:35):
effecting change, it actuallycomes down to pūtea. So having
some financial smarts and takinggood financial advice is
paramount to that. Then you canreally mine down on on your
focus and the decisions that canbe made because it's no point
saying, hey, you know we'regoing to affect change and
(15:59):
improve attendance by buyingthree new minivans and going
around and picking up kids whenyou don't actually have the
finances to do that. So I guess,you know, just being really
smart about what what what'sachievable and how best to spend
school school money in order toget the best gains for your
(16:21):
tamariki.
Eleisha (16:23):
Kia ora, thank you. Ngahina?
Ngahina (16:26):
Listen to the voice of the people, know and understand
who the key stakeholders are inyour kura in your place. Because
I'm going to unpack this kupu -ranga-tira and then
ranga-tira-tanga. So ranga is toweave, tira is a waka group that
are rowing together, so ranga toweave, tira is the travelling
(16:47):
group and tanga is the action ofthat. How are we going to do
that. So as the rangatira of thekura, how are you going to weave
together this tira, thistravelling group of people,
because we're going to travel,we're going to navigate our way
through this choppy sea in orderto get to our vision, where
we're going. So know who thosepeople are, who are going to be
(17:09):
in your tira, understand them,get to know them, listen to them.
And then as the rangatira, weavethat together and not all
decisions are going to be agreedupon by everybody. But we all
need to be in this travellingparty, in this tira together. Kia
ora.
Eleisha (17:25):
Kia ora. Bruce?
Bruce (17:26):
We used to have this phraseology about know me before
you teach me, and that can beapplied not just to tamariki, it
could be applied to adults andboards and communities, but
before you try and do anything.So whatever it is that you need
to know when you're going towork in a partnership or in a
relationship there's a lot oflearning to do before you try
and do anything. And it's acombination of that listening
(17:49):
and understanding and thenputting that into application.
Who are the people, what are thepūrākau, what's important? How
do I connect? And then I'm goingto test all my theories too. I'm
going to have a coherent way ofworking and it's going to be
deliberate and it's going to beprioritized. And the ordering of
(18:11):
it is going to be based on thethings that we don't do that are
the gaps that address the needsthat are clear and evident. And
then I've got this belief thatwe'll probably all arrive in a
similar place because we've gotenough data about who's who's
doing what in this country. Andit will have this understanding
where everyone's being stretched.Because, you know, when you take
(18:34):
on another world view, there's alot of learning in there.
Eleisha (18:38):
Definitely. Thank you so much for your time. I know
how busy you all are, and Ireally appreciate you taking the
time to talk with me today. Sothank you. Kia pai tō ra. Join
me for the next episode where wecontinue talking about improving
student achievement. Mā te wā.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.