Ako Aotearoa is launching a professional learning and development programme Te Tiriti o Waitangi – a visual history to meet the needs of people wanting to know about the place of Te Tiriti in New Zealand’s history, and its relevance for educators today.
According to Dr Joseph Te Rito, Deputy Director Māori, this workshop aligns with current and future directions of the TEC as well as the Education sector generally. Dr Te Rito says, “If we are serious about improving the success of Māori learners, Te Tiriti o Waitangi education is a priority for staff in the tertiary sector.”
He added, “The hope is that through Te Tiriti o Waitangi workshops, staff will become better informed about the history of this country, their fears and misconceptions will be demystified, and this in turn will lead to better engagement with Māori learners.”
According to Dr Te Rito it was a deliberate decision to deliver a 'visual history' as it is more user friendly and less threatening. “The workshop resources encourage participants to think about Te Tiriti, and are not designed to make participants feel uncomfortable about previous generations’ actions.”
Cathy Watson will deliver the initial workshops which are targeted at Pākehā. She saw this programme as an opportunity to dispel myths and grow understanding and engagement across cultures, and help all New Zealanders engage with tikanga and with Māori themselves.
Future workshops will also be provided separately for new New Zealanders and for Māori. This is to ensure cultural safety for participants, irrespective of who they are. The visual history text is bilingual, so it is possible to deliver in Māori as well as English.
As a result of attending this workshop for beginners, Dr Te Rito and Cathy hope that those attending will look further into Te Tiriti and our history and that ultimately this will lead to greatly improved Māori learner success.