“If bully/racism ended school and personal life would be much easier and calmer.” Secondary student
“These [priority] areas would allow us to have equal chance to succeed.” Samoan student
Are these important to you?
- Hastings Boys is a good example of proactively supporting boys.
- All comments said or inferred that the five areas are important
- Families need to be involved and engaged across all five areas
- Is it realistic to ‘end racism’ – suggestion that it is made more realistic but still a focus area
Is there something missing? What would you change about the areas?
- Most commonly mentioned: Professional development for Non-Pacific teachers & better preparation in Teacher’s College
- Second most common: Stronger focus on career pathways and records of your learning
- Third most common: creating time/space in education to build relationships with families
- To be more involved/heard e.g. have a Pacific Party in Parliament that speaks for us and proactive engagement with young people on a regular basis
- Support for teachers – smaller classes, time and resources to engage with families
- Literacy and numeracy in Pacific languages
- Separate ‘end racism’ and ‘value our…’ into two different priorities
Questions
- Is there effective collaboration between key government agencies? (Mentioned a few times)
- Is there MOE culturally competency training?
- Are Pacific teachers being supported into leadership roles?
- If there was a change in the Education System's would there be a separate curriculum for Pacific?
- Can the funding be move to the regional so more support to area and families?
- How do we include Tapasā?
- How do we have a plan that actually reflects our unique community?
Most common indicators of success (in order)
- Pacific learners and their families feel accepted and included
- Pacific learners and their families are free from racism and discrimination in education
- Pacific LGBTQIA+ learners have teachers and leaders who are role models
- Non Pacific educators can teach Pacific learners in a way that values their culture
- Pacific families feel confident supporting their children in education
- Education leaders do things to show they value Pacific cultures
Flaxmere Fono Summary [PDF]