Simon Cossey Professional Blog

Image by  anncapictures  from  Pixabay   Tamsin Hanly talked us through her Curriculum Programme Resource (CPR) for teaching NZ histories.  I appreciated Tamsin sharing her story. As a 15-year-old she was really affected by the Bastion Point protests and delved into the stories leading up to this protest. She was shocked that there was so much about NZ history that she was never taught and never aware of. That set her off on a journey to learn more about NZ history and become a teacher, academic and writer to share what she learned with others.   I relate, because as a high-schooler I listened to all the news reports about the Foreshore and Seabed issues and I completed a school project on it. I also was shocked at the injustice, the mis-information and the missing information. It was probably at that point that I started to question the "NZ Standard Story". From my perception this is a cultural narrative that says (in a nutshell) that Māori are to blame for their own problem

  Image by  kewl  from  Pixabay   More stories... (yay)...  This time about...  Nga Tupuna - Ancestors  - Tāwhaki was hurt and buried by jealous relatives but came up again and with the help of his wife was healed/restored. Ponaturi (sea faries) capture his parents, kill his father and enslave his mother. Tāwhaki and his brother, Karihi, search for their parents, find their grandmother, trick the Ponaturi and rescue their mother.  Some stories say that Tāwhaki's great bravery and beauty attract Tangotango, a magical woman from the heavens, and she makes nightly visits to him and becomes his wife.  When their daughter is born, Tangotango asks Tāwhaki to wash the baby, even though it is normally the role of mother to wash a daughter. Tāwhaki says the baby smells which is an insult and Tangotango goes back up to the heavens with their daughter.  Tāwhiki then goes through difficulties to ascend to the heavens. He pretends to be a slave working for his wife's brothers by carrying th