Māori and Pacifica Giftedness

Māori and Pacifica Giftedness 
Workshop facilitated by Melissa Powell, Rosehill College 

Image by Thomas Wilken from Pixabay  

I'm publishing this post that I wrote in September but didn't come back to. 

Coming into this workshop and taking the self-evaluation I realised I knew very little about Māori and Pacifica giftedness - in-particular how giftedness is seen in these cultures. 

I have this habit of projecting my understanding onto another culture and thinking it works the same way for them too!! 

(Seems to be a bit of a pattern as it happens in other areas too... that's why these workshops are so important because they wake me up and help me to see through another window) 


What I loved about this workshop was that it taught us about finding the strengths of our Maori and Pacifica learners and see these strengths through their eyes. 


Here are some quotes from the videos we watched...

...giftedness is about leadership and generosity of spirit and wisdom... - Melinda Webber  

"look for the mana in every child" - Melinda Webber  

"culture is a carrier of success, not a barrier of success" - Aiono Manu Faaea-Semeatu


Melissa recently conducted a workshop with Maori and Pacifica gifted students at Rosehill College. 

Key characteristics of giftedness identified by these Maori and Pacifica students were leadership, adaptability and creativity 


As a practical application, perhaps a question I could ask students is: 

"How would you like to learn this...?" Rather than assuming I already know. 

Also, as we seek to develop home/school partnerships, ask our whānau about areas they have expertise in. That means we have to be clued up on the right questions to ask, and switched on to listen because the answers will likely be be beyond our expertise and prior knowledge. 

Let the learning continue... 

 



 

Comments

  1. Alida8 November 2022 at 06:54

    Interesting

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michelle8 November 2022 at 10:18

    Another insightful post Simon. You always remind me to be aware of the cultural biases and perspectives we all turn up with. I like the part you mention about having the right questions.

    ReplyDelete

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