Pita Sharples Speech: Sustainable Learning Conf.
te-pati-maori
Mon Mar 19 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Pita Sharples Speech: Sustainable Learning Conf.
Monday, 19 March 2007, 8:07 am
Speech: The Maori Party
Waitakere Education Hui: "Sustainable Learning Conference"
Delivered Saturday 17 March 2007; 10am
Dr Pita Sharples, Co-leader, Maori Party
In 1962 a television show was launched about a futuristic family, who lived on planet Earth but liked to go on vacation to Venus.
You may remember the theme song, “Meet George Jetson, His Boy Elroy, Daughter Judy; Jane, His wife”.
They lived a fairly simply life. George would take Astro the dog for a walk on the travellator; Jane would dial up a great dinner or distribute the daily allocation of dietary pills; Elroy was studying space science at Little Dipper School; and teenager Judy, would reveal her every secret to her digital diary and was ruled by the schedule of her Micro Processor Personal Organizer.
The programme was a mixture of science fiction and fantasy – transporting the Jetsons in compact automobiles; hooking up to the video phone; ruled by electronic gadgets at the push of a button.
And here we are today, 45 years later, and if you substituted any family for the Jetsons, I don’t think you would find much difference. Although the Parliament security would probably frown upon me walking the dog on the travellator up to the Beehive. The point is – what seemed like fantasy, what seemed so far-fetched, is now just part of everyday life for many New Zealand families.
So the challenge we have today of creating an education vision for what we want to achieve in twenty years time should be easily within our reach.
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The only problem might be, the sense of timing. You may recall that old protest chant : “What do we want?” “and when do we want it?’ “NOW”.
In today’s setting, the immediacy of our communication; and the desperation created by pressures such as the all pervasive impact of poverty; have created an inevitable impatience and hunger for change to be achieved, today.
But what I want to talk of today, is the value of creating the dream.
The Reverend Martin Luther King had a dream that one day his people would be free. With that dream King began the extra-ordinary journey of the civil rights movement in the United States.
Mahatma Gandhi was another with a dream for his people to be rid of the yolk of a colonial power.
And it is entirely fitting here to acknowledge Emeritus Professor Whatarangi Winiata, who has recently stood down as Tumuaki of Te Wananga o Raukawa.
Knowing the Professor – also our esteemed President of the Maori Party – as well as I do – I would know that he would reject any tribute to his individual leadership. He would talk about Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toarangatira, known as the ART Confederation.
He would also refer to the history of their joint strategic ventures – such as the establishment of their church, Rangiātea in 1850.
He would no doubt also reflect upon the 25-year tribal development ‘experiment’, known as Whakatupuranga Rua Mano - Generation 2000 - which the Raukawa Marae Trustees began in 1975. Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa was born out of this revival to achieve their educational aspirations through the advancement of knowledge through teaching and research.
But I want to place on record the innovation; the courage and the insight of Professor Winiata who dreamed a dream that became the dream of the people.
The strength of his leadership is in his humility, his dignity, his inspiration of living a life based on kaupapa. He lives by a set of principles and values which have nurtured the people to be strong in the reo and their tikanga, and confident in their identity.
There are so many dreams and visions that we can choose from in creating our destiny. Dreams – which whether they be the Jetsons or Generation 2000 – are about valuing the richness of the whakapapa – the tribal links, the inter-generational transmission of knowledge – that can be harnessed to realise the dream.
For Ngai Tahu, their vision has been very clearly established “for us and our children after us. Mö tätou, a, mö, kä uri ä muri ake nei”. 'Ngai Tahu 25' is a 25 year road map that defines their nine key areas of priority for their future:
Te Whakaariki – influencing external decision makers
To Tatou Ngai Tahutanga – a vibrant Ngai Tahu culture
Ko Nga Whakapapatanga – tribal communications
Te Whakatipu – support for their papatipu runanga initiatives
Te Ao Turoa – preserving natural environment
Whanau – supporting whanau needs and aspirations
Matauranga – education for Ngai Tahu whanau
Te Putea – investment planning
Te Kaitiakitanga me te tahuhu – effective governance.
And what about here in Waitakere? What will make the difference for New Lynn? For Waitakere City? For the people from Hoani Waititi, Te Piringatahi o Te Maungarongo; Kakariki marae?
What will be the destiny for the people of Te Atatu? Where will the future prosperity lies for Te Roopu Rangatahi o Watakere? What are the dreams of Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust?
It is not as if we have not given life to our own dreams and aspirations. When I think about what we were doing twenty years ago, we were fully immersed in designing an alternative education programme for youth and adults; for men, women and children, based around Maori weaponry; health and fitness; te reo Maori; Maori history and customs.
That programme was called Te Whare Tu Taua o Aotearoa, (National School of Maori Weaponry) and now has two thousand students with branches in London, Hawai’i, Australia; from Colac Bay at the bottom of the South Island to Kaitaia in the North.
Just over twenty years ago, in 1985, we also founded the first kura kaupapa Maori in the world, at Hoani Waititi marae as a total immersion Maori language primary school programme for kohanga reo graduates. Following the kura kaupapa Maori we established a whare kura, the first kaupapa Maori high school for kura graduates to attend their subjects in total immersion Maori language.
We developed this further into Te Toi Huarewa o Hoani Waititi marae; which was first registered in 1993. The concept is that the marae hosts a kohanga reo, kura kaupapa, whare kura and a private training establishment; based on the premise that Maori may flourish as Maori.
This is a tertiary programme with open entry for adult students and youth to participate in marae culture, te reo Maori and the whole range of tikanga programmes.
The whole programme is in essence a birth-to-death education programme beginning in early childhood through to adulthood; open-ended and based firmly in tikanga Maori and the premise that Maori may flourish as Maori.
So dreams can blossom; innovation and development can occur right here in Waitakere.
But what will make it ‘sustainable’ learning? I have three ideas which I want to plant today, which I hope will inspire further discussion throughout your hui.
The first is all about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. And what better time to be doing that than right now, with the profound admission this week by the Ministry of Education, that they had erred in removing the Treaty from the draft school curriculum. Hooray. You could probably have heard the Maori Party shouting for joy up here!
I have seen a paper that Wayne Knox put together about research here amongst the Waitakere City Maori community; in which he refers to three types of Treaty partnerships.
Treaty based partnership – between hapu and the Crown
Treaty influenced partnership – not legislated for (like the first one), but recognised in schools and across the community as a key to effective relationships and shared outcomes;
Treaty referenced partnership – Treaty references are included but often lack any significant implications for the relationship between parties.
My interest and dream is in building meaningful relationships which lead to a partnership framework, guided by tikanga, where tangata whenua are able to actively participate and contribute to the growth of Waitakere – and expand their own initiative and influence, as they so determine.
Why do I believe such a dream is important?
To honour the vision of those who signed the Treaty;
To promote the Treaty’s commitment to partnership;
To support Maori rights to control and authority over their treasures;
To ensure that Waitangi Day is meaningful for all citizens of Aotearoa;
To raise awareness and understanding of the Treaty;
To be an advocate for the Treaty; and
To promote the proper application of the Treaty in legislation; across policy and in all areas of community development.
The second area of development I want to refer to is that of Genuine Progress.
The Maori Party is really excited about a Genuine Progress Index: a comprehensive framework for the measurement of, sustainable, and inclusive advancement. The GPI distinguishes between positive contributions to progress (reduction in greenhouse gas emissions) and negative activity (industrial pollution).
One would think that no politician in their right mind would argue that higher poverty rates, dirty air, increased stress, or the loss of first language speakers is a sign of a successful nation.
Yet that is exactly what GDP does - it measures the quantity of the fishing haul without ever stopping to count the cost of the destruction of the seabed. It counts the profit of felling logs without assessing the damage to the eco-environment, measuring what is left behind.
The Maori Party knows that if you’re not counting it - it’s invisible. So, if I was looking to achieve Genuine Progress of the nation my vision would include key indicators such as :
Health of the population
Knowledge and wisdom
Time use / balance
Community vitality -the vigour of social support networks; community safety)
Ecological integrity: condition of our natural resources
Healthy living standards:
Good governance: accountability, transparency and encouraging democratic participation.
Cultural strength
Measurement of wellbeing - spiritual, social, economic, cultural
Finally, in creating a vision of what I would like learning to look like in twenty years time, my ambition would be that it would be Kaupapa Driven.
Throughout our every activity as a party, we seek to promote whakatauaki, pepeha, and korero tawhito – if you like the cultural capital of tangata whenua in illustrating Maori and universal truths.
Among the nine kaupapa or values that are built into the constitution of the Maori Party is whanaungatanga or familiness. You can expect that the Maori Party will want to express this value in everything we promote.
But in deriving our strength from kaupapa tuku iho, values that provide for the wellbeing of all, we intend to generate debate in every area and sphere of our community.
Our kaupapa enact a vision of a nation of cultural diversity and richness where its unity is underpinned by the expression of tangata whenua-tanga by Mäori, Te käkano i ruia mai i Rangiätea
We, the Maori Party, want to promote the possibility of a world without violence – where the principles of aroha, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, atawhai te tangata stand for something. We want to stand proud and say all mokopuna are taonga.
If we are to really understand our situation and reshape our future, we need to take back our own power, to determine our own destiny.
Another leader from another land, Brazilian educationalist Paulo Freire, is one who has shared much insight about the ever-moving state of education as a path to emancipation. He says:
Education is about liberation where an environment is created to enable people to express their creativity, to become critical and to be active and responsible members of society.
If we strive to live long and heartily; to be culturally rich; and to nurture the potential for leadership that exists within us all, we must look to stimulate passion in the dreams we share with each other.
ends
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