Yesterday was a long touring day. We got up early and got on a bus to drive to the Northern most point in New Zealand. Along the way we stopped to see the memorial for the Rainbow Warrior. The Rainbow Warrior was a Greenpeace ship that sailed around the Pacific disrupting nuclear tests. In 1985 it was docked in the Auckland harbor while protesting French nuclear tesing in the Pacific and French agents blew it up. It was a galvanizing event for New Zealanders who after 1985 signed a commitment to be a nuclear free country. On our first day in New Zealand one of our speakers characterized New Zealand as this "little country at the bottom of the world that isn't afraid to do things differently." Their willingness to be nuclear free during the cold war (at the expense of the ANZUS alliance) certainly typifies her statement.
Rainbow Warrior memorial
After a stop for morning tea and a stop for lunch, we made it to Cape Reinga which is at the very tippy top of the North Island. Interestingly, you can see the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean. It looks very choppy where that happens. It was real windy up there...
Juan Carlos bracing Lynn as she takes a photo.
On our way back from Cape Reinga we drove along the 90 Mile Beach. 90 Mile Beach is considered a "recreational highway" when the tide is low. When the tide is high, it's the ocean. It was pretty freaky to be driving on the beach as the waves crashed a couple feet away from us.
View from the bus on 90 Mile Beach.
At one point we stopped and went sand boarding. Basically, you climb to the top of a big sand dune and then rocket down on a boggie board, trying hard to keep your mouth shut so that you don't eat a lot of sand. I had a great time and after my second go I decided I would try to do a few tricks. Here is what happened when I tried to do a 360 near the bottom of the dune.
Today was our first day of school visits. I went to Northland College (a high school) which is a Decile 1 school that is 90% Maori. In NZ, schools are assigned a decile number based on the socio-economic status of their students. Low decile schools are poorer and receive more national funding. The school I visited (and will visit again tomorrow) has been reviewed a number of times by the ministry of education and has a new principal who is trying to turn things around. The school has almost 4,000 acres of land, most of which are a working farm. Currently they employ farmers to run the farm but starting next year, they will revise the curriculum so that students will be responsible for all the aspects of running the farm.
I expected to be assigned a partner teacher who teaches literature or writing; however, because I mentioned on my application (way back in October) that I was interested in experimental and outdoor education, I've been partnered with the woman who teaches farming. Unfortunately, they told her that I was proficient at adventure and outdoor education and she wants me to teach a lesson tomorrow. Don't really know what I can teach the kids in farm class.
Umi speaks with Millie (my partner teacher) in front of the new calves. They look cute until you get up close and see them walking around with poo hanging off their bums.
We didn't get to interact with many kids today, hopefully we will see some classes tomorrow. The ones I did talk to were researching American rap artists on the internet. These girls were particularly fond of Bow Wow. They are disturbingly into the worst of American hip-hop culture (note the gang signs)--lots of bling bling and misogyny. I suppose that, unlike Uni students who claim to be "ghetto," these kids are living pretty hard lives. One of the teachers I was speaking with this morning was telling me that Maori kids really identify with what they see of African-Americans in the media. Bizarrely, she called African-Americans the indigenous people of America. I explained to her that we do actually have indigenous people in our country who have quite a lot in common with the Maori, but that African-Americans were brough to America against their will.
Rainbow Warrior memorial
After a stop for morning tea and a stop for lunch, we made it to Cape Reinga which is at the very tippy top of the North Island. Interestingly, you can see the Tasman Sea meet the Pacific Ocean. It looks very choppy where that happens. It was real windy up there...
Juan Carlos bracing Lynn as she takes a photo.
On our way back from Cape Reinga we drove along the 90 Mile Beach. 90 Mile Beach is considered a "recreational highway" when the tide is low. When the tide is high, it's the ocean. It was pretty freaky to be driving on the beach as the waves crashed a couple feet away from us.
View from the bus on 90 Mile Beach.
At one point we stopped and went sand boarding. Basically, you climb to the top of a big sand dune and then rocket down on a boggie board, trying hard to keep your mouth shut so that you don't eat a lot of sand. I had a great time and after my second go I decided I would try to do a few tricks. Here is what happened when I tried to do a 360 near the bottom of the dune.
Today was our first day of school visits. I went to Northland College (a high school) which is a Decile 1 school that is 90% Maori. In NZ, schools are assigned a decile number based on the socio-economic status of their students. Low decile schools are poorer and receive more national funding. The school I visited (and will visit again tomorrow) has been reviewed a number of times by the ministry of education and has a new principal who is trying to turn things around. The school has almost 4,000 acres of land, most of which are a working farm. Currently they employ farmers to run the farm but starting next year, they will revise the curriculum so that students will be responsible for all the aspects of running the farm.
I expected to be assigned a partner teacher who teaches literature or writing; however, because I mentioned on my application (way back in October) that I was interested in experimental and outdoor education, I've been partnered with the woman who teaches farming. Unfortunately, they told her that I was proficient at adventure and outdoor education and she wants me to teach a lesson tomorrow. Don't really know what I can teach the kids in farm class.
Umi speaks with Millie (my partner teacher) in front of the new calves. They look cute until you get up close and see them walking around with poo hanging off their bums.
We didn't get to interact with many kids today, hopefully we will see some classes tomorrow. The ones I did talk to were researching American rap artists on the internet. These girls were particularly fond of Bow Wow. They are disturbingly into the worst of American hip-hop culture (note the gang signs)--lots of bling bling and misogyny. I suppose that, unlike Uni students who claim to be "ghetto," these kids are living pretty hard lives. One of the teachers I was speaking with this morning was telling me that Maori kids really identify with what they see of African-Americans in the media. Bizarrely, she called African-Americans the indigenous people of America. I explained to her that we do actually have indigenous people in our country who have quite a lot in common with the Maori, but that African-Americans were brough to America against their will.
1 Comments:
Cannot belive an Illinois girl cannot come up with something to teach an ag class. How about detasseling? You know, despite having lived in this state for 27 of my 30 years, I would be at a loss in this situation as well. I could point out some farm machinery and say, "That's large, complicated, expensive, and potentially lethal farm equipment. Don't mess with it." Or I could say, "You know, kids, on the other side of the world, we assume that the only food you grow is kiwi fruit. Let's have a brainstorming session about some other avenues that are less difficult to eat."
Also, on a more serious note, have you found out anything about what people there think about "Whale Rider"? I would imagine that's the only look into Maori issues that much of the rest of the world has, and I wonder how representative people think it is.
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