Today's lecture really made me think about my Māori students in the mainstream setting. Are they getting a fair deal? Are they getting taught in a way that reflects their identities and lived experiences? I don't think they are.
Brooking (personal communication, July 28, 2011) suggested Māori students are not a homogenous group, and I tend to agree with her. You cannot group every Māori student under the same umbrella. They bring with them, just like all other students, a range of experiences that need to be recognised by us as teachers and reflected in the pedagogies we use. However, more often than not, the teaching and learning strategies we use fail to connect with Māori students.
The ideas presented by Otrel-Cass, Cowie, and Glynn (2009) are bother pertinent and relevant. They suggest Māori students’ underachievement in mainstream educational settings can be partly understood as an outcome of no-responsive pedagogies. To me, this seems like it is the result of Māori students being grouped under the same umbrella and taught in the same way. Through wider reading I have come to understand that non-responsive pedagogies are characterised by their inability to meet the academic and cultural needs of all students (Bishop & Glynn, 1999); their undervaluing of minority students’ cultural identities and lived experiences (Bishop & Glynn, 1999; Otrel-Cass et al, 2009); and, their contrast to cultural practices at home (Richards, Brown & Forde, 2006). I believe, because such pedagogies displace Māori life experiences in favour of experiences we as teachers deem important - generally from within out own cultural frame of reference - Māori students are not given a fair deal. In fact, according to Otrel-Cass et al. (2009) Māori students feeling uncared for, undervalued, and like their identities and lived experiences are not important.
Check out my teaching tips that will help me connect with my Māori students.
- I will place an emphasis on Ako, or reciprocal learning (Bishop and Glynn, 1999). I am beginning to see myself as both a teacher and a learner and I feel that all students could benefit from sharing their own unique knowledge.
- I will start to integrate more culturally responsive pedagogies into my practice. Using tuakana teina will enable me to draw on the strengths of my learners as they help those in need. This will make all my students feel like their knowledge and experiences are valued Royal-Tangaere (1997).
