Launch of New Bachelor of Teaching (ECE): Te Tari Puna Ora

SPEECH
Rahui Katene Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tonga
Wednesday 16 February 2011, 10.30am

Launch of new Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) ; Te Tari Puna Ora

[delivered by Kataraina Fitzell on her behalf]

I am so disappointed to not be here, with you, at this wonderful celebration of teaching and learning; of children, and of knowledge itself.

I happened to come across an advertisement for a lecturer to pioneer this programme, and be based in Wellington.

The first sentence grabbed my attention: ‘do you have a passion for teaching adults to become dynamic and knowledgable early childhood teachers?”.

In so many respects it epitomises what we can expect of this innovative new, three year Bachelor of Teaching degree programme.

The course outline suggests this programme will lead to a level seven centre-based qualification that will equip trainees with knowledge, skills and dispositions to work effectively with infants, toddlers and young children in Aotearoa.

But what I found particularly interesting between the course outline and the advertisement was the omission of one word – passion.

In that one word we think of the energy, the vitality and utter enthusiasm that each of us may associate with a special person in our lives. Passion is one of the strongest of emotions – it compels us to fall in love; to fight for a cause we believe in; to put everything we have into a new activity. And so it is, that with this new Bachelor course of study, trainees will become immersed in a full-time centre-based programme, falling in love with learning, and every week, for a glorious 12 hours of supervised practice in an early childhood centre, applying all their learning in a practical sense. But when we talk passion, we are also intimately connected with the children who are after all the focus of this Degree. On my bedroom wall here in Christchurch, I have a hand-painted picture drawn for Nana from one of my beautiful mokopuna.

It is literally the first sight I feast on in the morning, and the last view I see before I close my eyes on the day. It absolutely grounds me in the world of my whanau – and in particular my love for my mokopuna. Every time I look at that passionate, exuberant picture I remember the face of our future and it inspires me to get out of bed, and make the most of every moment to carve out a better future for them. This too, is what I wish for all the students and lecturers of this new Bachelor of Teaching.

That whether it be in the teaching practicum you take up at each stage of the programme or the noho marae that are part of this course, that you remember to focus on the fundamental importance of the role of the early childhood teacher – and the central role of whanau and families – in establishing an expectation for each child, that they deserve the very best education.

I am really impressed by the commitment that Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/New Zealand Childcare Association has made towards creating a uniquely bicultural degree programme.

The degree is comprised of twelve 30 credit papers that integrate curriculum knowledge; pedagogical knowledge; te reo me ona tikanga Māori.

As you no doubt know, one in four children born this year will be Maori. It is so important – not just for their future but our wider future as a nation, that the worldviews of tangata whenua permeate throughout your study, and indeed your lives.

I was really interested to see the different models that you rely on in terms of the tikanga that influence your practice. I understand they include

Ø The Nga Pou Mana health model introduced in 1988 by the Royal Commission on Social Policy.

Ø The Whare Tapa Wha model developed by Sir Mason Durie in 1982

Ø And Te Wheke’ (the octopus) - a model presented by Dr Rangimarie Turuki Rose Pere in 1984.

If I could add a fourth pou, to these three, it would be to advocate for this programme to also draw on the Whanau Ora approach. Whanau Ora is about doing things differently, taking a fresh approach which is centred, unashamedly, passionately, on the whanau as the driving force.

Of course this is a philosophy that is very familiar in the early childhood education sector; reflecting that universal truth that parents and whanau are indeed the first teacher.

I want to finally congratulate Te Tari Puna Ora o Aotearoa/New Zealand Childcare Association for the professional reputation, the quality programme and the commitment to education that characterizes your organization.

It is testimony to your Association that this programme is both NZQA accredited and Teachers Council approved. I note also your decision to include the Graduating Teacher Standards as a central platform in your programme.

I wish you all a brilliant launch today and most of all I encourage you to embrace this programme with all the passion our children- and our future – deserve.

ENDS