My teaching philosophy has evolved over 20 years of experience to focus on empowering tamariki to confidently live in te ao Māori and te ao whānui. My vision for Ritimana Kōhanga Reo is to create a centre of innovation where mokopuna develop strong identity, problem-solving skills, and a spiritual connection through an immersive Māori language curriculum. Drawing on Kaupapa Māori theory, my philosophy emphasizes the interrelation of reo Māori, identity development, and whanaungatanga to transformatively educate tamariki and strengthen their communities.

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Kelston
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KAUPAPA AKO TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Introduction
My teachingphilosophyhaschangedandevolvedovertime throughcritical reflection,student
evaluationsandasI have attainednewknowledgeandunderstandingsaboutthe contextinwhichI
am teachingthroughexperience,studyandprofessionaldevelopment.Itistimelytocriticallyreflect
uponmy teachingphilosophyasIreturnto KohangaReo,the educational contextwhere Istarted
my teachingcareer20 yearsago to take up mynew positionasKaiwhakahaere/ManageratRitimana
KohangaReo.
In orderto do thisI have consideredavisionforRitimanaKōhangaReoasa possible pathway tothe
future andto serve as a guide forreviewingmyteachingphilosophywhichhasbeen constantly
groundedinKaupapaMōori theoryandMātauranga Maori.
Vision
My visionforRitimanaKōhangaReoistocreate a centre of innovationthatenablesourmokopuna
to confidentlyandcompetentlylive inte aoMāori, te ao Pākehaand te ao whānui inthe 21st
century
witha strong sense of pride andself-esteem.
Māori identityisatthe heart of thisvisionof whichMāori language andculture are integral
components.Ourcurriculumwill be developedincollaborationwithtamariki,kaiakoandthe
whānauand will be taughtinte reo Māori anake to ensure ourmokopunaare fluentinte reoMāori
before theytransitiontokura.
Throughthe curriculumourmokopunawill developstrongproblemsolvingskillsthatwill enable
themto criticallyexplore andinquireabouttheirworldthroughasocial justice lens.
Kaitiakitangawillbe anintegral componentof the curriculumandwill be reflectedinall areasof the
environmentsothatour mokopunadevelopaspiritual connectiontoRanginui,Papatuānukuand
theirmale andfemale offspring.
Our tamariki will developahealthyattitude towardsinformationandcommunicationtechnology
whichwill be integratedintothe curriculuminawell-balancedmanner.
RitimanaKōhangaReowill provide asolidfoundationforlifelonglearningthatwill equipour
mokopunatobe transformational leadersof theirwhānau,hapūandiwi inthe 21st
century.
Tōku Kaupapa Ako
Heru hāpai isthe catch cry for Ngāti Whātuawhānui of whomI am descended,tostandwithpride in
our tribal identity.Ihave chosenthe heruasa visual representationof myteachingphilosophy.
The firstprong representste reoMāori me ōnatikanga.
The secondprong representsTe Tuakiri ote Tangata.
The third prongrepresentswhakawhānaungatanga.
As a functional cultural artefact,whenwornappropriatelythe heru inwardlyand outwardly
transformsitspossessor.
The heru isan apt metaphorformy teachingphilosophywhichislinkedtoall three elements.

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KAUPAPA AKO TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
KaupapaMāori theorywhichcritiquesandchallengesdominantwesternideologiescreatedspace
for the successive establishmentof KōhangaReo,KuraKaupapaMāori,Wharekuraand Wānanga.
Therefore KaupapaMāori theoryisa culturallyrelevantframeworkforestablishingateaching
philosophywithinthe contextof KōhangaReo.
Definitionsof KaupapaMāori theoryhave beendefinedandredefinedinvariouscontextsthrough
time. One definitionthatisparticularlyuseful inthe contextof myteachingphilosophyisthe belief
that KaupapaMāori is an educational interventionsystemtoaddressthe Māori educational crisis
and to “ensure the survival of KaupapaMāori knowledge andthe Māori language”(Nepe,1991).
From thisperspectiveKaupapaMāori isinherentlytransformative asitcan empowerMāori towards
realisingtheirfullpotential.The principle of transformationresonateswithmyteachingphilosophy
as I have an ethicof care and compassionformarginalisedandunderprivilegedpeopleswhich
includesthe tangatawhenuaof Aotearoa.Asa teacherIaim to addressinequalitiesbypositively
transformingpeople’slivesthrough education.
PhilosophicallyIagree withresearchbasedclaimsthatfeelingpositive aboutbeingMāori ishighly
transformative.Te ReoMāori me ōna tikangaare integral tothistransformative processasshownin
the followingaxiom:
Ko Te Reo te mauri o te mana Māori. Māori language isthe essence of Māori pride.
As a teachermypassionforTe Reo Māori me ōna tikangahas motivatedandinspiredme to
constantlystrive toimprove the qualityof myreoanddeepenmyunderstandingof tikangaMāori.
Howeverthere isnovalue inmycommitmentwithoutawillingnesstoshare thistāongawithothers
to ensure itssurvival forfuture generations.Inmy opinionthe transmissionof Te ReoMāori to the
youngestmembersof ourcommunityisawealthyinvestmentasour mokopunaare tomorrow’s
leaders.
Recentresearchrelatedtosecondlanguage acquisitionpointsoutthatbilingual childrenhave a
cognitive advantage overmonolingual speakers.Italsopointsoutthat inorderfor childrento
become highlyproficientbilingualspeakerstheymustalsobe immersedinahighqualitysecond
language learningenvironment.Communicationwith the mokopunainKōhangaReoisthe strength
of myteachingpractice.
KaupapaMāori theoryhas alsocreatedspace for recognitionof the wairuadimensionof learning
that has beenlargelyignoredinwesterneducational settings.Aspreviouslystated,transformationin
educationisalsoassociatedwithpositive identityformationexpressedas Te Tuakiri ote Tangata in
Te ReoMāori. Te Tuakiri ote Tangata comprisesnine dimensions:whatumanawa,hinengaro,iho
matua,pūmanawa,auaha, tīnana, mauri,ngākauand wairua(Nepe,1991; Ka’ai,2004).
Takingaccount of these nine dimensions,lookingbeyond(tua) the skin(kiri) impliesthatthe role of
the teacheris to spirituallyandemotionallyconnectwithourtamariki/mokopunaata deeperlevel.
As an educatorI dothisby establishinganembodiedrelationshipwitheverychildwhichinpractical
termsmeansI treat andrespecteverytamaiti asif he/she ismymokopuna.Inso doingIcan
establishawarm,responsive,reciprocal relationshipbuiltontrustthat allowsthe child’sidentityto
flourishandgrowinte ao Māori. The philosophical viewsIhave expressedhereare encapsulatedin
the proverbial wordsof ourforebearsspokenaboutourmostprecioustāonga,our
tamariki/mokopuna:

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KAUPAPA AKO TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
E moko,waiwai ana ōku karu i te tirohangaatu ki tō ataahua. Grandchildmyeyeswaterat the sight
of yourastoundingbeauty.
AnydiscussionaboutTe Tuakiri ote Tangata is incompletewithoutmakingreference towhakapapa.
Fundamentallywhakapapaisaboutgenealogical whānauconnectionsthroughbloodlines.However
the term kaupapawhānauhas beenusedtodescribe agroupof people whocome togetherasa
whānaufor a commonpurpose as inKōhangaReo.As an educatorI believe inthe principle of
whakawhānaungatangawhichcanbe fundamentallydescribed asmaintainingthe whanauinthe
interestof the collective.Inmyopinioneducatingtamariki isapartnershipthatreliesonstrong
whānautiesbetweenkaimahi, mokopunaandtheirmātua/kaitiakito achieve desiredoutcomes.
Whilstthiscan be difficultattimesitisimperativeto strengtheningwhānaungatangalestthe vision
establishedforKōhangaReoover30 yearsago byour eldersdiminishes.
In conclusion,myteachingphilosophyisbestsummed upinthe wordsof Māori Marsdenwho
assertsthat:
An educated personissomeonewhois trulyintouchwiththeirinnerwellbeing (citedinGibbs,
2006).
My interpretationof thisstatementisthatpositive self-identityisanessential elementto
educational success.
References
Gibbs,C. (2006). To be a teacher.Journey towardsauthenticity. New Zealand.PearsonEducation.
Ka’ai,T. (2004). Te mana o te reome ōnatikanga.Powerandpoliticsof the language.InT.M. Ka’ai,
J.C.Moorfield,M.P.Reilly,& S. Mosley(Eds.). Kite whaiao:An introduction to Māoriculture and
society. Auckland,NewZealand.PearsonEducationNew Zealand.
Nepe,M.N.(1991). E hao nei e tēnei reanga.Te toi huarewa tīpuna:Kaupapa Māori:An educational
intervention system. A thesissubmittedinpartial fulfilmentof the requirementsforthe degree of
Master of Arts ineducation.Universityof Auckland.