I am doing Masters. As it is about education, I am sharing  it with my one student.

Firstly, thinking about how we think of ourselves within education. 

Secondly, thinking about our place as pakeha in a Maori country, how to be tangata tiriti. We listened to the RNZ history podcast together. I bought a beautiful book. We visited the tiriti documents in Wellington on the anniversary of the day it was signed in Wellington. Then, Te Papa to see the new exhibit, H saw the graffitied exhibit. We are already recognising some names of Māori players, heroes of the land wars… in part also due to changing our music listening for a bit. Current fav David Grace and Rua Kenana.

And most recently we have been talking together about interpellation. This is the process by which one becomes normalised to society (I suspect there are some people who believe that this process skipped me, or maybe that I am just contrary). H totally understood this. I asked about what she had seen at her brief sojourn at school. This is what I found out: a 5 year old had come over from the junior class in tears, having been sent to talk to her teacher (the principal) as he had hit someone. Her teacher made the child stand facing the wall, crying for five minutes. She knew it was five minutes because the second time this happened, her teacher told the children you should for as many minutes as years the child is old. This totally disturbs me on so many levels. I asked H what she thought… she said, “I tried not to think about it.” She also said she couldn’t have done anything because otherwise she would get in trouble. It was just what happened. My poor child, who is so worried about doing the right thing and following the rules, only feels powerful with me. I must listen.

Something needs to change about schools. This is what I have always thought. This is why I think I need more letters after my name. I am shouting into the wind.

I am reading academic texts, ideas, and talking about them. Just like I do with art..

(I just did one of the exercises with H and Dad – making general statements about children, and they both made the statement that children are younger than adults… totally can only see children as individual people)