My Vision for 2013

Kia ora tātou.

Ngā mihi o te tau hou - Happy New Year!  Firstly, what a wonderful festive season we have enjoyed here in Gisborne, in the Tairāwhiti! Time spent with family and friends has been complimented by the great weather.

Anyhow, I recently read the first and second collection of visions for 2013 from ten community leaders recently published in the Gisborne Herald.  These got me thinking about how my own vision for 2013 would look like. So, here I am sharing my vision for 2013, please go easy on me!

It begins with Alvin Toffler, the futurist, and a quote which is attributed to him but which I must admit I've had trouble actually confirming the original reference.

My thanks to Nikhil Goyal for introducing me to Alvin's work, and my congratulations to him on recently graduating from High School in America while also making the Forbes 30 Under 30: Education list.



For me as an educator, 2013 is a year which offers an opportunity to pursue with passion the ideal that Education is about Social Justice. My focus begins with embracing Student Voice in ways that we've never really seen before. I will commit my energies, knowledge and skills to explore and engage with Student Voice here at Lytton and across the region. There is much we can learn, unlearn and relearn about Teaching and Learning through Student Voice in the 21st Century in the pursuit of Social Justice.

In my job I meet everyday so many talented young people but I've never serioucly taken into consideration their ability to contribute to the big picture, i.e. towards building a better society of educated and ethical citizens where equity and excellence are synonymous.

Last week we held our Teacher Only Days at Parihimānihi marae, Waihīrere, Gisborne. I lead these two days and had decided to surprise staff by inviting students to participate in both days. On Day 1 we had our prefects facilitate the many Team Challenges for the teachers for the day. They had met with me earlier to co-ordinate the challenges and plan the day - they were outstanding to work with. The next day we had two young men speak to the staff about their learning experiences at Lytton to date. This session was amazing - teachers were so moved and inspired that they performed our school haka to the young men. (PS teachers had only just been learning this new haka over the two days).

To be deliberate and considered around Student Voice are my intentions for 2013 where I have a vision of richly endowed students who are able to quickly and easily learn, unlearn and relearn for the 21st Century and the landscape beyond. Enough said at this time.

I hope you've had a safe weekend with friends and family.

Video of the Week: Creativity is the Future of Education perhaps also consider another session with Sir Ken Robinson Creativity, Learning & the Curriculum


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