I haven’t added to this blog for a long time but last Saturday morning (April 2 2022) I was stirred by something
Tipene O’Regan (now in his 80’s) said to Kim Hill on National Radio. Just as a reminder, Māori leader
Tā Tipene O’Regan (Ngāi Tahu) was named 2022 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year at a digital ceremony last
week. Tā Tipene is one of the country’s most respected and admired kaumātua who has dedicated his life to
building a bicultural nation. He led the negotiation of one of our nation’s first major iwi settlements.
(the Ngāi Tahu claim) https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday
Sir Tipene and Kim Hill discussed the teaching of the new Aotearoa History curriculum and the tide of enthusiasm behind this. Sir Tipene warned of the risk of just going from one unsatisfactory ‘narrative’ to another and suggested that our history is much more nuanced than any one perspective. This point is indeed valid and given we have at least one generation of teachers who had little NZ history themselves at school, a lot of work is necessary via teacher professional development.
However, as Sir Tipene suggested, knowing your history is one thing but making it an impartial and rich experience for all is another!
History for many can be a dry factual account of events seen through the lens of the beneficiaries or victims of that history. Either lens is unhelpful. History must be taught with neutrality ‘picking open’ what is known with a raft of explicitly taught skills (e.g. critical thinking) and attitudes (e.g. suspended judgement). An ethical framework with equity and justice at its heart must always surround the content under study. This not only allows for creating perspective for the particular historical context under study but imbues the learner with life long skills to unravel all manner of learning in their lives. Hopefully this learning will create decision makers who will chart a future course for Aotearoa which is free from many of the negative biais of the past.
Just as a last comment, ideally our Aotrearoa history curriculum will be taught as part of an integrated curriculum and not just seen as another ‘add on’. The potential for this is huge and so exciting to bring our history alive in classrooms around our shores. Art, drama*, music, dance, language, social sciences, science–it’s all there. The power of this approach is immense.
Warren Owen
*I particularly think of Dorothy Heathcote who promoted drama as a medium for learning.
https://www.amazon.com/Dorothy-Heathcote-Drama-Learning-Medium/dp/1893056007
https://dramaresource.com/dorothy-heathcote-pioneer-of-educational-drama/
