Niho Taniwha - Melanie Riwai-Couch
Niho Taniwha is a book written for teachers, looking at Māori learning and how teachers can support (particularly) Māori students to greater success academically. The author brings a lot of her own understanding (she is Māori herself, and has had her children go through the schooling system), as well as quoting a number of studies to support her claims - including numerous studies that she herself has taken part in (she has a teaching background and a doctorate). It is a very interesting book and is also one that my Head of Department at Nayland has used quite a bit, so elements of it are quite familiar to me.
There are aspects of the book that might be controversial to some people, because of particular buzz-words or phrases which can, admittedly at times, be used to attack certain cultures or understandings. In particular, phrases like 'white privilege' or 'historical trauma' may cause some readers to roll their eyes or feel frustrated with the way society is heading, but when we look at what is actually being said by studies - such as those presented in this book - it can alleviate some of those concerns. And really, phrases such as "Rather than understanding other cultures, the starting point for change...is understanding our own biases, and mitigating their impact on our decision-making and interactions with others" (page 186, quoting an earlier study) shouldn't be controversial! We all have biases!
Really, the gist of Niho Taniwha boils down to 'If we acknowledge the different cultural understandings that exist in our classroom, as well as the ways in which a Euro-centric schooling might have made life difficult for those not from a European background, we will be able to teach all cultures more successfully and authentically.' Nothing controversial there! The slightly more controversial statements come from quotes such as: "Colonisation is directly associated with historical trauma, through families and communities. The New Zealand rhetoric of "we are all one" continues the trauma as the grief cannot be acknowledged (Crawford, 2018)." (page 119) Even here, though, those of us with European backgrounds would do well to take stock of what is being said and the heart of the matter. If we reject any of these findings outright we will be losing a valuable chance to examine our own beliefs and biases.
As a Christian, I am pleased that Māori worldviews include an acknowledgement of the spiritual world, and although I have some difference in opinion as to what aspects of that world may look like, it is nice to be reminded that there is more to life than just the physical.
There is one chapter of this book that I find quite neat, and that is the final chapter. This is because it focuses on the successes of Katherine Ferguson, an English teacher who thought outside the box in order to keep a Māori student engaged in class when they were participating in Mahuru Māori (a challenge to speak only te reo for the month of September). Not only is this chapter challenging and inspiring from an English teacher perspective, but it is also neat because Katherine is a good friend of mine, and one who started teaching at Nayland the same year that I did! Turning the page and seeing a photo of a good friend in a book of this stature is slightly surreal. Well done, Katherine!
This book has a lot to digest and wrestle through. It doesn't provide a lot of specific examples about the way forward, but that is not the point. The point is that teachers who challenge their own understandings will learn to adjust their practice as they do so.
Worth checking out, particularly but not exclusively if you are a New Zealand-based teacher.
Completed 7 June 2024.
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