DAY 3 - TRAVEL DAY: PHOENIX IN THE SUN



MICHELLE:

Travel Day - Up at the crack of dawn to have breakfast and head to the airport.  Flew to Phoenix Arizona.  After probably the hardest landing I've ever experienced in a plane, we made our way to the car rental place on a sky train.  As we walked to the sky train we met a group of university students who were travelling in their Uni Golf Team to a tournament.  When we asked them about school, they thought the education system served them well and were happy with what's on offer in the States.  On the train we struck up a conversation with a couple who were visiting family from New York.  We asked them about the school system here and what they thought of it - they didn't think much of the system.  Why?  School's not for everyone and benefits some more than others.  By the time we settled into the hotel, we went to dinner and headed home preparing for our up and coming talanoa.  Can't wait to get started!

A different city in a very different environment compared to LA.  I look forward to digging in here and getting a closer look at the system through indigenous eyes.  Tomorrow Nardi has arranged for us to head out to the the Ak Chin reservation.  I'm curious to know what it's like on the 'Res'.  How do they function?  Who directs the system?  Is the education system part of the national system or do they have their own?  How does politics impact education on the res?  How much of a voice do natives have on the system?  What aspirations do the Ak Chin have for their people and how is this reflected in their education system?

MARY:

Early morning rise and come to the realisation that I’m a good traveler (my opinion anyway) moving through airports and motels, packing and repacking, and living with two strangers who have different personalities. I have come to realise that I am flexible.

We are off to Phoenix today

Experiencing all things American- Texas Grill, steak sandwich, their accent and apparently we have one too?

On our way through the airport in Phoenix, we met Sarah and Mike- A family who have moved to New York and are in LA visiting family. Why did you move to New York? What is the draw card for you? Moved here because of her husband. Love the city, wildlife, and mountains all in your backyard. They love that there is something always to do. The 'City that never sleeps.' When asked about the education system in the States, they felt that the learning here is in dire straits and felt NZ is doing a better job.

Spoke with a group of high school students who love learning in the States and never considered learning anywhere else- born and raised here so never thought of learning anywhere else.

  • Loads of opportunities particularly in sports for tamariki (well that's what they see and their perception).
  • 7 young men who are all heading to University after college.  It is spoken of as a natural progression and not an option.  This is their narrative.
  • Wouldn't be given these opportunities anywhere else
NARDI (aka Camp Mother)

It's a travel day so all hands on deck to ensure we get from A to B on time with minimal stress. I am so grateful my two colleagues are early risers and organised. As long as I share the days itinerary they are ready to rock n roll. My pet hate is being late!!!

By 8am we had eaten, checked out of our hotel, dropped off the rental car, caught the shuttle to the airport, checked ourselves in and once through security there was more than enough time to debrief the up n coming meetings and catch up on any urgent school emails.

Confirmed hui tomorrow:
Dr Jeff Thornburg (Ak Chin Education Director), Stephanie Veldez (Ak Chin Early Childhood Education Manager), Coach Tim Su'e Su'e (American Leadership Academy)

I am excited about seeing my good friends, tribal council member Gabe Lopez and ALA Coach Tim Su'e Su'e.

Gabe and I met through basketball around 8-10 years ago when I coached a maori girls team who attended the Native American Basketball Invitational held in Phoenix, AZ. Ak Chin were a sponsor of the tournament. We would regularly talk about the parallels of our two cultures, the educational challenges we are faced with, the importance of our cultural identity and keeping our language alive. Gabe has arranged for Michelle, Mary and I to meet with Dr Jeff Thornburg and Stephanie Veldez. I am interested in the transition from ECE to Elementary on the Rez. What assessment information is collected and passed on? What does the relationship between the two groups look like? How is culture and language integrated into their programs? What are the leadership challenges right now and how are they being addressed?

Coach Tim and I also met through basketball on the Navajo Reservation in a place called Chinle around the same time as when I meet Gabe I can remember feeling at home with Tim even though we had only just meet. I believe it was the Polynesian connection. We just get each others humour. It will be good to catch up again. I am thinking now that he has moved off the rez and into the 'city' What adjustments if any did he have to make to his leadership style, values, communication????

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAY 8 - VEGAS REST DAY...

Image
MICHELLE To start the day today, Nardi and I drove out to the Hoover Dam to see the sights.  It is awe-inspiring in terms of its size and feats in engineering.  Like everything here it is BIG and in reading the messaging and history plaques around the walkways it was interesting to read about those who were the big thinkers and drivers to build this massive structure.  One thing that both Nardi and I questioned was the lack of mention of the people of this land.  Was there any consultation with the indigenous in the development of this place?  Why are there only white men acknowledged in its creation?  Whose eyes was this story told?  What other stories could there be? On returning to the hotel, I spent the day working on updating my posts and listening to recordings to reflect on the messages and stories we had heard so far.   In the evening we went for a stroll along the strip, caught the tram to other hotels and looked around...still not c...
Read more

DAY 11: CONFERENCE - CULTURAL CAMP DAY

Image
  We woke up to a temperature of 1 degree and sleet.  Made our way to Saskatoon University for the Cultural Camp day.  While walking to campus we called in to the local elementary school and had a chat with the Principal Shari .... Shari is in her first year of Principalship.  She is excited to be in the position and is happy in her school.  She told us that principals in Saskatoon get moved around every 3-5 years so they don't stay in schools for long periods of time.  I know that New Zealand used to do something similar with teachers back in the day, where they were placed in schools and moved around - giving them experience in different areas, particularly rural schools.  I wonder if this would work now in NZ?  It would only be successful if all rural schools had housing and they weren't necessarily teaching/principal roles. The cultural camp was a great experience despite the sleet and freezing wind.  There would have been between 80-100 ...
Read more

DAY 6 - MONUMENT VALLEY TO FLAGSTAFF...travel day

Image
After rising to the glorious views of Monument Valley this morning we spent the day on the road to Flagstaff.  On our way we detoured to Chinle on the Navajo reservation to have a korero with Michelle Woody a teacher at Chinle Elementary School.  She teaches reading in grades 5&6.  It was interesting learning about what teachers teach at this level and how they teach it.  I had many questions about the 'standards' which they tested every two weeks and the curriculum.  My wonderings were about how the curriculum and the standards fit together...were they teaching to the test or to the curriculum.  With the many sites and documents she shared I was astounded by the amount of admin work that she did to monitor student's progress and check and recheck standards.  Michelle and her team had an obvious passion for the progress of the children they teach and listening to her speak about her students she obviously knew them and their families very well....
Read more