How my centre implements Tikanga Maori

Stop:
When I first started at my centre I saw how well they implemented the Maori language throughout the day and I thought that was great. They make use of the simple Maori greetings and phrases and the children understand and respect the language. It took me a little while to notice Tikanga Maori being implemented in my centre, it wasn't until I over heard one of the teachers talking to a child about how they must not run inside the centre because the building is sacred and must be respected. As the teacher was telling the child about why not to run inside buildings I could see the child was very interested and seemed eager to learn more about Tikanga Maori. Another thing I hear a lot in my centre is the children being told not to sit on tables because waste comes from the lower half of the body and the tables are where food is served and were you eat. From learning about Tikanga Maori the children are learning about the Maori culture and how spiritual, respectful and meaningful it is, it's great.


Think:
With implementing Tikanga Maori I think my centre has been quite successful because when the teachers are talking to the children about Tikanga Maori they listen and take a huge interest in learning about it. Also after the children learn about Tikanga Maori you can see them implementing it themselves in the class, if a child saw another child running in class they will tell them they cant do that and give them a short simple explanation why they cant. From the children doing this with each other they are taking responsibility of the rules within the centre and are taking ownership of their learning. I can also see a drastic change with the amount of children that don't run inside the centre or sit on tables, the children have embraced Tikanga Maori. I think what makes Tikanga Maori being implemented in my centre successful is that the teacher's understand that New Zealand is a bi-cultural nation and it's important that the Maori culture is taught so the children can understand, respect and carry on implementing Tikanga Maori in the next generations.


Change:
Even though my centre implements Tikanga Maori successfully the teachers could go further with teaching the children about it for example they could go more in depth, take the children on a a day trip to a Marae so they can see for themselves how spiritual and respected the Maori culture is and how important it is for them to carry it on.