Here is something I read this week that I'd like to share with you...
Wairua [Spirit]
Power of the Spirit
- the spark of godliness in each human being
- each is unique
- Mauri [life force] is in all things - animate and inanimate
Spiritual Powers
- Spirit of giving
- Caring for others
- Creating firm relationships
Spiritual Communications
- Every language carries its own spirit
- Every language is precious
- Language must be spoken to be alive
Spiritual Identity
- Land, people and universe are one
- Spirit of the land is in the person
Spiritual Universe
- The source of all energy in the universe is one
- Exploring and discovering is a spiritual experience.
from "Toku Rangitiratanga Na Te Mana-Mātauranga - Knowledge and Power Set Me Free..." by Tilly Reedy in 'Weaving Te Whāriki' Ed. Joce Nuttal 2003.
Wow.
Even more 'wow' is that this was found in one of my set texts for Early Childhood Education training. It comes from a chapter explaining the Māori origins of the national curriculum for early childhood in Aotearoa New Zealand.
When I first read the national curriculum document I was struck by the amount of resonance with between it and the material covered by the Britain YM Quaker Youthworker course. The more I learn about the Māori principles that underlie it the more I find in common between them and Quakerism, Tilly's summary above wouldn't look amiss in our Faith and Practice.
I think it encapsulates my view of the Spirit rather nicely, there's nothing there I disagree with or even wibble over and as yet I haven't come up with anything missing. Maybe I will if I think about it long enough but for now it will do rather nicely - thank you Tilly.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
memories
Over the last decade I’ve had cause to think several times about how disproportional the influence of our childhood experience is in terms of our general life experience. In researching one of my assignments on hauora/wellbeing and identity of infants and toddlers I’ve come across several articles which emphasize the importance of those early years and the effects on the rest of our lives.
It must be said it’s been the later childhood years that have stood out for me as being influential in terms of how I still interpret the world and the people in it, but then whilst my memories date back to being 2yrs old I can’t with any confidence date anything earlier than that, so who knows!
When my godson reached the age of two it made me wonder what experiences he was now having that he would remember in years to come. I’ve come back to that thought again and again since, especially in terms of what impact I have on the lives of the children around me. I guess I should ask him!
I was really surprised to discover some years ago that a son of family friends had lived with us in his last year of school when I was a small child. I had no recollection of it whatsoever, it explained why Mum always seemed to think I knew Adam when I scarcely remembered having met him, altho’ I have plenty memories of his youngest sister.
So how come I can’t remember him living with us for several months but can still remember, from that same year I think, playing ball with a little boy at a campsite in Cornwall? I could even describe the ball, the angle of the hill, the tent (borrowed for the occasion), the nightmare I had one night and the rubbery smell of the lilo to you.
I remember realising that being at the downhill end of a catch game was much harder work than being at the top; especially given my lack of catching ability… maybe that seminal moment is why I remember it? Note to future self – always stand at the uphill end. The years have shown that improving my catching skills didn’t seem to occur to me, hey ho.
Strange things memories and their lasting effects...
It must be said it’s been the later childhood years that have stood out for me as being influential in terms of how I still interpret the world and the people in it, but then whilst my memories date back to being 2yrs old I can’t with any confidence date anything earlier than that, so who knows!
When my godson reached the age of two it made me wonder what experiences he was now having that he would remember in years to come. I’ve come back to that thought again and again since, especially in terms of what impact I have on the lives of the children around me. I guess I should ask him!
I was really surprised to discover some years ago that a son of family friends had lived with us in his last year of school when I was a small child. I had no recollection of it whatsoever, it explained why Mum always seemed to think I knew Adam when I scarcely remembered having met him, altho’ I have plenty memories of his youngest sister.
So how come I can’t remember him living with us for several months but can still remember, from that same year I think, playing ball with a little boy at a campsite in Cornwall? I could even describe the ball, the angle of the hill, the tent (borrowed for the occasion), the nightmare I had one night and the rubbery smell of the lilo to you.
I remember realising that being at the downhill end of a catch game was much harder work than being at the top; especially given my lack of catching ability… maybe that seminal moment is why I remember it? Note to future self – always stand at the uphill end. The years have shown that improving my catching skills didn’t seem to occur to me, hey ho.
Strange things memories and their lasting effects...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
reflective writing
Sorry about the lack of input here for a while - I was down in Auckland for 3 weeks on my first practicum placement working at a day care centre for 2-5yr olds. To say it was all consuming is somewhat of an understatement! Talk about exhausted...
It was an incredibly steep learning curve for me and my practicum partner Liz. I think I probably learned as much about how I don't want to practice as teacher as how I do, it was certainly a wake up call as to how much the sector can vary. There were some amazing people working there though who were incredibly supportive and made me feel like part of the team which helped balance out those who made me feel invisible.
It was an incredibly steep learning curve for me and my practicum partner Liz. I think I probably learned as much about how I don't want to practice as teacher as how I do, it was certainly a wake up call as to how much the sector can vary. There were some amazing people working there though who were incredibly supportive and made me feel like part of the team which helped balance out those who made me feel invisible.
As part of our practicums we're supposed to reflect on our own beliefs and values regarding early childhood education for our portfolios. Addressing why we think the way we do, what has influenced that - be it our upbringing, schooling, cultural background, personal parenting experience etc etc. It was one of those things where the more you thought about it the more you came up with, it seemed endless at times and if I wrote reflections on all the things I came up with I'd have a very fat portfolio and no time to write my assignments!
My associate teacher commented on how I must've done reflective writing before - well, I guess 18yrs of journalling and/or blogging has mostly been reflective writing! I think being a Quaker encourages a lot of reflection on my beliefs and values, and then there's 18mths of counselling, 7yrs of writing incident reports in a Steiner setting (where every last detail was deemed important) oh and English Literature & Language O & A levels where my poor teachers dragged descriptive writing out of me on a weekly basis... yup I guess it's fair to say I've done reflective writing before!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
lost wellies
Well they aren't on the front steps, by the back door, on the deck nor, as far as I can tell, are they in the shed - however that could take serious exploration into dubious territory to be completely eliminated from inquiries. It's got the modern equivalent of those areas on maps marked 'here be dragons' - you know someone must have been there once upon a time to know that, but they certainly didn't hang around to plot out the details. Just dropped whatever it was and ran...
Whilst Cammi will scoff any food left unguarded for more than 3 seconds she isn't partial to footwear so I can't even blame her...yet. I'll think of a way to do so eventually I'm sure.
So, wrapped up in waterproofs and boots several sizes too big for me I unsteadily headed off to feed the chooks this morning all the while reminded of a photo somewhere of me aged about 2yrs old standing in Dad's hiking boots by our front door. Being someone who has always had an uncanny ability to fall over my own feet in the right-sized shoes (or none) I am completely in awe of the ability of small children to run around in dress-up boots and shoes waaay too big for them without wodges of cottonwool stuffed into the toes. Maybe it's because they have yet to assume that they can't that they still can?
I wonder how many things in life we pass by because we aren't willing to try out something that looks too big for us, and how many we make harder for ourselves because we don't spend that extra time looking for something that fits better?!
Whilst Cammi will scoff any food left unguarded for more than 3 seconds she isn't partial to footwear so I can't even blame her...yet. I'll think of a way to do so eventually I'm sure.
So, wrapped up in waterproofs and boots several sizes too big for me I unsteadily headed off to feed the chooks this morning all the while reminded of a photo somewhere of me aged about 2yrs old standing in Dad's hiking boots by our front door. Being someone who has always had an uncanny ability to fall over my own feet in the right-sized shoes (or none) I am completely in awe of the ability of small children to run around in dress-up boots and shoes waaay too big for them without wodges of cottonwool stuffed into the toes. Maybe it's because they have yet to assume that they can't that they still can?
I wonder how many things in life we pass by because we aren't willing to try out something that looks too big for us, and how many we make harder for ourselves because we don't spend that extra time looking for something that fits better?!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tebbit test
Well it became apparent on Friday that I had passed the Kiwi equivalent of the Tebbit Test when I found myself startling the dog by crying out 'yes!' as yet another England wicket fell. Whereas Chris, who has lived here longer and is half Kiwi to boot sat glumly at the Cake Tin bemoaning the dire state of play and resorting to texting me in search of commiseration...
To be honest I suspect much of the difference between us lies with the fact that he is an England cricket fan and I'm really a TMS one! 'Tis a sad state of affairs for me that I have to rely on Aggers popping into the Radio Sport NZ commentary box from time to time for anything like a taste of it but it's definitely better than nothing - I'm holding out hope for the return tour later in the year for a real dose.
England's cause - in terms of me being on their side that is, not their cricketing - is not helped by them fielding a side I hardly recognise (due to said sad lack of TMS over the last 2 years...) whereas the Blackcaps I can mostly recognise by sight let alone name having joined Chris at the Cake Tin several times when still living in Welly.
But probably the main reason why I'm not really that upset by England losing (other than being suitably horrified at the general lack-lustre performance) is that I've never really minded that much, which given the state of English cricket over the years I've been keeping track of it is probably just as well. It proved good training for moving to Scotland too... they take glorious in defeat to new levels in most sport!
In my book life is too short to have my happiness relying on the ability of 11 men running (or not, as the case may be...) up and down a pitch - but being able to listen to ball by ball commentary has brightened many a long day stuck inside .
Two more hours to go until the second ODI at Hamilton... who knows what revelations today will bring!
To be honest I suspect much of the difference between us lies with the fact that he is an England cricket fan and I'm really a TMS one! 'Tis a sad state of affairs for me that I have to rely on Aggers popping into the Radio Sport NZ commentary box from time to time for anything like a taste of it but it's definitely better than nothing - I'm holding out hope for the return tour later in the year for a real dose.
England's cause - in terms of me being on their side that is, not their cricketing - is not helped by them fielding a side I hardly recognise (due to said sad lack of TMS over the last 2 years...) whereas the Blackcaps I can mostly recognise by sight let alone name having joined Chris at the Cake Tin several times when still living in Welly.
But probably the main reason why I'm not really that upset by England losing (other than being suitably horrified at the general lack-lustre performance) is that I've never really minded that much, which given the state of English cricket over the years I've been keeping track of it is probably just as well. It proved good training for moving to Scotland too... they take glorious in defeat to new levels in most sport!
In my book life is too short to have my happiness relying on the ability of 11 men running (or not, as the case may be...) up and down a pitch - but being able to listen to ball by ball commentary has brightened many a long day stuck inside .
Two more hours to go until the second ODI at Hamilton... who knows what revelations today will bring!
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