Nanny's Place
Our conference theme song...loud and proud...Let's stick together.
Day Two of conference started with a buffet breakfast. A quick walk to the arena and we were ready for more inspiration, new thinking and ideas for moving forward.
A nation is like a boil up...a whole lot of different flavours mixed to make a flavoursome feast.
Nanny had a few questions for us to ponder...
You only get threatened by other races if you are not sure about what you are.
Violence and child abuse. When we see a Māori name connected with violence, we cry. It is not Māori behaviour. Early observations about Māori behaviour in 1814, included such comments as:
John Savage, who wrote in 1807, "The children here appear to be treated with a great degree of parental affection. They are robust, lively, and possess, in general, pleasing countenances."
Samuel Marsden, the leading missionary who visited New Zealand for the first time in 1814 (and could never be accused of possessing a bleeding heart), noted: "I saw no quarrelling while I was there. They are kind to their women and children. I never observed either with a mark of violence upon them, nor did I ever see a child struck."
In 1824, Richard Cruise remarked: "In the manner of rearing children, and in the remarkable tenderness and solicitous care bestowed upon them by the parents, no partiality on account of sex was in any instance observed. The infant is no sooner weaned than a considerable part of its care devolves upon the father: it is taught to twine its arms round his neck, and in this posture it remains the whole day, asleep or awake."
As the artist Augustus Earle wrote in 1832: "They are kind and hospitable to strangers, and are excessively fond of their children. On a journey, it is more usual to see the father carrying his infant than the mother; and all the little offices of a nurse are performed by him with the tenderest care and good humour."
How can we fill the emotional tank when there is no plug in the tank?
Poverty...when growing up, there was no money but house was filled with aroha. The worse kind of poverty is poverty of spirit.
Filling up our kids emotional tanks. Praise is better than punishment. Who is praising Māori? Life is like a box of cereal. All the good stuff is on the front and the small print shows the rubbish. For Māori, our rubbish is at the front but our good stuff is in small print.
As far as our brand is concerned, do our children need to carry that brand?
Look after one another and make sure we know who we are.
Thoughts from the audience:
How do we teach Māori to be awesome? It's about empathy, understanding, seeing more than just the child, connections.
Our tamariki are our brand.
How do we convince our government that te Reo Māori should be taught throughout school?
Pasifika cultures have their language.
Our Māori kids need that for their sense of belonging and connection.
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