Today I met with my chairperson and staff trustee of our board of trustees to plan out the process for updating our school charter. This is the vision, long term direction and plans for our school for the next few years. It’s going to be an intense time of reviewing, reflecting and determining where we are heading, and sometimes it feels exciting and scary all at the same time, to know that we are shaping the future for a whole generation of learners in Clendon, Auckland, Aotearoa.
Anyway, a couple of things that have been buzzing around in my head. Firstly, I had this picture of the different generations, standing side by side- and how each one learns from one another. In Maori, it’s called Ako- the relationship between the teacher and the student, where it’s more about sharing learning, learning from one another. I saw the older generation bending down to the child’s eye level to see and remember what it is like to ‘see the world through a child’s eye’s’, and to let them know, I’m coming to you to value you as a learner, and what you bring to the learning. I then saw the older generation picking up the younger and holding them, so that they could then see at their eye level, the world as it is, and what they might learn from them. In this picture, I was reminded that sometimes we have to raise our children up to see what we see, and we have to carry and support them at times until they can do this for themselves.
I then saw, the next movement, where the older generation, put the younger one on their shoulders- so they could stand and see further then what the older supporting generation could see. The younger were telling the older what they could see or envision. The older were the solid foundation, that were there- able to make this happen through their security, their support. They had to trust in the younger to get that picture, but they also had to have the kind of relationship that allowed them to help one another interpret what they could see.
I kind of think that’s what education is about for this next generation. There are things as educators, as the older generation, that we didn’t learn ourselves, particularly with advancements in the use of ICT or e-learning that challenges, and will shape, different possibilities for the way we might learn and interact in the future.
I also heard this as I was having a time of worship and study a couple of nights ago- “Push the refresh button”. Actually, I know there’s a refresh button on my computer, and I’ve probably used it a few times- but I wasn’t too sure about it’s function. I googled “What does the refresh button do”. The refresh button, means that you can update the page that you are looking at, so that when you do that, what you were initially studying and pondering over- behind the scenes in the real/ actual world, continues to evolve, and by doing this, it keeps you updated, current, aware, seeing things for how they are- even if they’ve moved on.
I believe these two things- Ako and “Push the refresh button” were revealed to me just for where I’m at in my work, in what God has called me to do. They are linked too, because we are constantly learning, as God reveals Himself to/ through us over time and in different ways. “Push the refresh button” is a reminder that while sometimes we get stuck on a page or in a part of our learning journey, our life, that we are working on- He wants us to “Push the refresh button”- step back and take some time to look again at His picture, and to be refreshed, to be open to the new possibilities that have been created for us to take a hold of. He’s reminding me that I need to know that in my life, I need to make sure I have a way of refreshing myself, I think that “refresh button” is in his word, it’s in my worship/ praise for Him and it’s in relationship- with him and others. It's in doing the things that bring me joy.
I think God is just clever how He works things out- and because He’s timeless, he’s like all of the generations rolled into one- His love is simple and unconditional like a child’s love. He picks us up and carries us and shows us what we need to see; and at times, He raises us above our expectations, and reveals to us sometimes what others cannot even see yet- and supports us to show the way. For all of this Lord- I praise you- you’re pretty cool you know. Love Sonia
