by Catherine Delahunty
Last Thursday night I was one of the guests at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Porirua Alternative School. The school was developed with the support of the local community and the local colleges by some inspired people, notably Lloyd Martin, an alternative education visionary.
The event last week included presentations of NCEA credits, cultural performances and shared memories but the abiding memory for me will be the strength of support from the community. I was also very moved by Lloyd Martin’s korero on the needs of young people which is based on the wisdom of the Lakota Nation. This wisdom speaks of the four things every young person needs – to know where they come from, to have adults other than their parents recognise their skills, to take responsibility, and to be generous. Wouldn’t that be a great base for the wider education system?
As alternative education continues to struggle for Government support, the results of 25 years of work must be valued. There are graduates from Porirua Alternative School making great contributions to many communities. Those at the anniversary talked about the respect and understanding they had experienced from the youth worker/teacher team who make this school both focused and vibrant for the students.
MPs Winine Laban and Carmel Sepuloni and myself were proud to be part of the awards ceremony and the celebration of tenacity underlying this organisation.
I visited the school earlier this year as part of my ‘real education’ project of listening to the voices of students. These students told how much they want to learn and how deeply they want to learn in an environment which respects their culture.
I bought a photograph at their auction taken by a young girl from a sister alternative school in Otautahi (Christchurch), the photograph is of a broken building site covered in grafitti and some young people standing in doorways. It is called “we are all in this together” and it’s going into my office to remind me that alternative education deserves support so that youth voices from the edges can be heard and nurtured.
Big ups to Salatieleu Tia Tia, current co-ordinator at the Porrirua Alternative School, and all the crew who work in Alternative Education!
Published in Health & Wellbeing | Society & Culture by Catherine Delahunty on Mon, August 16th, 2010
Tags: alternative education, Education, Lloyd Martin, Porirua Alternative School
More posts by Catherine Delahunty | more about Catherine Delahunty
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
If the money to follows the child there is support for all kinds of alternative schools.
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Young people are dumped into alternative education. Why do you want to perpetuate a system that alienates kids even more? I worked in Alternative education for ten years. The government needs to put more resources into training secondary teachers to teach the “poor” kids and the disruptive kids in real schools. Good literacy programmes are desperately needed so these kids can access the curriculum. Adolescant mental health needs a crank up too as the waiting lists are long and the help when offered is minimal.I’m glad your experience at Porirua was a positive one but don’t sentimentalise these kids or the Alternative Education system. They need more resources than others in the mainstream not a substandard education in substandard buildings. Did you sit and ask the kids if they felt substandard too? Not one of them I wager really wants to be there. They just can’t figure out what has gone so wrong for them.You can hand wringand blame the parents etc but the real reason is a failure to engage these kids at 7 or 8 in any meaningful literacy programme that gave them functional literacy.Of course they become disruptive.
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I agree with commenter Phyllis Heard. They need to recognize their failure.
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Neil would…seem to be on to something.
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I am not sure about alternative schools. Generally I oppose apartheid schools especially private schools which allow people to avoid the lack of investment in the public system or brainwash their kids.
However alternative schools may help some. Dumping kids in the mainstream without the extra support needed is not working.
It is rubbish that teachers are not taught about “special needs”. Certainly was a big part in my teacher training. Waikato.
6 “special needs kids in a class of 34 in a workshop and no extra help is almost impossible though.
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Generally I oppose apartheid schools especially private schools which allow people to avoid the lack of investment in the public system or brainwash their kids.
Wouldn’t taking kids out of private schools and putting them in the public system put even more strain on the public one, making the experience worse for all?
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No Stephen because the ones who now put their kids in private schools would demand that public schools be resourced properly.
They would demand that problems such as too large classes be fixed. Instead they sidestep the issue by removing their kids.
They are the ones with the political clout to make a difference.
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Ah I see.
They are the ones with the political clout to make a difference.
How so?
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Because those who have the money makes the rules as we all know.
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Just saying that hardly makes it true.
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Ask the political party fundraisers.
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I am a Waikato trained teacher and the mother of a 27 year old son with Cerebral Palsy,epilepsy and autism.Our son was one of the first of the mainstreamed batch after Tomorrow schools reforms. We have a very hands on experience of “special needs” education.I did not receive any training in Special needs. I have checked with colleagues trained in various Teaching establishments and they received very minimal training at best.The alternative education programme Ms Delahunty mentioned in her blog is part of a network of classes established around New Zealand for the kids that are either alienated from or stood down from mainstreamed Secondary schools.The Alternative education unit I volunteered in is underfunded,in second rate buildings,badly heated on an industrial estate with no recreation grounds.The students nearly all have literacy challenges that are severe.They have particular difficulties with comprehension of text even though some may have a good score on basic sight word testing and running records.They have slipped through the system until they reach crises point. Usually in year 9. SES services,Rtlb’s are usually not called in to work with these secondary students.CYFS interventions on behalf of older children 12+ are inadequate.Child and adolescant mental health services have long waiting lists.Their interventions often impractical with no real bang for your buck. Many secondary teachers do not know how to teach and engage disruptive students.Many I talk to don’t see why they should bother citing stress, overwork etc etc. Boards of trustees dump them into Alternative units beacuse they are out of the way. The Alternative kids remain under local BOT governance/District Council but in my experience the BOT and local principals rarely do effective follow up to make sure the outcomes have been positive.An even more insidious dumping ground for these kids is into the Correspondence school. How can a child with literacy challenges living with a caregiver usually with the same challenges be expected to achieve on a programme designed by it’s very nature for literate students? Teenagers are social learners. They do not like to learn in isolation. There are many ‘Alternative” private schools in New Zealand.They do not have these problem students. The Porirua Alternative school celebrates 25 years and good on them.Some of the finest vocational teachers and supervisors I have worked with have been in Alternative education but it’s finger in the dyke stuff. If we don’t look at issues like,foetal alcohol,too young parents,attachment disorder,diet,etc etc and its affects on the secondary students education as part of teacher training we are failing as a nation in our human rights obligations to these students.My profession is failing these students by not trying to keep them involved in a quality education as long as they can.
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Imagine the most amazing thing you could do with your life. Now whatever you just thought of, that was it! Hold the thought. Cherish it and let it in…
How can the universe support a vision that you yourself won’t hold tenderly and steadily within your heart?Your consciousness is your spiritual womb. Be quietly and…
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