Education – Education as a tool for transformation

As we reach the end of the school year, many in education are ready for a much-needed and well-deserved break. It has been a year to reflect on. The pace and scale of educational reform has been unlike anything schools have seen in many years. From new English and Maths curriculums, to changes in secondary school assessment, shifting subject pathways, major structural changes for school property, revised expectations for teaching and learning and so on. 

The system has been in constant motion. Each development has asked schools to adjust rapidly and prepare for further change, even as we work to embed the last set of updates. It has been a year that has asked the sector to adapt at pace, calling for resilience and an extraordinary effort from teachers and staff.

In reflecting on this year, it is important to return to what grounds our kura and schools, the people who bring learning to life. Teachers, school leaders, and support staff are the drivers that guide our young people through change, modelling resilience, ensuring that at the heart of education; relationships, growth, and mastery, remain constant. He aha e te mea nui o te ao (what is the greatest thing in the world), he tangata, he tangata, he tangata (it is the people). 

As at Matariki, the Māori New Year, this summer will be a time for resolutions, but also to pause, remember, and honour those who have walked before us. This year we acknowledge the educational leaders we have lost, in particular, two remarkable pillars of the Ōrewa College community: Anne Goulter and Beryl Blucher. Each dedicated 40 years of service to the school, leading multiple eras of reform, committed to their craft, and supporting generations of families in this community. Their legacy is woven into the fabric of this school, and their influence will continue to shape many lives into the future. 

It is leaders like Anne and Beryl who remind us why we do this mahi. Their devotion to the community and their belief in using education as a powerful tool to transform communities, inspire us who remain to continue the work, to ground ourselves amid reform, and to keep striving for the best outcomes for our young people.

Moe mai rā e ngā rangatira.