Amesbury School Digest

Kia ora koutou

I have been teaching in Harakeke Hub this term, which has been most enjoyable. There is something about teaching that is very grounding, but also exhilarating all at the same time. Seeing the capacity of students to take up the new knowledge or skills you are teaching them and make it part of their ongoing practices in reading, writing or maths, is so amazing to see. Often it seems quite magical, but of course it isn't. It is all about children's capacity to learn (kids are just clever!) and it is about the teacher's capacity to pitch the learning at just the right level (Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development) - with just the right level of challenge. However, though I know that, the capacity of children to learn continually astounds me.  

Just read these lines from a couple of children's writing (Josh N and Avin ) - completely their own work:

"I was perambulating to the place known as Carlucci Land."

"They were crystalline and gossamer clear with a potent smell of fish."

"I started walking down the road towards the jagged mountain, the sky faded from caramel red to crimson orange to thunder black."

"The nuke hit the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. A millisecond later it detonated, sending forth a wave of death. First, the shockwave hit, crushing nearby villages into dust. Then came the heatwave, burning anything and everything in it’s way. Tens of thousands of innocents killed, and what was the reason? “We can’t let Isis get stronger while we sit and wait!” Donald Trump’s first act of presidency was to attack Isis." 

How did the story end: "Dave later found out the Pentagon workers deserted Trump when a guard saw the file on social media. Trump was arrested for corruptness and the vice president became the most powerful person in the world. Dave was a national hero. All the information was later released through television announcements. The world was finally free of Donald Trump."

As I said, our children (your children) never cease to astound me! I hope to share more of the students' work with you in the future.