Learning Enthusiasm

Kia ora e te whānau,

You may know me as one of the Deputy Principals here at Bethlehem School. However, I also wear an unofficial title of "Learning Enthusiast", in fact all of the staff at our kura wear this title also. Even though we are teachers, we are learners at heart. We are excited to learn new things and enjoy nothing more than spending our days helping others to develop a love for learning also. Because of this, as I move around our kura it is obvious that our Bethlehem Kids are certainly growing into our next generation of “Learning Enthusiasts”.

In our rapidly changing world, learning how to learn rather than simply memorising facts has become more and more important. Therefore, we help our students learn foundational skills and knowledge, but also support students to grow the dispositions necessary for the development of learning enthusiasm.

Lately in our kura, this learning enthusiasm has been obvious as students have been sharing their speeches. We have had the opportunity to hear students share with us their areas of interest or passion. Whether students have been engaged in competitive speech making or low-key speeches, their enthusiasm for the topics they have chosen and learnt about is clearly evident.

Students engaging in solving unfamiliar, rich and authentic maths problems is another example of a situation where learning enthusiasm shines through in our kura. In these learning experiences, students are encouraged to behave like mathematicians as they think slowly and deeply, justifying their thinking to others. The enthusiasm that comes from this rich exploration, where multiple pathways are possible, is seen in so many places.

We all know that learning new things is not always easy and requires an investment of time and effort. However, we believe that once students have gone through multiple supported learning cycles, it excites them to seek out, rather than avoid challenge, which in turn sets them up for a lifetime of learning.

What a privilege we have at Bethlehem School to spend our days as a community of “Learning Enthusiasts”.

Unuhia te pō, te pō whiri mārama. Tomokia te ao, te ao whatu tāngata. Tātai ki runga, tātai ki raro, tātai aho rau. Haumi e, hui e, tāiki e!

From the confusion comes understanding. From the understanding comes unity. We are interwoven. We are interconnected. Together as one!

Ngā mihi nui,

Angela Stensness