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SLT meeting Lockdown style
 
Photo by Laura-Jean Peawini

Tēnā Koutou Katoa Parents, Caregivers And Whānau

Christine O'Neill —

I hope you are all coping with our alert levels and restrictions. It is an opportunity to make the most of family time and to perhaps have some more routine around outdoor exercise and enjoy the simple pleasures of life like baking.

On the other hand for some families it will be a time of financial stress, worry about business survival and heightened deprivation. On an existential level we all must have some uncertainty about the bigger picture as we watch the trajectory of NSW and Victoria and the risk of further variants even more problematic than Delta. It is a new world for us all.

It is interesting to note the parallels in the response to the pandemic and the debate around the changing education landscape. In a less connected world knowledge was held in silos and it was more difficult for communication across disciplines and countries. What we see in this pandemic response is that we have a world where deep subject knowledge and expertise is critical to solutions (epidemiologists, vaccinologists, scientists, medical specialists and nurses, water testers, statisticians and mathematicians, economists and business leaders, media and communications specialists, politicians, cultural leaders and specialists, researchers and academics, military and police, immigration specialists – the list goes on).

But what is most important is that those with expertise and knowledge need to work together and share expertise in an integrated response. Every part of the picture is critical for successfully managing this crisis and those with specialist knowledge cannot contribute in isolation. So both the deep discipline knowledge and the ability to synthesise and collaborate across disciplines are critical.

In education discipline knowledge has largely historically been delivered in silos. As we can see in this pandemic a siloed approach cannot solve the problems of the modern globalised and connected world. In education we are seeking to find an approach which teaches our young people deep knowledge and the ability to apply knowledge across a range of contexts in collaboration with others with different knowledge. In doing so they are able to develop new knowledge and solutions. Look at how quickly vaccines have been developed through a massive effort across the globe, although the new vaccines do build on much scientific vaccine work which has gone before.

Not the least of expertise required is understanding of other cultures, languages and values so that people can work together to solve problems and also understand reasons for historical barriers and inequities which may require different approaches. It is a complex world but we are all in it together!

Look for an email communication from us early Monday evening after the Prime Minister holds the alert level conference. At that point we will know what the outlook is and can advise you accordingly around school organisation.

He waka eke noa

We are all in this canoe together