I'm not sure if it's even a hunch. Maybe it's more of a 'wondering' (as if 'intuiting' happens along some sort of sliding scale), but you see there's this amazing piece of work that three of our Year 13 students completed as a Media Studies assignment. It tells the story of the dangerous state of Waterloo Road, the road onto which our kura fronts.
My 'wondering' sits with the efficacy of our 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy in the creation of the video. Does creativity thrive under the 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy? Specifically my wondering is: did this delightful piece of work come about because of The Manaiakalani programme, and our 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy?
You see, pieces of work like this are not the sole prerogative of TMP schools, and pieces of work like this don't just happen. Work like this is created when there are motivated students, or when there are amazing inspirational teachers, or when whānau values, support, and upbringing in general, are incredibly strong, or (most likely, I think) some combination of these.
And in the case of Zoe, Caleb, and Kim (the students who created this work) my opinion is that all three of these are present.
BUT - my wondering is still about the part that 'Learn Create Share' played in leading up to this point where three students felt inspired, equipped, enabled, and supported, to produce something of such quality, and what's more something that has and is sending shockwaves through our local community. The video has pricked the consciences of local civic decision makers, and has become a clarion call to action. We showed it in assemblies, and there were audible gasps as students watched some of the scenes of pedestrian/vehicle conflict that the team so competently and effectively captured.
My 'suspicion' (my hunch, if you like) is that this piece of work, and some of the other amazing pieces we are increasingly seeing from students now, have come about because we have a clear school vision (A centre of creative excellence), and an increasingly consistent and coherent pedagogy (Learn Create Share).
Our Year 13 students have seen, been exposed to, and used, this pedagogy for the past 5 years of their schooling (our Kāhui Ako is in its 6th year of participation in The Manaiakalani Programme), and as the next few years go by we will increasingly see students who have used this pedagogy for a significant part of their schooling career. Such is the benefit of the cluster wide application of the pedagogy.
So, is the creation of work like this the result of 'Learn Create Share'? I cannot say for certain. Do I feel that 'The Manaiakalani Programme', and it's 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy, have been instrumental in these higher levels of creativity? Does creativity thrive under the 'Learn Create Share' pedagogy? My opinion: 'Hell Yes'!!!
