Indigenous learners.

As i look after the courses for the engineering trades i do find we have a few Maori students enrol for each different course.
The first thing we do when they are here is encourage them to go to the Powhiri  on the Marae.
We find some want to go and some don't, when i ask them is there a specific reason ,they are like most teenagers and shrug their shoulders(there is an obstacle there but it isn't always recognised).

 http://literacyandnumeracyforadults.com/Educator-resources/Knowing-your-learner-Engaging-M%C4%81ori-learners

If  you read the above link and its article it describes the how as tutors we can interact better with our young Maori students.
An interesting article is one of the young woman who hated school and was a bad truant.

Read this article,

Learning story:

A young woman was a truant who hated school and reluctantly came

to [the course] with a practiced ‘staunchness’. This involved being

non compliant and refusing to co-operate. She arrived just in time

to go for a two week stint [on a military base] where she spent time

in a “whānau” environment with other youth and adults who took an

interest in her and recognised “she wasn’t dumb.” Once she returned,

she did so well at the course that she has gone on to further training.

This is a fantastic example of how a student re engaged which is what our youth guarantee course does.We have an example this year where we had one of our young Maori boys still having a lot of time off when he should have been here.After speaking with him and his Counsellor we all agreed he should enrol in a Adventure development course which works alongside Kai Tahu which takes them away for a week with other young people and directs them in a lot of  positive behaviour, personal growth  and it encompasses a lot of out door pursuits , mountain biking,tramping and  caving. All of these had  Maori content and it was interesting to hear the various points he enjoyed.

This also relates back to the link above where we as tutors need to have the right skills,

Expertise up-skilling appropriate to the environment’

‘Have passionate but understanding people (as tutors)’

‘Have a gentle, humble demeanour’

‘Build programmes for young Māori around their skills and passions and

integrate literacy and numeracy into programmes’

‘Looking outside the box’

Another good thing to instill is role models(guy's who have been there before them), we show them what young guy's can do and what can achieved no matter where you are from, the other is to educate the tutors (we should all have done the treaty of waitangi workshop) and have some understanding  of what is required.If young people can see that you are there to help them along and guide them then the trust which is important in any teen is firm and bonded.

When the young Maori guys ask about Maoris in engineering i always say they have been in engineering for years,