STAFF
STOP
When I first went in to the centre to start my practical the staff was very welcoming. I presented myself in a polite and organised manner. The supervisor introduced me to all the staff and explained to them why I was here and my reasons for attending the centre weekly. She also showed me around the centre and told me their daily routines. After being introduced to all the staff, most of them came to talk to me and asked me questions about my background; ‘such as where I am from? And what do I do?’ These types of questions helps the staff to get a better understanding of who I am, which is the first step in building a relationship. Also asking questions back to the staff helped in establishing a relationship because they will feel that you are interested in knowing about them but at the same time it also helped me, by getting to know them better. I maintained the relationship by becoming friends with them because a good working relationship is just like a good friendship.
THINK
In Establishing and maintaining relationships with the staff, I have been quite surprisingly successful with. I say ‘surprisingly’ because for me, establishing and maintaining relationships with the staff wasn’t as hard as they made it easy for me by being so kind and welcoming to me and treating me with respect. I also had a situation at the centre where one of the staff trusted me quite a lot that she started talking to me about her problems. Mainly communication was the key in being successful in maintaining and establishing relationships with the staff because every morning the staff all say ‘good morning’ and they ask ‘how are you or how was your weekend’. This starts off the conversations and helps a lot because i am quite a shy person at times and by the staff doing that every morning, it doesn’t make me feel nervous to talk to them or ask questions. The staffs have given me a sense of belonging in the centre by not treating me differently but the same respect as all other staff. Also the staff included me in all their conversations and asked me about my opinion and what I think about the situation. I have learnt that with the staff communication is very important and also having to be able to trust each other because it helps a lot in establishing and maintaining relationships with the staff.
CHANGE
Changes and strategies that I can successfully use to establish and maintain relationships with staff in the future would be, not to be too shy and in future I should start the conversations with staff rather than them starting a conversation with me. Also when first going into the centre I could introduce myself to the staff rather than the supervisor introducing me to the staff.
CHILDREN
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The staff at the centre told the children that I was a new teacher at the centre and that I would be attending every Friday. The children were more occupied with playing so I introduced myself to the children one by one as I went around the centre. I would start a brief conversation with the children such as; ‘Hi, my name is Louise, what is your name?’ and then I would ask them what their name was and what they are doing. For example if one of the children were doing a painting then I would ask them what they are painting and then tell them how lovely their work is. When appreciating their work, the children started to talk back more. The first day I was just getting to know the children and listening to what they say, which I think is very important to listen to a child because they will feel respected and then they will also respect me back. After getting to know the children I asked the supervisor if I could read them a story at mat time. I gave the children the choice of what book they would like me to read to them and so I read the book of their choice. I chose to do this because I wanted the children to feel comfortable around me. At the centre I experienced a situation where I was both successful and appreciated for. The situation was that one of the children at the centre never spoke or replied back to the teachers. I noticed that he was scared to talk because he didn’t know much English so I kept on talking to him every day that I was at the centre and played with him even though he wasn’t responding back to me. I also had learnt a few simple sentences in his language and said those sentences to him. After doing all this for a few days he started to play and talk back to me which showed that he trusted me. Due to this he now plays with other children.
THINK
I have been very successful in establishing and maintaining relationships with the children at the centre. I feel this way because after introducing my self to the children, appreciating their work, being involved in their games, reading stories to them and listening to the children has all helped me become successful in maintaining the relationships with the children. Having a relationship with the children has given me a sense of belonging because they trust me and are able to talk to me without any hesitation. I have learnt that establishing and maintaining relationships with children is like an on-going process because you can’t just stop, you have to keep the communication and everything else going with the children.
CHANGE
There are not many changes or strategies that I can use to successfully establish and maintain relationships with children in the future because I feel that I was very successful with the children at the centre. The only change that I would make would be to be more energetic with the children.
TIKANGA MAORI
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My centre implements Tikanga Maori. Examples of this is ‘no running in the centre, Children and including staff are not to run around the centre as it could cause hazards to other children around them and they could hurt themselves and others by falling. The second example would be ‘no sitting on the table’. This rule is followed due to hygiene purposes because that’s where the children will eat their food. The third example is ‘shoes and socks off when entering the gym area’, because the floor in the gym area is quite slippery and that’s where the children are able to run around so it is safer is their shoes are off. The fourth example is ‘coats and bags to be hanged up when entering the centre’ because there is an area for the children’s bags and coats to be hanged up so that there is no mess and nothing looks untidy in the centre. The fifth example is ‘hands should always be clean’. This is another hygiene rule and the centre has times for the children to wash their hands such as before lunch and after lunch.
THINK
My centre has been quite successful in implementing Tikanga Maori. I think this because the children understand why they are told to follow certain rules because the teachers explain to them and when it is time to do anything like going to the gym area, they automatically take off their socks and shoes before entering because the teacher has made them understand and they have gotten used to the idea of doing so. An example of a child not understanding would be the child running around the centre; the teacher will tell them to stop, but if they do not listen by the teacher telling them twice to stop then the teacher will stop them physically and then explain to them why they are not to run around the centre until they understand. The children’s attitudes make the Tikanga Maori successful because they listen to what they are told to do because they know that the teacher will physically stop them if they do not listen. If they do not listen to the teacher and are stubborn then other children will follow what that child is doing, which will mean the rules are not being followed. But the children at the centre do listen when they are told. Also the staff attitudes also have an effect on how rules are followed because if they are laid back and not strict about their rules then they are not being successful. But at the centre their attitudes towards following rules are quite strict and if they are not followed then they make sure that they are.
CHANGE
Changes and strategies that I can use to successfully implement Tikanga Maori in the centre is to create a poster of the rules that must be followed by both staff and children and put it up on the wall so that staff and children are reminded of the rules and why it is there. Parents will also be able to see this poster when they enter the centre.
