The Vision
To empower kaiako to become the best version of themselves by:
Creating a community of kaiako with a commitment to personal and professional excellence
Providing kaiako with the tools and knowledge to transform their practice
Using a whole-person approach informed by the personal development, business and marketing arenas, and framed by kaupapa Māori.
Turua Pākau means to fly a kite.
If you have ever flown a kite you’ll know that it requires just the right combination of skill on your part and conditions in the environment. Lift is achieved by the wind catching the body of the kite at the right angle combined with just the right tension on the string held by the flyer. A kite won’t fly on a still day and no amount of tossing it skyward is going to make it happen.
Even in the right conditions, if your kite is poorly constructed it won’t hold the air required to give it liftoff. When both of those conditions are met, without you keeping tension on the string, the kite will quickly succumb to a drop in the breeze and tumble to the ground, or it will simply skip across the ground like a leaf blown by the wind.
In this metaphor you are the person holding the string and your ‘ākonga’ (whoever they may be) are represented by the kite. Your role is to help prepare them for flight, alongside their whānau, so that when all the conditions are right your hand on the string will give them the resistance they need to catch the wind, to use their environment, and take off. Once they’re off the ground you’ll help them transition from being the kite to being the one in control of their flight. Ultimately, what we teach as kaiako isn’t just knowledge but the thinking skills required for our ākonga to leverage their learning and achieve their goals. This is true empowerment, tino rangatiratanga.
Kite in flight
The First steps
The first phase in building Turua Pākau is to gather a community of kaiako and other teaching professionals who are committed to serving their community with excellence. You already know how much of an effort that takes - the energy, the time and all the mini-battles along your path.
It’s a hard road and often a lonely one. This is why I formed Turau Pākau.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.
Looking ahead
My long term plan is to provide a range of online learning modules, resources and coaching services. I want to know from you what you need to break through whatever you feel is keeping you from being the best kaiako you can be and having a long term impact in the lives of your ākonga.
Get involved
If this is the kind of mahi that fires you up then help me craft this pākau, be part of this community. Here’s how you can get involved:
Follow @turuapakau on Facebook, and @turuapakau on Instagram
Subscribe to my newsletter by clicking the button below. I promise you I’m not going to spam your inbox with pointless garbage and sales pitches.
Fill out this quick survey to get the ball rolling… or the kite.