Summer Learning Journey Day 4, Week 2

DAY 4: Indigenous Rights
Activity 1: Guiding Principles [4 points]

Hōne Heke was a rangatira (chief) of Ngapuhi iwi in Northland. He was a strong and fearless warrior, and also an intelligent leader who fought for Māori rights during the British colonisation of Aotearoa, New Zealand. He was baptized a Christian in 1835 and had much respect for the missionaries that came to New Zealand. Hōne Heke supported the Te Tiriti o Waitangi - the Treaty of Waitangi - and was the first rangatira to sign it in 1840.

However he soon realised that under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori rangatira was losing their authority (power). In protest, he cut down the flagpole that flew the British flag at Kororareka (Russell) four times. He must have been very frustrated and angry.

Sometimes when we feel strongly (frustrated, angry, happy, excited, in awe...) we find it hard to put our feelings into words. Many cultures use specific sayings, proverbs or metaphors that can help people to explain their feelings or describe specific things. In Te Reo Māori, some people use a whakataukī.

For this activity, read the two whakataukī below, choose one, and then create a poster based on it. Be sure to include at least one image (a drawing or photograph) on the poster that represents the whakataukī. Share your on your blog.

Option #1: Kotahi te kākano, he nui ngā hua o te rākau - A tree comes from one seed but bears many fruit. This whakataukī talks about the fact that, while we are similar to one another in some ways, we are also quite different in others. 

Option #2: Kia heke iho rā i ngā tūpuna, kātahi ka tika - If handed down by the ancestors, it would be correct. This whakataukī talks about the idea that the elders in our community can be wise and that the information that they share could, and should, be respected.

Source: https://tewhariki.tki.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Te-Whariki-Whakatauki.pdf

Activity 2: Celebrating Diversity [4 points]

There are between 370 and 500 million Indigenous Peoples currently living in 90 countries around the world. Together, they represent over 5000 different cultures and speak 400 different languages. That is pretty amazing ‘eh?! I wish that I could speak 4000 languages!

Indigenous People is the term used to describe the people who were the first inhabitants of a land. In Aotearoa, Māori are Indigenous. Indigenous people have rich and vibrant cultures that make the world such a fascinating, varied and enriching place to live.

For this activity, we are going to become more familiar with an indigenous
community from overseas - the Ainu People from northern Japan. Please read the information below and identify three interesting facts about the Ainu people. Share these facts on your blog.

The Ainu people are historically residents of parts of Hokkaido (the Northern island of Japan), the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin. According to the government, there are currently 25,000 Ainu living in Japan.The origin of the Ainu people and language is, for the most part, unknown. However, there have been many theories on the subject. As hunter gatherers, the Ainu lived off of the land. Common foods included deer, bear, rabbit, fox, salmon, root vegetables, and much more. Common hunting weapons included poisoned spears and bow and arrows. The indigenous language of Japan is, much like the Ainu people, of unknown origins. With the restrictions placed on the use of the language in 1899, Ainu speakers have all but disappeared. Today the language is said to have less than 15 "native" speakers, all of which are above the age of 60, making Ainu a "critically endangered" language. Originally, the Ainu language had three main dialects: Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and Kuril. However, the Hokkaido dialect is the only one that survives today. One interesting point about Ainu is that it does not have a written form. The language has lived by being passed down from parent to child for countless years and has historically been transcribed using Japanese kana. The lack of a writing system has of course hindered the ability of the Ainu to preserve their language after it was banned, and the use of Japanese kana has even influenced some Ainu pronunciations. Even so, the language has been able to live in the tradition of Ainu storytelling, or Yukar, the language of which is mutually understood by all Ainu groups and is known as Classical Ainu. 
Source: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/ainu-japan/

The 3 facts that I've learned are about the Ainu people are...

1. According to the government, there are currently 25,000 Ainu living in Japan.

2. Today the language is said to have less than 15 "native" speakers, all of which are above the age of 60, making Ainu a "critically endangered"

3. The Ainu people are historically residents of parts of Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin.

Activity 3: Wise Words [4 points]

Sir Āpirana Ngata and Dame Whina Cooper were both influential leaders who fought for Māori rights.Āpirana Ngata was a lawyer and politician. He worked hard to give rights to Māori land owners, and healso spent a lot of his career encouraging Māori to preserve the culture - haka, poi, whakairo (carving), waiata (song), sport and the construction of more marae around Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Whina Cooper was the first president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, which worked on improving health, education, housing and welfare for Māori women in New Zealand in the 1950s. She led the Māori land hikoi (march) from Northland to Wellington to protest against the loss of Māori land. She was nearly 80 years old at the time. Both of these individuals are examples of wise, inspiring leaders and role models.

For this activity, please identify someone in your life who is a role model to you. This could be a parent grandparent, neighbor, minister, imam, rabbi, etc. Please ask them to share one piece of wisdom (advice) with you that they think you and your blog readers should hear. Be sure you tell us who you heard it from and to use speech marks (“...”) if you are writing down exactly what they said. Post the wisdom on your blog.

My role model is my Teacher. My teacher is a hard-working, Non-swearing lady. She's probably the best when it comes to wisdom. She has lots of Christians quotes, but my favorite quote goes like this. " if you don't listen, you don't learn" She would always say it to the students who weren't listening in class. 

Summer Learning Journey Day 3, Week 2

DAY 3: Women’s Rights
Activity 1: The Right to Vote [4 points]

Kate Sheppard was a very famous and important New Zealander. In the late 1800s, she fought for women to have the right to vote in elections. She did this by creating petitions (lists with the names of people who supported her), running public meetings, writing letters to the newspaper, and talking to politicians.

As a result of her hard work, women in New Zealand (NZ) were first granted the right to vote in 1893. This made NZ the first country in the world to give women the right to vote. We call this right ‘women’s suffrage’.

In honour of Kate Sheppard’s work, the NZ government has put her image on the current $10 note.

For this activity, let’s imagine that the government decided to create a new $10 banknote and replace Kate with a picture of a different New Zealand woman. Tell us who you think the government should put on the new $10 note and provide a picture to go with your explanation. 

Jacinda Adern. The reason why I picked Jacinda Adern is because, she is an important politician/ role model for many people. To me, she is loyal, determined and a respectful prime minister.

Did you know?
Jacinda Adern is the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
Jacinda Adern was the youngest female head of government, started at age 37. (Currently at 39)
Jacinda Adern's full name is Jacinda Kate Laurell Adern 

Activity 2: The Right to an Education [4 points]

Malala Yousafzai is a woman who was born and raised in Pakistan. In 2012, she was shot and
wounded when traveling home on the bus from school. At the time, girls (and women) living in
Pakistan were not encouraged, or even allowed, to go to school. It is widely believed that Malala
was attacked because she (and her father) did not agree with this idea and they felt that women
had the right to an education. Once Malala recovered from her injuries she continued to advocate (fight) for the rights of all women to receive an education. For this work, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 - the youngest person to ever receive this prestigious prize. As well as giving speeches in front of many very important and influential people, Malala has written books about her own life. She has also written a children’s book called Malala’s Magic Pencil.

For this activity, we would like you to write a short story. The story can be about anything that you wish but to receive full points it must be at least 10 sentences long! Share your story on your blog.

Click on the link, which will take you to a doc with my story! 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eTRxk8nn27spRcBnmKEGITBI1XuT89UtpvieYDYq0-Y/edit

Activity 3: Belle of the Ball [6 points]

Emma Watson is a movie star who started acting in films when she was just nine years old. You
might recognise her as Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter films or ‘Belle’ from the Disney
adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. When Emma is not acting, she spends a lot of time giving speeches and advocating for the rights of women and girls. In 2014 she launched the HeForShe campaign which encourages men and boys to actively support women and girls by speaking out about gender equality - the idea that males (men) and females (women) have the same rights. Emma is also an avid reader who started her own worldwide book club!

Let’s imagine that Emma has just emailed you and asked for your help. She needs a recommendation for a great book. Not only that but she also needs you to prepare a short review of the book to share with her readers.

For this activity, choose a book that you like and write a short review of it. In the review, tell us what the book is about and what you like about it. Share your book review with a photo or illustration (drawing) of the book on your blog when you have internet access.

The book that I have chosen is my Complete Atlas of the world. I received this book when I got an award from my school prize giving. I really like this book because it has lots of information about places in the world. It also provides pictures of every country/Continent.

Summer Learning Journey Day 2, Week 2

DAY 2: Taking Action
Activity 1: A Long Walk to Freedom [4 points]

Nelson Mandela was an activist and civil rights leader who was born and raised in South Africa. For over 40 years (1948-1991), the country of South Africa had a political system called ‘apartheid’. This meant that there were different rules for people who had white skin than for those who didn’t. Nelson Mandela felt that this was very wrong and he fought for many years to change the law. Eventually, he became the President of South Africa and ended apartheid, but not before spending many years in prison.

In Robben Island prison (where Mandela spent 18 years), life was very tough. Mandela had a tiny,
damp, concrete cell, with only a straw mat to sleep on. During the day he was forced to work in a
quarry, breaking rocks into gravel. He was only allowed to see one visitor and receive one letter
every six months. At night, Nelson read and studied to be a lawyer.

For this activity, please imagine that you are Mr Mandela and that you are living at Robben
Island prison. You have been given a journal and each night you write in it. Write a journal
entry imagining that you are Mr Mandela. What do you think he did each day? How did he feel? Include as much detail as you can in the journal entry. Post your work on your blog.

Dear Journal.

It's been a few years in this... 'prison'. 3 years! to be exact. that's how long I haven't seen my family, ate fresh food or even breathed fresh air!. Even though I've been sent to prison for doing it, but when I get out, I'm gonna keep on trying even if it gets me killed! It's job period in a few minutes so I will have to make this entry quick. The other day, This dude started a fight with another guy and lots of other people joined in which made the officers come out. When all the fuss calmed, One guy was left unconscious on the ground. Turns out he was dead. That's all I have to say for today, Job period just started and I don't want to get a beating.   

Activity 2: School Strike for Climate [4 points]

You may have heard people talking about an issue called ‘Climate change’. Climate change refers to an increase in the temperature of our planet. Warmer temperatures can cause natural disasters (floods, storms, droughts, hurricanes, etc), rising sea levels, and the extinction (disappearance) of plants and animals.

Many people in New Zealand (and overseas) are worried about climate change including Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old girl from Sweden. She believes that climate change is not only real but that it is a “crisis”. She is upset that adults, particularly governments and powerful people, are not taking climate change seriously. In 2018 she began protesting outside the Swedish government buildings every Friday instead of going to school. She inspired the School Strike for Climate protests and, in 2019, spoke to the United Nations about her concerns. Not everyone, however, is convinced that climate change is really happening.

For this activity, we would like you to read the information below from the School Strike for Climate Australia website When you have finished reading the information, tell us about the group. What are they doing? What are their demands? Post the answer on your blog.

The information that I just read is about School Strike for Climate Australia. School Strike for Climate Australia is an international movement of school students who take time off from class to participate in demonstrations to demand action to prevent further global warming and climate change. The founder of the movement is Greta Thunberg and was founded on the 20th of august, 2018. Students around Australia are skipping school to help protest. They want to tell and show the government and the parliament that Climate change is real and wants them to help prevent it from getting worse.

We are school students from cities and towns across Australia. Most of us have never met in person before but are united by our concern about our planet. We are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures seriously and treat climate change for what it is - a crisis.
Politicians can show us that they care by taking urgent action to meet our demands: 1. No new coal, oil and gas projects, including the Adani mine; 2. 100% renewable energy generation & exports by 2030; 3. Fund a just transition & job creation for all fossil-fuel workers & communities. Climate change is one of the biggest problems facing the world and it isn’t being addressed quickly enough. In Australia, education is viewed as immensely important, and a key way to make a difference in the world. But simply going to school isn’t doing anything about climate change. And it doesn’t seem that our politicians are doing anything, or at least not enough, about climate change either. So, as our contribution to the changes we want to see, we are striking from school. We are temporarily sacrificing our education in order to save our futures from climate-wrecking projects.

Source: https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/about

Activity 3: “I Have a Dream” [6 points]

Martin Luther King Jr was a Christian minister in the United States of America (U.S.A) in the 1950s and 1960s. He spent much of his life fighting for equality (equal rights) for people of color. At the time, there were laws that kept black and white people separated - they went to different schools, used different toilets, and even sat in different parts of a bus and ate in
different areas of a restaurant. This was called ‘segregation.’

Dr. King did not agree with these laws and he led many protests against them. He was joined in his protests by many people, including an African American woman named Rosa Parks.

In 1955, Rosa boarded a bus in Alabama (U.S.A) and refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. You can read about this famous incident here:

In the face of...racism, Rosa decided to make a stand for what was right. Together with her husband Raymond, she joined the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), working towards putting an end to discrimination and segregation. But it was on the 1 December 1955 that Rosa truly sparked change. After a long day at work, Rosa boarded the bus
home and took a seat. At that time in Montgomery, seats at the front of buses were reserved for white passengers and the seats at the back for black passengers. The bus quickly filled up and when a white man boarded, the driver told the African American passengers to give up their seats for him. Whilst the other black passengers obeyed, Rosa, did not. The result? Rosa was arrested
by the police and fined for breaking segregation laws! But Rosa refused to pay and argued that it was the law that was wrong, not her behavior.

For this activity, please describe the problem that black men and women faced in America at this time. What did Rosa Parks do about the problem? How did other people react? Post your work on your blog.

Black men and women had a very huge problem back in the 50s. The problem was racism. Back in the 50s, white men and women would always make fun and would always make racial slurs to Black people. Black men and women fought racism and equal rights for a long time and some are still facing this problem to this day. Rosa Parks was an individual who decided to make a stand for what was right. She and her husband joined the NNACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People). Rosa was asked by a white man to give up her seat but she refused and got arrested. Rosa refused to pay and argued about the law, which gave courage to other colored people to make a stand for what was right.! 

Summer Learning Journey Day 1, Week 2

WEEK 2: “I Have a Dream...” - Politics and Activism

Kia ora and welcome to Week 2 of the Summer Learning Journey! If you have just joined us, it’s great to have you! This week we are going to be learning about people who have changed the world through politics ad activism. This is a small selection of people who made an impact on others through politics and protest. On Day 5 you will get the chance to choose someone you are interested in and share what you learn about them on your blog.

Get ready to learn about some people who have fought hard for what they believe in!

DAY 1: Taking the Lead
DAY 2: Taking Action
DAY 3: Women’s Rights
DAY 4: Indigenous Rights
DAY 5: Humanitarian Heroes

DAY 1: Taking the Lead
Activity 1: Playing Favourites [4 points]

Barack Obama was the President of the United States of America (U.S.A) from 2009 - 2017. He made history as the first African American man (or woman) to be elected President of the USA. Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. His father was from Kenya, Africa, and his mother was American. His parents divorced when he was young and his father died in a car crash when Barack was 21 years old. As a young man, Barack studied law at university which is where he met his wife, Michelle. Together, Barack and Michelle have spent much of their adult lives helping others and giving back to their community.

 When they are not at work, they can be found doing their favorite things, including spending time with their family, playing with their dog, or going to the gym.    What do you like to do for fun? Do you also enjoy spending time with family? Do you have a special pet?

 For this activity, create a list of your ‘Top 5’ favorite things to do and take a photo of yourself doing each of these things. Post both your list and your photos on your blog.

(Sorry everyone but I really don't want to take photos of myself doing my hobbies. I never had a fondness of cameras!. But to make up for the missing photos, I'll write a bit of a background to my hobbies. Thanks in advance for understanding)
My five favorite things to do are...

1. Draw! I really like drawing because it helps relax me after a long day at school. My brothers also like to draw, so it kinda brings us together when we have competitions. (here's a picture of one of my drawings)
   
2. Playing Sports! I truly like sports because it really shows the competitive side of me. I'm not that good when it comes to sports, but it's still fun when I get the chance to play. 
3. Helping others! I like helping others for two reasons. 1, It's because it's the right thing to do and 2, I like seeing a smile on other peoples faces!
4. Eating! I Love eating my favorite foods! but I love pizza the best! I usually don't eat pizza that often, but when I do, It's a real treat!
5. Playing video games! I started playing video games since I was a little boy and I think that's when my love for gaming started. I usually played with my cousin, but he'll always beat me. 

Activity 2: Rights and Wrongs [4 points]

Dr. Jessa Rogers (Metuamate) is an Aboriginal Australian and a leader in indigenous education. She grew up in Queensland, Australia, and when she fell pregnant while she was still at school, it seemed like her education would suffer. However, Jessa not only completed her high school

education, but she went on to University and completed several degrees, including a Ph.D. which means she is called Dr. Rogers!

Dr. Jessa Rogers became the first school principal (and youngest Aboriginal principal in Australia) of the Cape York Girl Academy, a school in far north Queensland for young indigenous mums and their babies. For her work on improving indigenous education in Australia, she won the NAIDOC Youth of the Year award in 2010, has gone on to win many more awards and write several books.

Dr. Rogers is a proud member of the Wiradjuri people, an Indigenous community in Australia, and has a strong connection to New Zealand. In fact, her husband is affiliated with two iwis in New Zealand - Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa, and he is also of Cook Island and Tahitian descent. Jessa is currently working at the University of Canberra as an assistant professor.

For this activity, we would like you to calculate Jessa’s age when she won the NAIDOC Youth of the Year award. She was born on 7 April 1985 and she received the award on 9 July 2010. Please provide the answer to this question in years, months and days (eg. 20 years, 6 months and 2 days). Post both your final answer and an explanation of how you solved this maths problem on your blog when you.

Activity 3: ‘Dear Jacinda’ [6 points]

The Right Honorable Jacinda Ardern is the current Prime Minister (PM) of New Zealand (NZ). You might have heard of her because she’s in the news a lot! Did you know that she is the second youngest person and the second woman ever to be elected PM of NZ?

As PM, Jacinda Ardern makes a number of important decisions every day. Before she makes these decisions, she meets with many people to hear their ideas and get their perspectives (views) on issues.

Let’s imagine you were to write a letter to Jacinda Ardern about an issue that is really important

to you and to ask her for help. It could be something serious to do with education, health or

welfare, or it could be something more fun and crazy - you decide!

For this activity, please write a letter that includes the issue you have chosen, why you have chosen it, and what you would like our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, to do about it. It is your job to persuade us (and her!) that it is an important issue. Share your letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on your blog.

Dear Mrs. Adern

I would like to inform you about an issue that has been affecting the teachers and possibly children too. My issue is about the pay for teachers in New Zealand. The pay is a way too small for the amount of effort the teachers are putting into schools and for children's education. Without higher pay, Teachers won't be able to buy materials and equipment needed in school. I'm sorry if I came in all bossy but, All I am asking is to fix the pay for the teachers because they do a lot more work than expected and without teachers, you wouldn't be the prime minister of NZ!