Post on 22-Jan-2023
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
MH: So thank you very much. I‘m meeting now with TC
TC: yes
MH:and I’d like to thank you for participating in this study and what I’d like
to do right now is to set up the experience, with some initial questions. And
I’m going to start with asking you to reconstruct your experience. …. you
can feel free to clarify.
TC: sure.
MH: Excellent.….So what I’d like to hear about first, please, is what is your
perception of learning and illness, the impact that illness has on learning.
TC: . learning is an acquisition of knowledge and skills
over a lifetime and learning is the creation of
knowledge, the co-construction of knowledge between
people basically :54 so learning is acquiring and
discovering and making connections and thinking about
things with people and creating knowledge. And illness 1
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
is when the usual harmonious togetherness of the person
or the community or the spirit or the emotion of an
individual is not at their full potential or is not
working in the way they’d like it to work. Illness can
be .. is normally a long term thing, as opposed to an
acute thing. It’s an ongoing and chronic condition and
it differs from an acute episode but acute episodes can
be a part of it. So illness is dishealth or unhealthy or
non health. It’s when people are not up to doing what
they would like to be doing or could be doing if they
didn’t have the illness and it’s normally caused by
either genetics or pathogens or bacterial or yeah,
things that affect the individual. Yeah.
M: alright. What is your perception regarding illness and teaching?
T: Illness and teaching? Illness and teaching. Well,
it’s twofold. First of all, it can be affecting the
teacher as an individual and as part of his or her
family. An illness can affect me, if my children are ill
in terms of taking time off. Also my family being ill
and, my brother, for example, is…my elder brother…my
younger brother’s both epileptic and all of them are 2
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
asthmatic or have got really bad eczema. So they are
ongoing conditions. So as an individual growing up and
as a teacher it affects me. In terms of my class and my
classroom. .., people, kids can …have illnesses which
for example could be autoimmune things which will
affect their stomach like Chron’s disease or ..epilepsy
or .. even ADHD or any of those things which interfere
with their learning. And the way they manifest
themselves could be , .. cause for attention, could be
long periods of sickness off from school. .. it could be
inability to communicate, inability to take in
information and use information. One of my students,
although he can hear what you’re saying, he can’t
auditorily process what you’re saying. Another one of my
students has got an autoimmune .., bowel condition
called Chronic, .., Chron’s disease type condition so
he’s off a lot. ... Some of the girls have got
behavioural disorders. Most of the boy, many of the boys
have behavioural disorders but that’s not chronic
illness. Illness is normally when they’re sick. Yeah.
3
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
M: so what I’d like to know then is, if you could tell me as much as possible
about yourself and.. what your past experience has been regarding
teaching students with illness.
T: (discussion about a student with Down’s Syndrome.
4:15-34.) I’ve had kids who, the normal kids who have
broken arms and legs, but that’s not so much an illness.
I’ve had kids who have been chronically sick and that
merges into, just not being in school for long periods
of time….. …I’ve had kids with diseases that result over
a period of time. I’ve had kids with heart conditions,
obviously kids who can’t see, or morbidly blind. I’ve
had kids in wheelchairs .. where we’ve adjusted the
furniture in the room and their location in the class
in order to .. maximize their chance for involvement. ..
I’m not sure that answered the question. What was the
question again?
M: well, that’s alright. I’d like to know about your past experience ..
T: ..,sure
M: Teaching the students that have these illnesses. Can you set me a
scenario, that would be good.4
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: I think, .., I think what I’ve taught them at, in
primary school. So .., I’ve taught children with illness
at prime but also at secondary and before that at
preschool, in terms of play centre and involvement with
play groups and things. So, oh .., also I’ve taught at
University level. Well, I’ve been involved in University
level in terms of continuing education, so I have had
experience of a wide range. Specifically I remember when
.., we had kids who couldn’t walk, were in wheelchairs
and then we would adjust the height of the desks, and
the .., .. the heights of the chairs and the heights of
the lab tables, .., in order to accommodate them in
order to allow them to roll in and out of the room
basically. Some of them have been interesting in that
they’ve been very bright, but they’ve had .. problems ..
in terms of, .., what’s the disease, is it muscular
dystrophy where they can’t, where they’re limited in
their movements. Where they’re limited in their ability.
They’ve had helpers .., and had laptops which they’ve
worked with quite well, but they normally have one on
one helpers. In this class, we’ve had, we normally
have at least one teacher aide. ... If we could get more5
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
that would be good. And that is for kids who are
completely off the wall. That’s not so much illness,
although it is illness in that it’s ADHD, and it’s
ongoing, and without medication the kids are completely
impossible. And even with medication, they’re pretty
impossible so we’ve got at least probably two in any
class at one time. 7:15 .., we have and if we’re lucky
we have a teacher’s aide. I think that for two years we
had no teacher aides, but we had kids with multiple
problems. .. You normally get one or two at all levels,
kids who have got illnesses which impede their
learning.7:29 .. particularly in this school I think
that there’s a lot, that the school takes on a lot of
kids who’ve been rejected or sent down from other
schools. So we have a higher quotient of them. (7:41
discussion about Base one and integration of those
students 8:13) So there’s quite a good attitude,.. and
also the school seems to be founded on difference and a
celebration of difference and diversity, so, a huge
range of cultures, a huge range of abilities, and a huge
range of, people with abilities in terms of illness and
not illness...., so..... I guess in some of the things
in terms of teaching and illness, you just make 6
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
allowances for, .. the kids who are unable to do
particular things and you, try to move the task or
change the task or alter the task and not a big deal
way, but in a small deal way, so they can actually do
the task and so they can either understand it by
chunking it or breaking it down or making it easier or
smaller or different, .., so they can get the same
experience, get the same information as the other kids
without having their dignity basically impugned by
implying that they are different. So you’re trying to
work with them, just as you’re trying to work with kids
across a wide range of abilities. It’s just another
factor in their lives, so they become….they have
differences. But all kids have differences, 9:19 yeah.
Yeah.
M: Could you tell me more about the allowances that you specifically have
done in your classroom?
T : well, .. for kids who can’t come to school because
they’ve got illness, then you give them a wide range of
books and videos. I’ve got DVD’s. I’ve got 750 DVD’s
which I lend them. You know I also send the stuff online7
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
to them. So I email the work home and I work digitally
with them. They’re all on Netbooks. Everyone’s on
Netbooks so the information can be digitally sent to and
from them. They can work directly to a Google page then
they can upload it and I can see it, which is
instantaneous. They can work with other kids in the
class on the Google page. They can Skype the kids who
are in class and they can see what they are doing, what
I am doing. And they can also, kids can also run their
computers to pick up what I’m doing. So we can relay it
to them. Kids pretty well can go on adventures in terms
of other schools or other places or other organizations
using new technologies where they can, they don't’
actually have to go there, so they can visit these
places, whether they be zoos or art galleries or
anything, really, but they can do it digitally. And I
can go and shoot for them, .., slideshows and
PowerPoints and presentations about all the things that
you see at the zoo, all the things you’d see at Karori
Wildlife Sanctuary or on a trip to the seaside so they
can actually see those if they can’t actually go there.
But mostly we try to include them in the activities. So
we put them on the van and carry them there basically 8
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
and try to use the access points that we’ve got to give
them the experience of being there, yeah.
M: so10:56 in the past, in your teaching a student, you’ve used a lot of
technology and you’ve provided a lot of aides for them to take with them.
You mentioned high absenteeism.
T: some of them are high absenteeism 11:11 because
they’ve got chronic conditions, which just keep on
going. It’s just a matter of staying in touch with their
parents and staying in touch with them, and monitoring
their work and .., doing it digitally and online and
connecting with them. So you’re actually sending them
the information, connecting with them. .., which I think
teachers will do. It’s your job as teachers to teach the
kid, whether they’re here or not, whether they’re
actually in front of you or if they can’t be in front of
you, they’re still your student, s11:39 so if you have
to do it by correspondence or you have to do it by
distance or you have to go around and deliver..I’ve gone
around and delivered the box , I’ve collected the box
and had the books ready. Sometimes they get suspended
not necessarily the kids with illnesses but I think if 9
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
suspended,11:49 you’re equally given the information
they need to be able to pass the test.11:56
M: alright you’ve talked a little bit about that experience, your past
experience and what I hear is that a lot of that is also what’s going on,
currently. Is there anything else you think you want to tell me about that
about, past experience, any specific instance that might highlight or
anything in particular that you might like to share?
T: I think in primary school when I was teaching in
primary school to involve the kids as much as possible
in sporting activities. 12:27 If they’ve got an illness
that requires them to be in wheelchairs, say, then
trying to involve them in some way. For example, there
was a kid who had, .., a chromosome disease which meant
that his, that ?condria wasn’t working, but I think it
might have been called Fragile X. (this is a form of mental
retardation so does not fall under chronic illness.12:42-12:57) So
working with the kids, with the ability they’ve got, to
extend them as far, as much as possible. On the basis of
that if I, if my kids were ill, then I’d want the same
for them. 13:09So from having children comes the
realisation that all children are different and all 10
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
children need help at different times. We all do. 13:16
So therefore, you should help people basically. And I
think it’s not just teaching. It’s helping the whole
person. Often the kids can’t learn or understand or work
because they’re upset about something. You need to find
out what is upsetting them and try to help them sort it
out, whether it be through counselling or .. advice, or
whatever it is that they need. If they haven’t been fed,
then you give them your lunch. If they haven’t (deep
breath) if they haven’t got food or clothes or whatever
it is they are required to be able to learn, whatever’s
impeding them then you do everything you can. If they
can’t afford a pen, you get them a pen, if they need to
buy a book, buy a book. If they can’t afford a
textbook, you buy the textbooks. It sounds a bit like
over the top, but it’s exactly what I’ve been doing for
this class and all other classes I’ve taught because if
they haven’t got a pen, they can’t write, so you give
them a pen. 14:05. It gets a bit expensive after a
while. Especially when it comes to textbooks.. Some kids
in this school can’t afford textbooks. Some kids can’t
afford notebooks or laptops in which case we have a
supply of them and we give them. (discussion regarding 11
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
laptops 14:16-14:24) So it’s going that extra mile 14:25
or that extra kilometre or whatever to give them the
things they need to be able to learn, and what they
need. And this is the same with kids with illness.
They’re just the same as ordinary kids but they need
more. 14:38 They need different. They need… things,
yeah…(discussion of students with psychological or
psychiatric conditions and what is provided for them 14-
42-15:09)
M: alright,
T: yah
M: so then, we’ve talked a little bit about the past experience and you’ve
brought in a lot about the present experience, so we’ll go ahead and talk
about the present experience
T: sure
M: and
12
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: I’ll think about the past and come up with some and
pass an email to you.
M: Sure?
T: yeah
M: that’s good. ... Keeping specifically to the students that you know that
have a chronic illness and you’ve mentioned different illnesses within your
classroom, so we’re gonna just focus on them. And what I’d like to know is
what do you think or feel is currently helpful right now. You’ve mentioned
some of that already, but I’d like to hear again or some more, about what is
currently helpful in or around the school setting, these things that you think
are working.
T: sure . The things that are helpful are , is initially
is live bodies on the ground, 16:06 which means, ..,
teacher’s aides or assistants or helpers or parents or
caregivers or contact with the home. 16:15 So to
actually have people contact, with kids who have chronic
or ongoing illnesses or problems is really
important.16:26. Not just in the classroom, but also 13
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
we’ve got learning support people or learning service
support people not just for the gifted and talented but
for the kids who are finding it hard. We’ve got
counsellors; we’ve got 2 or 3, at least 2 counsellors
full time looking after them. Psychologically, we’ve got
nurses coming in, health nurses, who come in on a, I
don’t know, probably on a weekly basis. So there’s
health nurses in terms of health issues. We’ve got
dental staff for kids with problems in terms of painful
teeth, so we’ve got dental clinic which is outside. So
it’s teacher’s aides (17:05), .. oh hang on, I forgot
the original question, what was the original question?
Sorry.
M: Oh, what do you feel is currently helpful in or around school settings,
specifically having to do with students with illness.
T: I think it’s a attitudinal or cornerstone of the
school that it welcomes and celebrates and rejoices in
difference. Difference in diversity from the physical
and from the psychological and from the emotional.
Differences in terms of different people, different
cultures, different abilities, different ways of 14
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
thinking, different ways of learning. So the classes are
very, very mixed. And that comes right from the Base One
(discussion of this 17:78-18:34) In terms of illnesses,
the ability to provide digital or physical resources
that the kids can take home that you can stay in touch
with the kids to provide them the rich learning
experience. I think also an awareness or a tolerance or
an acceptance that everybody’s not going to necessarily
be here all the time18:59 and the reason that they’re
not here isn’t necessarily because they’re truant or
they don’t want to be. It’s because they’ve got things
that makes it difficult for them to come or sometimes
impossible for them to come. 19:09 These could be
psychological or they could be illnesses or they could
be physical or it could a whole range of reasons why
kids can’t come, but just cause they’re not in front of
you 19:17 doesn’t mean they’re not vital to you in terms
of your teaching, that you need to teach them. You need
to be able to track the knowledge and package the
knowledge and provide the knowledge in a form that they
can absorb. That’s what I think. Yeah.19:30
15
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
M: alright. So how about knowing where to get information regarding a
student’s health.19:37
T. .., well that appears on a system called KAMAR,..,
our internal system, .., our computer system’s there’s a
little box that has a red cross in it. You need to go
and look at the notes on that and look up.19:49 Also
there’s a thing called tukutahi, which is where
different branches of the different information systems
whether they be science or social sciences or whatever.
All the different teachers get together and do joint
learning. So that’s called tukutahi.
M: can you spell that?
T: t, u, k, u, t, a, h, i. tukutahi
M: and that’s a Maori word.
T: that’s a Maori word meaning actually, .. it means
the first feet on the particular marae. So what we use
it in, in to mean is integrated learning, integrated
learning in terms of subject and skills basically. So
it’s integrated subjects and four teachers get together.16
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
That’s a tukutahi group and will look after a year 9 or
2 year 9s or two year 10 groups. So there’ll be 60 kids
overall. Each person will be responsible for 15 kids. So
I’m responsible directly for those 15 kids, all the way
through, so I care for them pastorally and academically
and emotionally and everything all the way from when
they start at year 9. So I form contracts with them and
their parents as to what they need to learn, and how
they’re learning it and each week they actually
digitally write as to how they’re meeting their goals
and objectives and every term there’ll be a report as to
how they’re going as well as there’ll be emails and
phone calls and conversations with parents. And the
parents come in and they reformulate those goals on a 6
monthly or an annual basis or both, as to how they’re
going in terms of their goals. So their parents know how
they’re going 21:26 and these four teachers get together
and provide the information and skills that the kids
need.
M: Now is this is this, for all of the students in the school or is this
particularly
17
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: for all the juniors
M:, this is for all of the students as opposed to just the students with chronic
illness
T: it’s for all the students but you’ve got a
particular need if you’ve got a student with chronic
illness to a) know what it is, b) keep everybody else
informed and in the loop, c) keep track of their
progress and how they’re going. d) if there is any
accommodation that is being made or needs to be made in
terms of exams, assessments, you know, room
arrangements, seats, chairs, whatever it is that that
particular student with illness requires them to do. In
addition to that there’s the learning support who also
help with that. There’s the .., the front of office
people who help with that. Then there’s the Deans.
There’s 5 Deans. One Dean per year group who has an
overall view for that entire year 22:18. And so that
Dean might spend a lot of time just checking that the
child is okay as well. So they’ve sort of got backup. So
you’ve got one teacher who’s chiefly responsible inside
a group of four, called the tukutahi18
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
M: Right..
T: and inside those tukutahi there’s 60 kids, 15 kids to
each teacher and the teacher’s responsible, solely
responsible for looking after that student and keeping
that student in touch with the community 22:50 and
the school and so all actions which are recorded on the
computer by different teachers are, go through that
teacher and resolutions or restorative justice or
whatever it is that the child needs is, goes through
that. Yeah.
M:Alright. So .., now my next question is who and you’ve mentioned that
already briefly, who do you think is currently, right now as opposed to the
past, who do you think is currently helpful and I do realize that you‘ve
covered that…
T: I’ll go over it again. So who’s helpful? I think
there’s about are five layers of help. One, there’s the
individual teacher who’s called the tukutahi teacher
who’s responsible for that student who has the aim, who
has to actually set the goals and monitor the progress
academically, emotionally, and learning wise of that 19
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
student. above them or working with them is a group of 3
other teachers who form the tukutahi who are working
directly with that student, teaching the student, 24:05
the basic knowledge of maths, and science and English
and social studies. Beyond that there’s another ring of
at least 15 or 16 teachers 24:11 who will interact with
that student, called the option teachers and they range
from everything from technology to cooking to metalwork
to woodwork to a whole range of things, music. Above
that is, would be the Deans. The Dean is responsible for
the year’s worth of kids, which is probably 120 or maybe
220. .., in addition to that there’s learning support
who come in from the side and assisting the teachers
and the individuals and so they’ll also be looking at
extreme behaviour and extreme problems and helping. On
the psychological side, is the is the counsellors and in
addition to that there’s two other projects that we’re
running called (or maybe three) he says this softly, thinking
about it. One’s called Travelers, which seem to be a
group of people who come in and assist and help kids at
risk. .., there’s Zeal, which seems to be a particular
Christian group which comes in and helps the kids ..,
spiritually and psychologically and emotionally and 20
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
generally really good for them. In addition to that
there’s another group that I forget. I think that
there’s another group which particularly targets young
Maori at risk who come and assist and help, I’m not sure
what that’s called. Above that, 25:33 At the top level,
we have a variable level of deputies, deputy principals,
possibly two or three deputy principals and maybe an
Assistant Principal who keeps an overview of the whole
thing and the Principal who is on leave at the moment,
she’s got keeps a pretty good eye on everything that
moves or thinks or does anything in this school. In
order to come to this school, you have a meeting I think
we’re the only one in Wellington that does this, a half
hour meeting with the parents where they talk, in
depth, about all the needs of the child, so the illness
would come up at that level and we would know at the
very beginning what it is, some of the issues that we
need to be addressing would be briefed in tukutahi
meetings 26:11 which occur every morning between 8:30
and 8:45 so there’d be a meeting then we’d do a tukutahi
meeting with the kids between 8;45 and 9, so the
information that had come from the previous time, or the
previous week or the previous day would come from 8:30 21
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
to 8:45 and come up to the teachers and that information
would be acted on between 8:45 and 9.
M: so am I correct, then, in understanding that you have at these tukutahi
meetings every day?
T: well, we have had a meeting which encompasses that
called a briefing, a staff briefing every morning. Part
of that is tukutahi in addition to that we have weekly
tukutahi meetings and then there’s , tukutahi leaders
who meet every Wednesday or Thursday morning, so there’s
extra meetings, yeah.
27:01.
M: What or who do you believe would influence the student with chronic
illness. Who do you believe, what do you believe influences the academic
success of these students and if you like I can read you a list and say yes or
no?
T: yeah, go for it
M: so do you think family will influence a student’s academic success?
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Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: Yes, not just because how much the family pushes
them, requires, requests, and pleads and begs and
provides resources for that student and the expectation
of that family. That will have a direct effect on
influence on the teachers and the school as to what will
be provided so yes, the family is a huge portion of it
.
M: How about peer support?
T: Peer support is two levels of peer support. Not only
do we have peer support coming from kids around that
person, which is very, very, vitally important and is
reflected in all sorts of social media and social
networking sites where you see comments, or or thoughts
from the kids, 28:07 but also we also have peer
supporters who come from a higher level, like years 13
and 12, who actually come down and work with the juniors
at the years 9 and 10 level to try and give them
support. And they’re trained separately by the
counsellors to actually administer that support. Yeah.
28:25
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Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
M: Do you believe teachers influence 28:30 student’s academic success?
T: I do! Hugely. I think, that just speaking as a
teacher, I think that’s the most important of all, to
have high expectations and to provide the resources and
the wherewithal and learning and the helping that the
student needs. 28: 41 I think that’s absolutely vital.
21:44 I think that, going back to peer support, when
we’ve had people with chronic .., what was is it called
when you don’t eat, it’s called….
M: Anorexia?
T:Anorexia. We had a girl with chronic anorexia, we had
small groups of girls who would accompany this girl
everywhere cause otherwise she would go and be bulimic
in the toilet. 29:00 They would accompany her and look
after her and keep her from killing herself basically.
She would spend like 6 weeks in hospital and then she’d
come out, so they would actually monitor her and look
after her 29:11 and I would say can you just go why,
watch could you just go check and see if she’s okay in
the toilet or can you keep an eye on her, so I was 24
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
working with the peer group (29:19 discussion on cutting
yourself, drug dependency --29:44.)Peer group is
particularly effective. (29-45 discussion of child with
learning difficulties 30:52)
M: How about general staff, general school staff?
T: yes, not just the health nurse in terms of bleeding
or epilepsy or sudden you know, collapse or fainting or
whatever it is, but also, but also keeping care of the
medications, and making sure that they take the
medications, 31:12 and being there in terms of
emergencies with allergies with those epipens, so that
sort of stuff, so yes. But also in terms of
counsellors, in terms of psychological, emotional.
physical in terms of deputy principals who might have an
overview over the deans. Head of departments who you can
go to when you need it, yes, there’s strong support
structures in the school for them, 31:35 yeah.
M: Do you think do you think health practitioners influence the student’s
academic success?
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Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: Yes…
M: this is your perception.
T: yes, in that so much they actually prescribe the
medications or the drugs or the medical devices that
allow the kids to activate their learning potential,
31:57 in so much that they allow mobility or gain
mobility. No, in so far as they actually block access to
the things that the kids need. Often it comes down to
money so that if you pay lots of money you can actually
get access to the equipment, you get access to the drugs
that you need 3 2: 14(example of his mother with chronic hip
problems regarding paying private versus of public )32:42. So if you
have a student, he might have access to the operations
or the drugs or the care that you need and that is a
straight government financial funding split 32:53 In
order to keep down the amount of money being spent on
health, the government will ration health by having a
long waiting list. It’s a political decision. 33:01
Yeah.
M: alright. Do you believe culture influence..26
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: yeah, hugely. Cultural influences us hugely in any
which way. So culture as me, a white teacher teaching
Maori and Pasifika Island kids. Me, as a male teacher
teaching female kids, ( 33:22-34:06 separate
discussion )
M: so how would you say, in terms of academic success and culture and you
and this particular setting, how do you think the culture influences a
student’s academic success?
T: It’s huge, 34:25 For three reasons. First of all, if
you’re a Maori or Pasifika Islander, you might actually
be associated with lower achievement. So you may want
to stay in the group and may not want to excel, you may
want to stay in a group that is not excelling. Equally
you may have pressure at home, a)(if you don't want to
acknowledge that you’re Maori or Pacific Islander
because you want to be seen as a high achiever
(discussion about self identification. 34:39-35:08) …
Their culture might say hey, keep quiet until you’re an
elder in which case you can talk. Of wait til you’re an
elder brother you may be the speaker 35:14, not 27
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
necessarily the younger brother; if you’re a younger
brother you may be required to keep quiet. (discussion
of how religion may affect behaviour and classroom
experiments–Culturally in terms of religion you may have
to fast for a month at time for Ramadan so they come in
hungry, so they miss school cause they’re really hungry
or they may not be able to eat til night which means
they’ve decreased the time to sleep or they might be
thirsty so they can’t actually eat or drink. Equally
well, you can’t do experiments or you don’t want to do
experiments where you’re testing food or water at that
time or anything that might be tempting them to break
their fast. So you make allowances and you treat it as
part of the school.35:56
M: So how about with culture in speaking specifically about the students
with illness, and how perhaps a Maori or Pasifika student or from another
culture, if that, you think, also affects their academic success. Or the student
with the illness’ itself.
T:Yeah, I think there’s three points there. First of
all, some illnesses, people may not actually want to see
it as an illness. 36:31 They may actually want to see 28
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
being deaf as being a part of the deaf culture, using
sign language, and resisting having a thing in their
head to allow them to listen and that’s a valid form
that they may want to be different than the hearing
community and they may have their own kind of
background, etc 36:53 I don't’ think that answers
your question though, try to ask it again…
M: how do you think culture affects specifically a culture would affect a
student who has a chronic illness. His or her specific culture and how, if, in
fact, do you think or do you feel a culture that the student comes from will
affect a student with chronic illness will affect his academic or
T: yes, I do,
M: his academic success
T: yes, I do because strictly Maori or Pacific Island
may feel that there’s a curse or that there’s a reason
for them being ill. They may associate it and it may
sound racist, but in terms of having just done a program
on gastric cancer and looking at the tribe, at the iwi,
or hapu, thought that they were cursed because all their29
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
family was dying of gastric cancer. In fact it was a
genetic disease which was discovered and unearthed, but
I’m taking from that is that people, some people in some
groups think that that there’s a curse on a particular
group of people 37:49 or .. particular person who may
have an illness, so whereas I may see it as a particular
genetic anomaly, they might see it as a comment on their
spiritual or religious background or what their parents
did.38:06 .. In terms of different cultures, Indian may
have different approaches according to their castes, the
Buddhist or the Asian may have a completely different
cultural attitude to what suffering means 38:19. They
may see it as part of dharma or paying for past wrongs
and that if you interfere with that .you’d be
interfering with their movement up a ladder of, what to
you call it when they come back again?
M: reincarnation?
T: reincarnation. It might be affecting them. Equally
Maori and pacific islanders might have a different
attitudes towards menstruation. (more on this and pregnancy.
38:45 – 39:46)30
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
M: so in terms of culture, then, I want to see if I'm understanding that you
do believe that that culture, depending on where the student with the illness
is from, that the culture may affect the student.
T: yes.
M: academic success, academically as well. He has an illness and because of
their own ideas, or views from their culture, you think that that may impact
whether or not the student is in school, or how the student feels about his
illness and therefore his learning.
Yes, I think it can impact upon their being in school.
40:22 I think it's the teacher’s job to provide as much
support, resources, background, information, and
assistance to that student. And if their culture is such
that it’s liable that they’ll be able to access that,
then the teacher should be providing every which way
they can to support that student. I think it is our job
to help them to do that. 40:44And yes, there will be
some cultures where their attitude or their impression,
their view of illness will be such that it will get in
31
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
the way of the kids’ learning. 40:56 It shouldn’t but
it will. Yeah, yeah.
M: How do you feel that the people that you’ve talked about, family, peer
support, teachers, staff, even health practitioners, you’ve mentioned school
counsellors 41:11. How do you feel that these individuals influence your
ability to help the student with a chronic illness achieve academic success?
T: I think they help. I think all of the background help
, all of the policy, all of the planning, the
background, the resources help me to do my job, but in
the final analysis it does come down to me. 41:34 It
comes down to me helping and supporting the child, and
going the extra mile for them.41:39 Other teachers don’t
because other people, other teachers haven’t’ got the
time or the energy or the resources or the background or
the support to do it. But they may not just want to do
it. I think I do it. And I think other teachers would do
it, but when you’ve got, 30 kids in a class and you’ve
got 5 classes, that’s a150 kids and the amount of time
that you have available after teaching, in terms of
planning and marking, and assessing is very small. 42:12
Especially, you know, since you’re not paid for any of 32
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
that time, and that sticks a bit because, as a part time
teacher I’m here from 9 to 6 anyway and all those hours,
although I’m working past 80%, the 20% I’m not paid for
that, but I’m still performing at that level because I
expect that and because I’m a professional basically.
So yes, I think all the support structures do help 42:36
…I think to have two counsellors does help
immensely,42:38-42-45…..(gender, sexualit,y culture happens). To have
a nurse available when you have a chronic attack or
something happens, then that is very important 42:53 To
have the resources so that if there is an emergency you
can clear the building and .. get assistance for them is
vitally important. 43:00 To have Head of Dept support
that’s great! To have deans overlooking the whole thing
is wonderful. 43:08 To have the tukutahi teachers that
you can just meet and talk and say what’s happening,
43:14 what’s on top. It’s wonderful. So you have a
group of four solid core teachers that you’re working
with, and you’re one of four, yup.
M: Now I’d like to know, .what do you think is the student’s with chronic
illness educational environment, his learning environment
33
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: I think their learning environment is everything
that they see, experience, feel and do. I think it all
of it impacts on upon their learning 43:40. So whether
it be from home to school to sport to tv to environment
to everything that they see and do impacts upon them.
43:50 It’s not just the 6 hrs or 5 hours that they can
spend in school which impacts upon them. It’s the whole
thing in terms of their learning. Their learning is a
holistic thing. 44:05 It’s everything that they see and
do.. What we’re basically doing is neurons in their
brain which are being pruned if they’re not used. In the
time of learning, which is probably til they’re 25 these
days, their brain is being restructured and so we are
trying to reinforce to reinforce the connections that we
think is important and that we think will be important
for them in the future….. They’re hopefully getting that
reinforcement from their parents. They’ll be getting
different reinforcement, but it should be equally well.
They’re reinforcing what they think is important. 44:33
M: My follow up question was what was their learning environment and
who’s involved, but you’ve pretty much answered that.
34
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: It’s pretty holistic. Yeah, but I think a whole lot
of learning is done in the media, new media, in terms of
new media, internet, computer games, there’s YouTube,
video games. 44:55 A lot of their time is spent on that
and if we could provide software that would actually
deliver education messages as well as fun gaming, then
we might have a winner. I think the whole thing is
moving towards a virtual reality, augmented reality
which is different than the sort of teaching that you
see around you which is 2D pictures on the wall and flat
45:20.(discussion about learning being technological)
45:45
M: what works in the school, I think I’ve asked this similar question What is
working specifically, specifically you, TC, in this school, in this learning
environment with students you currently have to be successful. What’s
helping you to help them be successful.
T:Generally it’s the expectation that I will. It’s the
resources and the knowledge the training, the
professional development that the school has given me to
know about the conditions and know what it is that I
need to do for it.46:22 It’s the information about the
specific condition got by discussion with the parents 35
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
and with the child, 46:29 and with the caregivers and
with the health people to work out what it is that they
need.46:34 It’s the creation of individual learning
plans for these children that tells what I need to do
in order to get this message across to them, to get the
information across. 46:44 It’s the changing of the
learning and the assessment criteria to accommodate them
and it’s an appreciation that learning happens on a 24/7
out of school as well as in school experience. 46:58 So
(pause) Overall it’s my attitude, its the resources
which the school’s given to me or provided to me or that
I find or take, and it’s the match with the kids
expectations and the level with which they are, in terms
of their learning.47:13 yeah.
M: You’ve mentioned the tukutahi and the juniors. I’m interested in hearing
about the seniors, what’s going on for them?
T: The tukutahi breaks down in year 11, which is 5th
form, which is the 3rd year. And then there’s a Senior
Dean, a senior tukutahi person who’s responsible for
setting another 15 kids. So we mix it up at that stage.
M: Okay.36
Interview 1 with TC (teacher) at WHS (Teaches science)
Date 23 Aug 2011, 54.55
T: and the groups go into groups of 15 again. But
they’re senior teachers who have the same job of
carrying on doing that all the way through 47:53……...
But the Dean continues all the way through so the Dean
continues from year 9 all the way through year 13.
47:59 So the Dean sees the year group all the way
through. But what happens is there is a cycling of
teachers at the yr 9 and 10, so we do a year 9 then a
year 10, so we go back to being a year 9 and year 10. So
there is a turnover in terms of the juniors. And there’s
a whole brand of senior teachers who take over from us.
48:15
M: (wind up of thanks and end of interview).
37