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What the chickens have taught me in Samoa…

I updated my Facebook Profile with this comment last week and thought I should elaborate on it in this week’s blog post. Firstly, to post again for those who didn’t see it:

5 things I learned from the chickens outside my tent in Samoa –

1. Stay close to Mum, she will always keep a lookout for trouble while you are busy eating!
2. If Mum chirps … Beware … you better respond quickly, or you might not live to tell the tale.
3. Follow Mum’s advice and actions – she gets up on the high rock for a reason.
4. Don’t fight with your brothers and sisters, it only distracts you from more important issues, like eating.
5. There is always one chicken who is adventurous and wants to do his (generally always the male chick) own thing, and not follow Mum.

Now, I don’t just have two cuddly yellow chicks visit me each morning – like the picture. They are far too quick for me to actually capture them on photo! In fact, I have about five families/generations of chicks to wake me every morning at 6am (7am this morning thanks to Daylight Saving over the weekend!) Continue reading “What the chickens have taught me in Samoa…”

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Experiencing the Gifted

The trouble that arises from teachers and students alike not understanding someone’s differences can be widespread in the classroom. For gifted students, teachers not understanding their intentions, or criticising them for a seeming indiscretion, can damage their feelings of self-worth for years to come.

So how do you teach the teachers-to-be about gifted students in a way that doesn’t parade the gifted into more self-conciousness? Easy, by all accounts – view gifted people in films and identify with the common characteristics.

See Viewing Giftedness through Different Lenses: Film Character Analyses | Ako Aotearoa, an excellent article by Massey University’s Gifted expert, Tracy Riley.

I have a soft spot for this type of teaching and learning, because I have a son who was failing at NCEA English, until he changed schools in Year 12 and was catered for brilliantly at his new school. At this school, English Through Film was a popular class for students who were not that good with the standard reading and writing in the curriculum. It worked – he passed, and he finally enjoyed a year of English at school!

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A Numbers Game …

Flying the flag for the Rugby World Cup
Flying the flag for Manu Samoa in the Rugby World Cup

Well, after six months in Samoa, I don’t feel the need to tell you how many weeks it has been anymore! Besides, there are more important numbers going on in people’s minds at the moment. I’m referring to Rugby World Cup scores – and I have to not only know how the All Blacks are faring, but also how my “adopted” Manu Samoa team is doing as well!

I commented to a friend that she wasn’t at the local Hamilton game a few nights back. Her reply – “I don’t do rugby!” Try saying that to a Samoan at the moment – then again, I think it is better left unsaid! Continue reading “A Numbers Game …”

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Enter the Throneroom

Samoa Toilet
Out with the old … in with the new!

At last – this week we ‘flushed’ the loo for the first time in the three months we have been here!!! For those who think it must … well … smell – our toilet is finally installed with running water and flushing out to the septic tank at the push of the button! Some think – so what! For us, it is “Progress” that has been well-earned. You can take too much for granted, you know!

We have been tied to the computers over the last week, getting eveything ready for the launch of the new initiative to boost Samoa’s tourism numbers, that we plan to launch in New Zealand for 2012. Continue reading “Enter the Throneroom”