Day Twenty One

Day 21 - Meeting with Dr Beverley Bell Waikato University

Dr Beverley Bell works with preservice teachers in Science education courses at Waikato University. Her background is predominantly in Aboriginal Education in Science, she worked for the School Boards Office looking at improving outcomes for Maori students in the Science Curriculum. The message I took with me following discussions with Beverley is that the work I do should be done with the intention of it being picked up by Indigenous educators in the future. She has seen this as her role, as a non-Indigenous educator, in Aboriginal education. Beverley has had the position of mentor and supervisor to Aboriginal students who are leaders in this field of education and research.

She also explained to me that when peoples key values rub up against each other it can be very difficult to move forward in making educational or conceptual changes. She gave a recent example from one of her classes, she was discussing with students opportunities to teach Science from different perspectives. During this time she told students that they were free to anonymously write down any questions or discussion points that they might have. One student stated very specifically that there was only one way of viewing the world and made reference to Creation. In promoting to students that they can bring culturally responsive teaching strategies and Aboriginal ways of knowing and culture to the Science classroom Beverley does occasionally encounter friction and/or problems, she noted that 2 Maori students had requested the opportunity to speak to her and she suspected that this may have been in response to a lesson she had delivered on the teaching of traditional knowledge, though she wasn't entirely certain.

Beverley's knowledge of Aboriginal traditional knowledge and protocols was exceptional. She explained the relevance and importance of the waterways to local Aboriginal people, including the building of a bridge such that it did not touch the water following consultation of local Elders and the carved tuata on the Waikato expressway where it crosses the river.