Letting the Miromiro lift our spirits
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
by Steve Saville
I think we can all agree it hasn’t been a great term for teachers. As a profession we have been pretty much hammered. It feels like we have been subjected to a relentless tide of misinformed, superficial, quite random and even bizarre criticism, often based on little or no meaningful evidence.
As a profession though we have been lucky to have had our perspective represented by the articulate, coherent and passionate voices of some remarkable educators, many of whom use DisruptEd to connect, communicate and resist.
So thanks Clare, Becca, Derek, Sarah, and others, those who have been our advocates on this forum. Of course there are others here and beyond, the principals who signed [and continue to sign] the NCEA letter, Aotearoa Educators Collective, Bevan Holloway, Save our Schools, PPTA, NZEI, Derek Bartells, Brie Elliott etc [apologies to the many I have not listed].
BUT resistance and defence takes a toll, so, as we near the end of term, I think it timely to thank and acknowledge those brave voices who have spoken up for all of us, and in particular those we serve who don’t have a voice, and to acknowledge that standing up and speaking out often comes at a personal and professional cost.
It is interesting though to see where we look for strength at these times, what lifts our spirits. Sure it is the voiced collective support, petitions, letters and submissions etc. but on this forum contributors have also lifted our spirits by leading us back to who have inspired us in the past, {Ken Robinson] and those who provide inspiration now [Welby Ings]. Some have turned to the power of creativity and Fiona Kidman and Greg O’Connell have published poems that capture the depth of our emotions.
And of course someone [Clare] will always invite us to lean into the truly inspirational and uplifting words of Maya Angelou.
We need to find ways to lift our spirits because it seems that we have a long way to go and, after all else, it is the end of the winter term.
So here is my suggestion, it is not going to shake the world but it may help just a little bit to enable us to continue to stand tall in a symbolic, creative and, hopefully, fun way.
Next week voting opens for the most eagerly anticipated annual election in Aotearoa. I am, of course, referring to The Bird of the Year poll.
Let us adopt a bird that represents us and adopt it as a symbol for the duration of the poll. Vote for it, encourage our staff, communities, friends, families to vote for it.
This is not a new concept as many groups, individuals will adopt a bird in any particular year and advocate for it. So why not us, why shouldn’t we adopt a bird that we as educators feel a sense of connection with?
Can I then suggest that we consider adopting Miromiro /Ngirungiru as the teacher's bird for the 2025 poll.
Why?
Well let me list some of its attributes of this helpful, happy bird and let you tick off those traits that we see in ourselves and our colleagues as educators. I am sure you will quickly see just how similar we are.
-The Miromiro /Ngirungiru might be small but it is a fierce and brave protector of its environment and whānau, often taking on bigger birds with determination and courage.
- It is agile. Miro means to twist, twirl or move rapidly.
-It is full of joy, super friendly and highly social.
-Miromiro /Ngirungiru is known as the love bird.
-It is loyal to those it protects and makes sure they are well fed and sustained.
-It is curious.
-It has damn good eyesight to spot danger and opportunities. An observant person is said to have, ‘he karu miromiro,’ a tomtit eye.
- Its nickname is torotoro [scout] , always exploring new opportunities.
-Yep, it has a large head, surely indicating intelligence.
-It is vulnerable to being eaten by rats but when the rats are controlled it thrives [ I’ll leave that one to just simmer a bit].
-Oh and it is also cute.
See perfectly describes us eh.
So how about it then?
Voting goes from September 15 -28
Let's make the Miromiro Bird of the Year 2025, and maybe also allow it to lift our spirits a little in the last week of term.
If we want another reason then I have always found that when the fight gets a bit wearying then I simply turn to a certain DH Lawrence poem and look for ways to have some fun in the middle of the struggle.
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