Knowing that you can access explicit and timely direction

  • People have helped me all the way through just recognising the potential that I never saw myself. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would almost have Level 3 with Excellence I wouldn’t have believed them. These people have helped me to recognise what I actually am capable of achieving.

  • She sat down with me and looked through my grades and my NCEA and how I was achieving, and my attendance at school, and then gave me advice on how I can do further study. They helped and offered me heaps of opportunities.

  • I was disconnected from my culture for a long time, and it wasn’t until my Year 9 Māori teacher, she just came up to me and asked me if I had any interest in it. I didn’t at first, but she showed me the possibilities - where I could go with my Māori. If it wasn’t for her encouraging me to learn my language, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.

  • I’ve got a lot of teachers that I look up to; they’re actually helpful with my subjects like Maths, but also my stepping up and partaking in cultural competitions. Like one, well you’d think the dude who’s literally come from the UK wouldn’t really be into our cultural activities. He’s actually always there up the front, singing in his accent. And he’s always saying, “Oh, good on you, stepping up there, and actually up the front, leading. ”You know, it’s pretty good.

  • It’s pretty easy talking to all the teachers and they’re all really helpful. They just push you and they tell you when you’re not doing what you should be. They’ve really helped me a lot. You realise that you actually do need these credits if you want to go far in school. This year has been a really good year, and I’m looking forward to next year.

  • At the start of the year I didn’t really feel confident because I wasn’t getting credits or anything. In class I was always the quiet one and my science teacher recognised it. He helped me. He just pushed me to get extra credits, and that was big.

  • One teacher, he’s followed me right through school and he’s made sure I’ve kept out of trouble, more so this year because I wasn’t the best student up until Year 10. He’s pushed me to do my best and shown me what I can do, rather than just me, doing what I think I can do. He’s shown me that I can do more than I think.
  • Often you don’t think that teachers are there to help you, but they really are. They are so open to helping you, helping you succeed.

  • Our teachers - they’re like our pou (support pole) at school. They relate to us. Like, if we’re being haututu (mischievious) they’ll be haututu back. Their teaching skills are fun. They make it like not so boring - they don’t teach down to you. They just expect you to do well, help you when you’re down, teach us to get back up.
  • Normally I’m like REALLY bad when it comes to English and writing. I don’t usually give an end result, but this year she’s been pushing me and I’ve actually been getting Excellences in English, which I’ve never done before.

  • She’s helped me become a prefect, actually pushing me, saying, “The Māori students are always underestimated, I believe in you”. Her belief in me really helped me this year.

  • We have a special initiative in our school. It not only helps with your leadership skills, but it keeps track of your academic records, your attendance and everything. They really crack the whip and help you to stay on track. Teachers help us to understand what we need for university and what we need to gain scholarships or anything like that.

  • It’s made me more confident - there’s so much support. We’re just like a big family, we’ve got support everywhere, so that’s awesome.
  • My tutor teacher, he makes sure that if my grades aren’t up to standard, that I re-submit and get them up. Just teachers in general - they’ve pushed me this year to do my best.

  • The teachers in school are so helpful. They give us more than they had and they also act like our parents. They form that relationship with us so we can bond with them easily, and that contributes to our success.

  • He helps us with anything we need, anything at all. If I have problems at home or at school, if you’re not really studying that well, he’ll take the time to help you with that. Whenever I’m lacking in schoolwork - anything at all - he just helps us out.

  • She focuses on everybody, but if you’re a Māori student in her class, she really helps you out and tries to impact you as much as she can.
  • He helps out with anything we need for schoolwork. We can just go see him, because we know that we can talk to him about anything.

See other Student Voice themes:


See also: