I have been taking a special interest in "I" in my Whanau class. He is a very capable student, and very good-natured and willing to give back. He can, with thought and planning, be successful in both the Maori and Pakeha worlds, and I am trying to help him navigate that.
Today we had a chat in Whanau about what he wants, in the short term and the long term, and we are starting to talk about his options. He would like to go into Carpentry. I have been talking to people that I know in the business and that may not be advisable as the industry in Whangarei appears to be controlled by a cartel keeping wages and movement between firms down. We are looking at Engineering courses, that allow him to fulfill family commitments, while earning, learning, and being a stepping to a full engineering degree.
We also talked about how we need students to go out and be successes in both worlds, then to come back and show others that it can be done. I later heard that he went to his friend in the next class and told him about our conversation, and he was all chuffed that I had called him one of the students we want as a role model.
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