Final noho marae (overnight stay) for the year...

This has been an interesting and informative year as it draws to a close with my class. What's been really neat is watching adult students add to their journeys of learning and also in their personal lives to share goals and pursuits, difficulties and triumphs and developments. With more to come.

I've really come to appreciate the privilege it is to be a kaiako (teacher) and to share some of the insights that I've learned along the way of my educational journey. Both the good and the not so good but in all we still continue to learn from our successes and our failures and hope that our children will succeed in the role modeling that we put before us.

One of the important lessons that I've learned along the way is that for us as parents, despite whatever our circumstances, we need to be able to set a good foundation for our children in providing that important safe haven at home in order for our children to succeed.

I've seen how my mother and father, and many other visionary parents provided that space where we (as children) were able to dream our dreams and then given the space to make them happen. If that's what we as mothers can do, then we go a long way to making it happen for our children, no matter what choices they make in life.

Fathers also play an important role but from my perspective, as a mum/mom, we make those choices that can either make or break our children's dream so that it's imperative to ensure that we first and foremost are in a good space and then enable our children and families to be in a good space too.

I think of the pioneering woman whose path I follow, as in my mother as an important role model and the many other women who make or have had daily sacrifices in order for their children to succeed. Honouring those important people are important to do in life.

I'm hoping that as my class goes forward in their endeavours that they continue to shine that light of hope that it's never to late to keep learning and to be neat role models for their families, of providing that special space at home for their children's dreams to come true...