Wairua and the relationship it has with learning te reo ... - Clear Net

The student described the changes in her behaviour as having brought
about “a different way of seeing things…and of being,” with “other avenues
that are better” (Edwards 2004:1A,260,264) now for her when dealing with
situations she finds herself in. The student said she was “more in tune with
what I feel now”…”It’s being with the whanau” (Edwards 2004:1A,270,280)
of Te Ataarangi that have brought about these changes.
When people “start to…hook into the group…dynamics” (Rangihau
2004:4A,262) the kaiako will reinforce this stage with whakawhanaunga,
karakia, mihimihi, singing and laughter. The whanaungatanga that
develops means that students want to help each other, they start feeling
for others, “then you know that second stage is starting to kick in”
(Rangihau 2004:4A,284). Some never get to this stage they don’t like to
join in, this can be expressed as “mohio, they know all this stuff”,
“really…that’s like a defence mechanism”, “they don’t like people to know
how much they don’t know” (Rangihau 2004:4A,289).
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