Leading from the front issuu

Napier Daily Telegraph - 27 November 1977
Napier as the “social experimental
centre of New Zealand” where
problem areas in human relationships
can be studied was the theme
of a panel discussion recently
among experts at the Hawke’s Bay
Community College. One panellist,
Dr John Robson, who is a former
Secretary for Justice, thought . . .
The panellists invited have made distinctive contributions
in their fields.
Dr John Robson is now head of the criminology
department of Victoria University.
Dr Douglas Bray, professor of educational at Massey
University, has done sociological field studies in the
Napier area.
Dr John Harre is director of the Hawke’s Bay
Community College and a former professor of
anthropology.
Dr Vivian Cooper is a Napier jaw and face surgeon
who has observed closely the disadvantaged people
in the Napier area.
Napier - the
one place to
offer hope
Mr W. Te Moana, a Maori educational adiser, stood
in at short notice for the Race Relations conciliator,
Mr H Dansey. Questionamaster was the editor of
The Daily Telegraph
The brief put to the panel was: That Napier could become
the social experimental centre of New Zealand
where race relations will naturally play an important part.
An audience of about 100 listened to the panel, during a
discussion of an hour and a half. A précis of what they
heard is recorded herewith
was there no water-colour class this term?” “And were
we going to steal the high schools’ night classes?” The
task felt overwhelming and we didn’t know where or
how to begin!
Firstly, the community education department would
resist the temptation to second-guess community learning
wants and needs. We would need to learn appropriate
ways and means of engaging with our diverse
communities, for example with Tangata Whenua, with
communities of interest, communities of need, of location,
age, faith, ethnicity; communities of the ‘traditionally
under-represented in post-school education’.
We needed to take a breath, get off the college campus
and start listening, start paying attention. Many
communities appreciated and embraced these opportunities
to meet and talk. As did the college.
The process itself delivered many lessons, for example,
the importance of talking ‘with’, not ‘to’; the power of
community conversations, stimulating ideas and identifying
community resources to create new community
solutions. The power of this insight was a shared gamechanger,
showing us that working together, we can create
the road to improved personal and community lives.
Each of us, individually and collectively, holds the key
to our own learning…..to our own future. Together as a
The writings of Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, seemed apt for the educational creators of the Hawke’s Bay Community College as
they established a place for community learning. Drawing by John Wise.
Hawke’s Bay Community College – it worked! So what happened? 93