The principals (yes, there are two) at the primary school we visited today had a great approach to leadership. One of their comments was, "One size fits one." It's their approach to Special Education, to gifted education, to caring for every student, and to caring for every staff member. It became obvious as I walked through classrooms that the "one size fits one" philosophy permeates the school. The furniture in the classrooms was mixed—each room had a var...

The first settlers came (to what is now New Zealand) about 700 years ago in canoes from (what is now) Hawaii. They set up many tribes on both the north and south islands. Captain Cook was the first explorer to stick around after he met the warring locals and claimed land for England in 1769. British citizens trickled in. The English missionaries learned to speak Te Reo (the Maori language) and therefore educated about Christianity in Te Reo. In 1840, the Tre...

"Kia ora" we heard as we walked across the expansive University of Auckland campus for teacher preparation. We were going to be welcomed in the traditional Maori ceremony, or "powhiri," before visiting immersion and traditional Early Childhood Education Centre (ECE) today. We were greeted by the men who direct each ECE and told what to expect. While we stood outdoors in the humid air and conversed, some of the three-year-olds from the Maori immersion ECE climb...