The Real Game Reflection.

 The Real Game. A booklet based on budgeting and understanding the financial difficulties of adulthood. The yearly salary just makes up the cost of housing, transportation, food, vacations etc. The booklet teaches us to save our money for good and worthy causes. It is setting us up for how to plan a future and what to do with our perfect career pathway. It shoves all of your dreams into reality, making it easier to find your priorities. It shows us how much life costs. It shows us how to plan our future. I started off simple. Average yearly salary of $72,000 to fit with my first house. My house would have cost a full $320,000 or the rent of $1,600 monthly. Then we have my car, $45,000 fully or rented at $750 monthly. That isn’t including your interests, technology, gym memberships etc. If I were to plan a holiday away, an annual leave, I would have had to budget myself and to start saving early. My taxes, my monthly budget, my costing in general and then my experiences with life.

Leadership & Government Reflection

When I thought of leadership, a million ideas had appeared in my mind but I could only pick and choose the core values and qualities which to me is; open communication, integrity, delegation and accountability. When these four cores are put into a one of a kind leader then there would be no need for worrying and stressing about getting the job done hard and fast.  We were given a speech document saying we were to create a leadership speech and the topic was, “what does it take to become a leader,”. To me, being a leader comes with heaps of qualities people look for, heaps of responsibility to uphold and a lot more on your plate. You are to be a role model, to be responsible, respectful, respected, trustworthy, honest… the list goes on. But a leader would be sure of what they are asking or what they are receiving before they actually consider it. 

This topic was one of the easiest and best received I must say but only because I was ready for the topic and I was prepared for the subject; Leadership and Government. Not all people could be known to be a leader. You need to be reliable and confident for what you are learning to do or what you're leading. You can always work towards being a leader, you can earn it or you can be born into it. Either way, everyone can be a leader and no one has to be a follower if you aim higher and higher every time.

This subject was focusing on the Systems of Government. Government can be described in two ways:

• The system of rules used to run a community

• People who make and administer those rules

I learned that either way government is a set amount of people who govern and care for those who wish to be taken care of. Depending on how many individuals are in a community, the more complex and complicated the system of government works. The more the population grows, the more strict rules are put in place to protect everybody.  Governments have power or authority over their specified community by using their power to coerce others.  The governments give you a more easier, freer way of living in a crowded or less crowded area depending on where you are situated.  Governments are told to have three key power elements:

• Executive, the power to make decisions

• Legislative, the power to make laws

• Judicial, the power to interpret laws (deciding what laws mean and the intentions for the laws to work)

Understanding the government wasn’t the easiest but to learn how the system works and what the system does to protect us. 

Acids and Bases 10SCI Reflection

In Putaiao-Science, we have been learning about Acids and Bases. Acids are any substances in a water solution that make it taste a sour bitter taste. It changes blue litmus paper red, reacts to some metals and reacts with bases to make salts. Bases are a substance that neutralises an acid by reacting to hydrogen ions. We did a couple experiments on acids and bases and how they react to each other or neutralises to make a pH of 7, a green color.  Some examples of acids include:

• Hydrochloric acid

• Nitric acid

• Sulfuric acid

And some bases:

• NaOH

• LiOH

• Ca(OH)2

I saw when we had done the experiment on making salts that there were various examples of changing form. There was the neutralisation reaction when we added the HCl to NaOH and saw whether or not we were adding enough universal indicator or HCl to the mixture for it to fully-neutralise. After we did that we were supposed to boil it in a basin but, frankly the bell had gone and we were short on time so we were unable to get up to that stage of the experiment.

He Aha Te Kaupapa O Enei Whakaahua Reflection

Humans Right Image Reflection

In this subject, we had been focusing on Human rights. Human Rights are the simple rights of freedom that are entitled to everybody around the world so we are all treated equally as citizens of our countries. Nobody else has control over what rights belong to you. This subject taught me the importance of these universal rights. These rights were set in place to protect and help our neighbors so that no one feels left out or disrespected. 

In regards to the imaging, we were given a task to see what our understanding of human rights was. We were given an opportunity to put one picture to the side and then give our response to that image, in regards to human rights. We have also been given the task of creating our own ideal human rights picture, a little something that shows us what we feel should be fair for all of us. I slept in. I said it should be a priority because you don’t exactly know why they sleep in etc. Everyone should be entitled to their own limited time of recharging the brain and fully-focusing on whatever it is they need to focus on.

I wouldn’t say it is the easiest assessment to be given but it also wasn’t the hardest. It gave me a little piece of understanding on the way things are to be run around the world and how some people disrespect these simple things that have been put in place for not just our safety but also our surroundings. It was a fun, meaningful topic that I overall enjoyed.

Land March Reflection

 Hikoi Land March

Hikoi Land March Reflection

14 September, 1975 there was a protest about the loss and greed of Maori land being taken. An old kuia, Whaea Dame Whina Cooper, mother of two, had raised concerns about this. As she marched she repetitively said, “Not one acre more,”. There were thousands that took part, along with hundreds of thousands on the sideline to support. There was over 95% of land stolen and regained. There were many more challenges along the way but they managed to win the fight. 

Te Roopu O Matakite, those with foresight, were powerful and fought together in unison. They gave in their careers/jobs to support Whina’s statement. They had made two taonga, the Memorial Of Rights and Te Pou Whenua. Every stop they took it was to sign the memorial of rights. All kau matua and kuia of the maraes they stopped at gathered and signed the memorial. 

After Matakite arrived at the Parliament in Wellington, they presented the Memorial to the PM, who was Bill Rolling at the time, and when he read it through he acknowledged and accepted the request. No one could have had as much mana as Whaea Whina. The courage, the confidence and the passion to stand up for her people. No one could have done a better job.

Kawenata Reflection

 

 Kawenata Learning Reflection

Kawenata Learning Reflection

My understanding of the UDHR (Universal Declaration Of Human Rights) is that back in the late 1940’s the Draft Committee had organized a kawenata regarding the freedom or the equality in the worldwide population. A very historic document recording the rights empowered to the people, or the rights that the people are entitled to. 

The kawenata of our tangata whenua, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, in my understanding is a declaration published to balance the rights, the property and the partnership between our Maori Chiefs and the British Crown. It requires both races to work together for the betterment of Aotearoa’s population. A partnership of governance was made that day, although there was a malfunction with the translations between two articles to be signed. 

There were many similarities between the two declarations but I have singled out some, they both balance out rights between our people, it was also published for the greater good, to show some equality in the world. Before the declarations were first published, there were many wars fought between countries. They thought that violence was the answer to solve their problems instead of coming to an agreement and making a declaration.

As many similarities, there are always differences. Te Tiriti O Waitangi was only about the balance of the British and the Maori. The UDHR was designed to work in unison with any country that wants to be signed. UDHR had many names before coming up with the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, there was natural law, where there was no boundaries or law saying you couldn’t treat another differently.