Acing the top of the Class
With a background in adult literacy, Professional Development and Networks Manager of Adult Community Education (ACE) Aotearoa and Cook Islander Analiese Robertson for the past 20 odd years has been helping to develop and strengthen education throughout communities in New Zealand and talks to the Times about her refusal to become another “statistic”, the significance of education for Pasifika and her dream of returning home to Rarotonga.
Times: Analiese how exactly did you get involved with this your type of work?
Analiese Robertson: I refused to be another statistic on the unemployment benefit, after completing school the expectation was that you go to University. I decided to go to work, make money and help Mum and Dad out. I never knew then as a young 18 year old, that the type of work I was stepping into would become my lifelong passion. Being involved in the education sector interests me so much that I take my work home, in a good way. My first step into this kind of work was for an Adult Literacy provider in Grey Lynn, Auckland. After a month of starting, someone asked me what we did. I didn’t know then, so I asked my manager who told me that the organization teaches adults to read, write and do maths. I couldn’t believe it. I thought she was joking with me because my young mind couldn’t believe that anyone let alone an adult could get by in life without those essential skills. I then went on to do some training which opened my eyes to seeing how a papa’a/English system did not fit the needs of many Maori and Pasifika people. Then I started to see how this impacted on their lives, starting with own family, at home. I started to see my parents in a different light, Rarotonga born and bred and part of a generation who went to New Zealand for a better life, access to employment and in search of good education for my sisters and I. My father struggled with his own literacy issues. Having fluency in a Rarotongan context didn’t always transfer across to a dominant papa’a society. But I was always amazed at his intelligence to navigate through a system that was not familiar. The high level of thinking that took place in the TAB, in the sports environment and at home. I don’t know if they would say now that it was “better” but I think they would agree that it was different.
T: That’s very true I think for many diaspora Pasifika, can you tell us about your background?
AR: I am one of five girls and no boys, most of us, born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand. Both Dad and Mum are of Cook Island descent, my father is Henry Tiniura Enoka, and my mother is Kaumari Enoka (nee Puna). We grew up in Grey Lynn, predominantly a “brown” neighborhood where majority of islanders would have started and lived. We grew up with Dad’s family, as his siblings had arrived a lot earlier and settled in Auckland mainly. So our friends, community, were family and slowly grew out from there to be a part of the wider community through sports. Life was tough, Dad and Mum would always be working, and we would be at home looking after ourselves and making sure our homework was done. We see the sacrifice now,that has paved the way for us. Being part of a colonial system meant that English became our adopted “mother tongue” and English became the way we did many things.
T: Analiese just recently the Cook Islands government in conjunction with AUT in NZ signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in which there is a huge emphasis on indigenous learning methods, not only validating but creating an informal environment to do so. As an adult education provider what are ACE’s focuses?
AR: “Transforming communities through adult and community education”. We recognize lifelong learning, tailored to fit, as a pathway away from poverty and dependence, towards prosperity and self-determination. We promote the value and role of adult and community education in transforming lives and we celebrate learner success. We recognize the importance of a learner-centered approach, and particularly to highlight success with employing learning methods (indigenous and other) that allows success in a local, national and global world. A number of ACE programs here in New Zealand operate this way. The learners we work with are the “hardest to reach” because they have been through the New Zealand school system and it didn’t work for them. Maori and Pasifika are a majority in this statistic. These learners then grow up, become adults and carry the negative experiences with them. The ACE focus is to look at methods of change, that acknowledge these experiences and use them as opportunities to create the opposite, a learning environment that is familiar, positive, validates their prior knowledge and experience, and applies methods of teaching that encourage educational success.
T: I wanted to throw a few statistics at you. In the Cook Islands majority of higher level education is attained through one of the two avenues. Relocating to NZ to pursue other tertiary institutes or through the University of the South Pacific (USP) of which majority of the latter group are mature students. I think this speaks very loudly of the way we as Cook Islanders prefer to learn however we don’t really offer any opportunities like ACE to our community; do you think that an organization like this would be sustainable in the Cook Islands?
AR: I definitely think the Cook Islands would benefit from a likeminded organisation. It would be sustainable because there will always be a need to nurture education for all, at all levels and in all contexts. What we are finding is that the ACE programmes in New Zealand are growing demand here and in Australia from generations born in those countries. They have been disconnected from the language, culture, and participation in the island way. Essential organisations like the Pasifika Education Centre in Auckland, play a key role in providing access between their language and cultural classes and these generations (even using technology and online means). The other side which would be very relevant in the Cook Islands, is ensuring success in a papa’a system. There needs to be something “in between” that encourages and prepares mature adult learners for this experience in tertiary institutes and universities. For a number of older adult learners, the last time they were in school would have been a long time ago. So stepping back into it is often so scary (I speak from experience as I have recently returned to study myself this year). I’m aware there are parents who may not understand the school work their children bring home, and therefore an “ACE” equivalent could help support their understanding and encourage them to become actively involved. The bonus being that with parents learning, it encourages our children to learn and leads to better success. Literacy is a major issue we see everywhere.
T: In the Cook Islands we face a huge issue of migrating qualified personal. I am a strong believer in developing ways to contribute to the development of our economy so as to encourage our people to invest back into their country, and feel that education plays an integral role in aiding that. What are some of the challenges ACE Aotearoa faces?
AR: There is a key determining factor that we experience here, which I’m confident is the same on a larger scale. So much is invested in educating, up skilling and qualifying individuals. “Nek minnit” they are snapped up by a bigger fish flashing money at them. This is an ongoing concern for our communities as it detracts and impacts the potential success of that community. We see the same trend nationally where qualified persons are employed by larger organizations. On an international scale we have experienced great migration to countries like Australia and further abroad.
Personally, I believe the kind of education required here is to engrain the values and pride of identifying with our native land, and seeing the vision our parents, grandparents and ancestors sought for us at the forefront. New Zealand for me is a journey, not a destination. I hope that respectfully many of my generation, and future generations, will learn the importance of reciprocity through “giving” or reinvesting back home (Cook Islands) and not just in a financial sense. This kind of education I don’t believe is privileged in a papa’a institution, but it is one I believe we have been bestowed by right, as descendants. And therefore it is an education we should be humbled to obtain from our traditional institutes of learning, at home, in the Cook Islands, and at the foot of our elders.
My parents dream to come to New Zealand, so that my sisters and I could have a better education is genuine. What I hold dear is their bigger dream, to return back home, to Rarotonga. I understand that now. That is my dream now.
T: In your opinion what significance does education for Pasifika hold?
AR: Education is essential if we are to be active citizens in the world. And not just a papa’a education. I know what it is like to be disconnected from traditional and indigenous knowledge. I believe that being educated in both can lead to a much higher success in both worlds -Maria Tanner

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