|
A statement from Oracy Aotearoa Founder, Karena Shannon
Oracy Aotearoa has been established to raise awareness of the importance of oracy.
We want everyone - whānau, friends, educators, NGOs and government to understand that oracy is vital to the well-being of individuals and the wider community.
I’ve been working with low oracy children since the 1980's. Having worked in all levels of education over several decades, I've seen the long term impacts of low oracy and how it's become an intergenerational issue in Aotearoa.
Helping kids between the ages of 3 and 6 talk confidently about their lives and face fewer challenges when learning to read and write is one of my passions. I believe the current focus on falling literacy rates overlooks the connection between low oracy and low literacy.
Changing the country's understanding of oracy at the policy and funding level is important. That's what we are lobbying for through Oracy Aotearoa. But political change takes time. The kids you'll see in the videos on this website, and the many other bright and curious kids like them, need help right now.
That’s why we want to Spread the Word: to help ordinary people learn simple, informal, everyday ways to help kids improve their oracy.
You'll find helpful resources and advice on this website, and we also offer support for these approaches in our community presentations.
If you are an educator, you'll be pleased to know that there are formal ways to help children develop oracy skills, at least one of which is a home-grown programme currently in use in some NZ schools, which is highly effective and inexpensive to deliver.
Click here to read more.
Please get in touch if you have a comment, ideas to share, want to help Spread the Word, or would just like more information.
We want everyone - whānau, friends, educators, NGOs and government to understand that oracy is vital to the well-being of individuals and the wider community.
I’ve been working with low oracy children since the 1980's. Having worked in all levels of education over several decades, I've seen the long term impacts of low oracy and how it's become an intergenerational issue in Aotearoa.
Helping kids between the ages of 3 and 6 talk confidently about their lives and face fewer challenges when learning to read and write is one of my passions. I believe the current focus on falling literacy rates overlooks the connection between low oracy and low literacy.
Changing the country's understanding of oracy at the policy and funding level is important. That's what we are lobbying for through Oracy Aotearoa. But political change takes time. The kids you'll see in the videos on this website, and the many other bright and curious kids like them, need help right now.
That’s why we want to Spread the Word: to help ordinary people learn simple, informal, everyday ways to help kids improve their oracy.
You'll find helpful resources and advice on this website, and we also offer support for these approaches in our community presentations.
If you are an educator, you'll be pleased to know that there are formal ways to help children develop oracy skills, at least one of which is a home-grown programme currently in use in some NZ schools, which is highly effective and inexpensive to deliver.
Click here to read more.
Please get in touch if you have a comment, ideas to share, want to help Spread the Word, or would just like more information.