School pretends to sell its fields

‘‘Our job as a school is not to impart a political stance but it is to educate our future problem solvers’’

Mangere Bridge School in south Auckland recently cordoned off a part of the property and told students that a building would be constructed there.

It’s the brainchild of deputy principal Emma Ala’alatoaDale, who said this was the ‘‘tuning in’’ experience for its student inquiry titled Progress vs Preservation as a way of educating the students about the market forces of capitalism.

‘‘The tensions of progress vs preservation are playing out across wider Auckland includ- ing at Ihumatao and Point England Reserve currently,’’ she said.

‘‘We need to ensure that our students have the tools and the knowledge to be able to join the debate because it is their future.’’

At the end of the term, students will share what they have learned with their family.

In order to prepare the students for the future, Ala’alatoa-Dale is helping them develop their ability to become problem solvers who know how to ask questions, seek out information, make decisions and take action for change.

‘‘Our job as a school is not to impart a political stance but it is to educate our future problem solvers so that the world we live in, in the future will not repeat the mistakes of the past.’’