TE RITO TOI
TE RITO TOI
Te Rito Toi helps teachers work with children when they first return to school following major traumatic or life changing events.
AT THE HEART OF TE RITO TOI is the understanding that schools need to help students make sense of the present, not just prepare them for the future. After disasters and crises, schools must as a first priority help learners safely explore the changed world in which they live.
“The arts are the bridge to a better future.”
The stories, concerns and questions children have should be addressed in classrooms. Teachers can lead learners to engage with possibility, and to reimagine a better world. Based on international research confirming the central role of the arts in meaning making and the renewing of hope, Te Rito Toi positions the arts at the centre of childrens’ return to schooling after disaster and crises.
Grounded in Papatūānuku, Te Rito Toi is at the centre and soul of healing. Even amongst the chaos of seasonal transitions, elemental effects and changes, the rito remains strong as the heart of the kōrari (harakeke).
-Professor Peter O’Connor
