This year the school has initiated the Tu Tane-Growing Great Men Programme in Year 10 PE and Health. The programme aims to begin a rite of passage in which we encourage our young men to move towards becoming a man. (The run directly in line with the NZ PE/Health curriculum). Tu Tane literally to stand a man and the name is taken from the god / ancestor Tane Mahuta, who along with his brothers forced the earth and sky apart so that he could stand and take his place in the world.
A rite of passage is a ritual or ceremony that marks a distinct point in a persons life. In this case it is a coming of age or an initiation into manhood. Tu Tane will hopefully give our boys a starting point into manhood. This is a point in life that we no longer recognize, in general, in our society.
The programme is based around celebrating manhood; the process of becoming a good/great man. It is offering our boys the values, beliefs and personal growth that is often given lip service but which we (as a community, country) do little to address. It is telling our boys that it is okay to celebrate being a man and that there are a lot of positive ways to explore masculinity than many of the negative images created in the media and those which some elements of society would have us believe.
The programme is run with the support of the Gisborne Police. As well as their teacher, each class will have a policeman and good men from our community as mentors throughout the year.
As well all rites of passage, the programme involves celebrating the starting point of becoming a man through a number of ceremonies. These are intended to become a symbol for leaving behind being a boy and for taking steps towards being a good man and everything that this entails. These ceremonies, of which there are seven throughout the year, are essential. “If our boys have no rituals, they will invent their own” – Davis Cohen. We aim to create positive experiences for our young men.
The first two ceremonies were The Call to Adventure –Tane Tuturi. This involved a trip for the entire Year 10 group on Thursday 18th February. Term 1 involves exploring self identity and our place in the world. The Call to Adventure saw the boys climbing two of the areas important peaks (maunga). This symbolizes setting out on the journey towards manhood.
Early in term two, an evening will be held in which all boys are required to bring a male mentor to meet at school. This will be important for both the young man and his mentor as it will provide further information about the programme and about how the young men are developing. We will be in contact with parents of all year 10 boys in the coming weeks regarding this meeting.