Igniting a passion for teaching
- Mattie O’Carroll
I te taha o tōku Pāpā
Ko Taranaki te Mounga
Ko Waitara, ko Mōhakatino ngā Awa
Ko Tokomaru te Waka
Ko Te Ati Awa, ko Ngati Tama ngā Iwi
Ko Otaraua te Hapū
Ko Pukearuhe, Ko Mangaiemiemi ngā Marae
I te taha o tōku Mama
Ko Rangiuru te Mounga
Ko Kaituna te Awa
Ko Te Arawa te Waka
Ko Tapuika te Iwi
Ko Tia te Marae
Ko Mattie O’Carroll tōku ingoa
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e rau rangatira ma
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. My Name is Mattie O’Carroll. I was born and raised in Manurewa, Auckland until I was 10 years old and we moved to Taranaki, where my dad is from. I am the Pōtiki of four tamariki. I attended a variety of different schools both in Auckland and Taranaki. All in a mainstream setting. Throughout my life I didn’t have the best experiences at school. I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in intermediate, and I never really felt like I belonged being a Māori kid in a mainstream school. I always knew I wanted to work with our tamariki, so future tamariki didn’t have similar experiences when at kura.
During my second year at Inglewood High, I came across Why Ora, through a programme offered at our school where students could go and experience first-hand what it was like working in the health industry (Rapuara Hauora). Initially I just signed up for a free day out of school. But little did I know that the experience and the people I would meet would ignite my passion for teaching.
Although I didn’t follow a pathway into the health industry, I found education outside of a mainstream setting.
Before Why Ora all I saw was education being taught like that – you went to class, sat through a lecture and completed the work. No connection to the outside world or how I would benefit from those classes when I finished high school.
The following year I didn’t manage to gain my NCEA Level 1, so I made the decision to drop out of high school and turned to alternative education, where I gained my NCEA level 1, 2 and 3 and I found my pathway into teaching. With frequent check-ups from my Why Ora kaimahi to see how I was getting on, I moved onto my certificate in teacher aiding and eventually on to my bachelor’s degree in education, Te Tohu Paetahi Ako through Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.
I had my trials and tribulations during my degree, with setbacks and times when I wanted to quit, but I persevered, keeping in mind that I am doing this for our tamariki, for our future generations. And for my whānau. In 2024 I graduated. Currently, I am now working full-time at Waitara East School as a year 1-3 Kaiako in the bilingual unit, Te Kāhui o Ngā Mata Raukura, to guide and nurture our tamariki and give them the skills they need to be our leaders of tomorrow.
