MIT 2026 - Tania's Moonshot Proposal

MIT 2026

It is such a privilege to be part of this amazing opportunity.

My focus for this year is a "Moonshot" for literacy. The goal isn’t just a small step forward; it’s a bold shift toward true fluency and empowerment. I want to see our students move past just "getting through" a text to a place where they genuinely love reading and can naturally use those skills as a toolkit for every other subject they dive into. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into the design thinking process—taking a hard look at the hurdles our learners face, working through the "why," and eventually building a prototype that actually makes a difference.

To get this proposal off the ground, I’ve been looking closely at the students who are struggling most and gathering the evidence to show exactly where the disconnect is happening. I’ve come up with two different ways we might tackle this—including how we can lean on technology to bridge the gap—rather than just sticking to the status quo.

A real highlight so far was being put through the "5 Whys" challenge with a MIT partner. It’s a tough but great exercise; being asked "why" five times in a row really forces you to stop looking at the surface symptoms and find the actual root of the problem. It kept me from jumping to a quick fix before I truly understood the "who" and the "how."

I can’t wait to officially meet the rest of the MIT2026 team at our weekend hui at Kūaotunu and work together to create better outcomes for both our students and our kaiako.

Comments

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