Bainbridge College
Crowd For Maori Culture Lecture
By Marcía O. McRae Communications Director for BC
Nov 19, 2007, 07:52

Greeting his Bainbridge College (BC) audience in several languages, including Te Reo Maori the indigenous language of New Zealand, Fulbright Scholar Dr. A.G. (Sandy/Oneroa) Stewart captivated his listeners with stories of New Zealand’s culture, ancient myths, history and his work in bilingual education.

His presentation Nov. 12 started International Education Week. Activities included lectures on various countries by BC professors who have traveled there or are natives of those countries, a fashion show of garments from many countries, international food sampling, Latin dance demonstrations and lessons by Susan and Sam Higdon of Tallahassee, FL, and a performance by bagpiper Joe Ashcraft, also of Tallahassee.

Ready to start International Education Week at Bainbridge College (BC) are, left-right, Dr. Rob Gingras of BC, Raj Sashti of Clayton State University, Dr. Tom Wilkerson of BC, guest speaker Dr. Sandy/Oneroa Stewart and his wife Iryna of New Zealand, Dr. Betty LaFace and Tatyana Pashnyak, both of BC.

“There really isn’t anything more important for our students than international education and exposure to it in the 21st century,” said BC President Dr. Tom Wilkerson during his visit with Dr. Stewart and those accompanying Stewart on his lecture tour of University System of Georgia institutions.

“Our students have to be exposed to the larger world if they are to be successful, and I’m tickled to death to have Dr. Sandy Stewart to kick off the week. Everybody benefits (from international education).”

“We are very fortunate to have Bainbridge (College) as a part of the consortium,” said Clayton State Professor Raj Sashti, who is director of the International Studies Consortium of Georgia. He noted that Dr. Betty LaFace of the BC Arts and Sciences Division and Tatyana Pashnyak of the Technical Studies Division went to Thailand as Fulbright scholars through the consortium.

Dr. Sashti said that both have been strong supporters of the international program and have used their experiences in creative ways in their classes. Plans are being made for trips to Hungary, the Czech Republic and New Zealand this academic year.

Dr. Stewart’s wife, Iryna, who is originally from Russia, enjoyed meeting BC professors Dr. Marina Von Hirsch and Ms. Pashnyak, who are from Russia.

In his presentation Dr. Stewart told of the importance of family support to the Maori culture and how high school students are allowed to have family with them when they present a final exam in his class. For example, the student must start a song or a story, but once started the family can join in.

Students with that level of family support succeed more readily than those whose families do not come to school with them. Requiring high school students to have parents sign homework papers enhances student success because it keeps parents involved, he said.

Among the interesting historical facts he shared was that New Zealand granted universal voting privileges in the 1890s to all adults – men and women - regardless of ethnicity.

Dr. Stewart, who has taught bilingual classes most of his career, also gave insights into the Maori Culture, discussing how the Maori people have adapted to the pressures of the modern world by circulating positive images in film and playing great football.

Fulbright Scholar in Residence at Georgia Southwestern State University/Clayton State University this year, Dr. Stewart was head of the Center for Maori Education, Research and Development, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, Tauranga, New Zealand.

His fields of expertise are improvement of teaching and student learning with an emphasis on project development, policy analysis and evaluation. He has taught courses such as Maori culture and language programs, social studies, music and English as a second language.

He won a Winston Churchill Fellowship to the United Kingdom, served as Visiting Professor in Bilingual Education at the University of London, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to the United States in 1993 and in 2000.

After completing his bachelor of arts degree from Victoria University of Wellington, he received his master of arts with honors and a doctor of education from the University of Auckland.

For his professional work, he has traveled in the U.S., England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Ukraine and Malaysia. He is the author of numerous research papers and has presented his findings at the Western Social Science Association Meeting. In 2005 he was invited to Georgia as a Distinguished Maori Scholar and Teacher.

He has served as manager for the Maori Development Project, external evaluator for overseas projects and consultant to establish strategic plans.