ON THE UP: From toolbelt to teaching - Far North father pivots to new career

NZ Herald

21-04-2025

Last Tuesday he and his fellow new teachers marked the first graduation for the Te Hiku programme, a major milestone for the Northland teaching initiative.
'The wānanga were long days, sometimes 13 hours, but it worked. We were all in it together. Some of us dropped off, but we pulled each other back in. We kept each other going,' McMath said.
He credits a rainy-day conversation with his best friend, who was also working in construction, for planting the seed of change. His friend took the first leap into teaching and, six months later, returned to the building site to encourage Takawai to do the same.
'He lined up a job interview for me at Kaitāia College and wouldn't take no for an answer. I started there as a teacher aide,' McMath said.
But there was another, more personal motivator for him. His eldest son, Ngataiawa, had once shared with him that university didn't feel attainable for Māori.
'That stuck with me. I didn't want him to believe that. I wanted to show him it was possible, '' McMath said.
Not long after, Ngataiawa enrolled in a business finance degree at the University of Waikato's Tauranga campus, where he is now in his final year.
'I told him, no gap year, get straight into it. And he did. Having him studying down there helped keep me on track too. I couldn't drop the ball when he was watching,' the proud dad said.
The decision for the Te Hiku cohort to attend graduation together in Tauranga last week came naturally. The group, who studied through marae-based wānanga, remains close and committed to celebrating their shared achievement.
'We're from all over the Far North, but we agreed on Tauranga because that's where our amazing kaiako Jay and Mere are based. It's also where my son is studying, so it made sense. My whole whānau was there,' he said.
For McMath, returning to study was not without its challenges. He had lived for years with hearing loss that affected his confidence, only receiving hearing aids in 2017. The change was immediate.
'They made a huge difference. Suddenly I could follow full conversations. I could sit in a lecture and not miss half of what was being said. That gave me the confidence to study.'
Now a teacher at Kaitāia College, Takawai is proud of how far he has come and of those who supported him along the way.
'I'm especially proud that Jay and Mere nominated me for the Vice-Chancellor's Award. I wasn't in study mode when I started. Honestly, I look back at my early work and I'm too embarrassed to reread it. But I stuck with it, and now here I am.'
Following his graduation in Tauranga, he reflected on the journey and the impact it had.
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'It's easy for our boys in the Far North to drift. There isn't always a lot going on, so you have to lead by example. I did this as a dad, and now my son is walking his own path too. That makes me proud.'
The Te Hiku ITE programme, led by Ngāi Takoto with support from Te Rarawa and facilitated by the University of Waikato, aims to address teacher shortages in Northland by supporting more Māori and local students into teaching careers.
Launched in 2021, the programme was developed in consultation with iwi and school leaders as part of Te Hurihanganui, a Ministry of Education initiative focused on tackling inequities and racism in education. It is delivered by University of Waikato staff Professor Mere Berryman (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, and Ngāti Whare) and Jay Haydon-Howard.
The initiative combines online learning with marae-based wānanga and wrap-around support from local iwi and school communities, allowing students to study from their rohe while remaining connected to their whānau and communities.