Whakatauki...

"Ka mimiti te puna i Taumārere Ka toto te puna i Hokianga, Ka toto te puna i Taumārere, Ka mimiti te puna i Hokianga."
"When the fountain of Taumārere is empty, The fountain of Hokianga is full. When the fountain of Taumārere is full, The fountain of Hokianga is empty."

This whakatauki was told to me by my father who is of Ngapuhi desent. In a nutshell it represents the alliance between the Tai tama tāne (West) and Tai tama wahine (East) coasts of our whenua. Their fortunes are intertwined and one affects the other.

I liken this to my philosophy on teaching. As a teacher you recieve knowledge and you give knowledge. You learn as much from others as they learn from you. So the two are intertwined and one affects the other as the whakatauki recalls.

I can also relate my philosophy to a song! "Ta koha mai e, Ta koha atu...Te Aroha Te Mauri Ora" The giving and recieving of something. In this case knowledge. Ill let you figure out the tune!! ;)