RTLB: Who are we? “Bringers of Light”???

We all have a story of how we ‘stumbled’ into the RTLB world. 

At the beginning of this century, when I started teaching in a Secondary school, I didn’t even know what an RTLB was! There weren’t any that came to talk to us at Teacher’s College and when I taught ‘that class’, there was this random person in the back of my classroom doing goodness knows what and sometimes they would take ‘that student’ out for a bit to let me teach in peace.

Fast forward two decades, here I am in a vocation which I am truly passionate about. The mantra of Aotearoa RTLB ‘connect, uplift and inspire’ really does ring true and it is something I see my colleagues attempting to embody in my work everyday. However; it’s always tricky isn’t it when you are at that summer barbeque, meeting new people and that question comes up “So, what do you do?”. This is where I freeze. If I state our job title as the acronym “RTLB”, I get a blank stare… awkward. But if I say it in full, the typical response is, “so, you’re like a Teacher Aide”.

Which brings me to my wonderings about professional identity; RTLB can be so many things to a school and the teachers, whanau and students we work alongside. Recently at our Aotearoa RTLB PLN hui, this conversation came up; are we correctly named as a service or should we be ‘Specialist teachers’ like the qualification that we complete as part of accepting a position as RTLB?

But then I am reminded of Shakespeare’s ‘what’s in a name’ soliloquy - does it matter what we are called, what should matter is what we do… but even that varies in scope across the motu.

Clark, Hyde, and Drennan (2013) state “Professional identity is not a stable entity, it is complex, personal, and shaped by contextual factors” . And it rings true, we all have our reasons for doing what we do in the Education sector. This alone turns our occupational identity into a vocational one; simply because of the complexity of why we do what we do and most of all; that we care. 

For me personally, the whakataukī "Akiaki te tī o te tangata" , nurture the indescribable light in a person,  encompasses what RTLB do everyday. We support whanau to see it in their tamariki, we support teachers to do the same through the languaging we use and more often than not, we support the akonga themselves to see their potential. The whakataukī signifies the act of fostering the unique potential and inner strength within each individual we encounter in a professional capacity. 

I find myself to be a ‘people watcher’ and I love a good RTLB get together; if I had to pick a collective noun for a group of RTLB meeting together, it would be a ‘spectrum’ of RTLB. There is no pun intended but more of a reference to the ‘light’ and the ‘aura’ of the colleagues I observe. I don’t remember it being taught those specific skills during the RTLB study but somehow we all manage to hold space attentively for those who need it and they must feel the presence of the RTLB spectrum because of the privilege we receive of honesty, openness and willingness to engage from those we work alongside. 

George H. Mead (1934), a social behaviourist states that “Identity is not something one has, but something that develops during one's whole life”. This quote could not be more relevant to the RTLB service and our professional identity. It embodies the idea of being a life long learner and a reflective practitioner. It gives value to changing and modifying our practice as we go; even if our RTLB name leaves an air of confusion at the neighbourhood barbeque!  

Regardless of what we are called, I am buoyed by Mead’s (1934) idea that our personal RTLB identity can develop over time, through each season of our life. So far, here is what I have observed during the ‘spectrum of RTLB’ gatherings over a decade in this role:

• RTLB are problem solvers

• We are successful because we can network and work collaboratively with whanau, tamariki, akonga, kaiko and other specialist services

• There is time available to truly consider referrals, gather data, discuss a range of possible approaches and collaboratively decide on initial steps

• We are flexible and responsive as a service and this is a strength 

• Sometimes we are just ‘there’ when no one else is; to be a critical friend, offer informed advice and guidance to schools or our expertise in specific areas.

• Our role is a privilege

So while we may not know how to explain what we do to the new neighbour at the barbeque, we are lucky to be part of a vibrant community of passionate individuals who bring light everyday to those we have the privilege to work alongside.

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He iti te mokoroa, nāna i kati te kahikatea 

The mokoroa (grub) may be small, but it cuts through the Kahikatea 

This whakatauki reflects that small things can have a great impact. It encourages us to think big. Although numbers or resources may be small, like the mokoroa, it is possible to achieve great tasks/achievements. 

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References

Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001

Clarke, M., Hyde, A., & Drennan, J. (2013). Professional identity in higher education. In B. Kehm & U. Teichler (Eds.), The academic profession in Europe: New tasks and new challenges (Vol. 5, pp. 7–21). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4614-5_2

Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorist. University of Chicago Press.