Te Mete Lowman

BEd, Dip Tchg

Te Mete Lowman proudly represents himself as a descendant of Te Arawa and Tainui waka. He is blessed with the gift of te reo Māori and even more so of being brought up in a world where the Māori way of doing things was normal. This has grounded his philosophies on parenting, on educating and on life itself deeply in tikanga Māori, or a Māori way of knowing, being, and doing.

His strengths lie in the development of language acquisition, the integration of tikanga Māori into everyday life, and bringing a Māori world view to any context or construct. This combination of expertise also places him as a strong facilitator for the development of cultural awareness and acknowledgment of diversity.

Te Mete has a passion for Māori success. This ranges from the development of one's identity, the educational goals of an individual, to the value and characteristic aspirations of whānau, to the ultimate of challenges in transforming the negative educational, social, and financial outcomes of Māori. He is a strong believer that the education system is arguably the greatest tool for change. However, he also acknowledges that particularly for Māori, the majority of past and current systems are not performing in a way that empowers young Māori to develop agency and autonomy.

Te Mete currently holds the position of Academic Manager at Pōhutukawa Villa which is the Bi-lingual Māori site of Villa Education Trust. He has been instrumental in bringing a Māori world view to the Project-Based Curriculum and believes all students in Aotearoa should be graduating with the ability to view a range of contexts with a bi-cultural or multi-cultural lens.