Chris Valli/Journalist

20/07/2025

I am rather chuffed and delighted to share that my book “Put the Phone Away" has been picked up by London based publishers Austin Macauley who are also based in Cambridge, New York and Sharjah. Their feedback was humbling to say the least

“Your submission was found to be one of confronting honesty, intense expression and contemporary in its accessible, personable authorial voice. (It’s) a work of great intrigue that deconstructs your encounters and experiences that highlight particularly distinctive strands from your time as a teacher.
Your sincere portrayal of the controversies you were forced to cope with, thereby shaping the events of your life, is recounted with a weary yet profound tone. Your voice throughout is measured and true, noting personal moments within theatre that were particularly liberating. It can only be understood that your experiences in life formed a huge impact on your path into journalism. Despite this, you do not allow yourself to be defined by previous events in life, and the work is composed with an optimistic strength which reverberates with a communicative mark to others.

'Put the 'Phone Away' is a well written poignant work worthy of attention, and it is believed it could have a place in the highly competitive market. “

17/07/2025

Frightening world we live in - we have a responsibility as parents, teachers and a community to keep our kids safe online. Filters, boundaries, no devices in bedrooms or bathrooms - ever! Great mahi Rob Cope 🙂 Let's get behind this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE7_08Z6VyI

09/07/2025

Book has been drafted, edited and tweaked. Looking forward to getting this yarn out there but of course, good things come to those who wait.....

Chapter 5: REACH FOR SUCCESS extract....

There was no irony lost that after two years at the kura, I too was to question my own resilience and if teaching was the vocation I wanted to be part of, where there were indeed challenges presented and challenges which questioned my own integrity and sanity. Adding to that, teachers were adapting and upskilling in a world that was evolving through online learning and devices.

The first conundrum was when a parent questioning my checking of blood sugars/glucose in the classroom. I even conducted an informal discussion with the Year ⅚ class about my own self-management of diabetes and what that looked like. It’s something I had always done, even with my first class in 2011 and as a student teacher. Indeed, in all forms of previous employment. I found out that the parent had taken her concerns to the principal and was after a ‘please explain’. An explanation was easy. I suggested to the principal that perhaps a conversation from the concerned parent with the classroom teacher - where the door was also open, would be a good starting point.

In August, Marlborough primary and secondary teachers participated in nationwide strike action. where teachers were seeking improved pay, conditions, and addressing issues like increasing workload and teacher retention. I was the school’s NZEI (New Zealand Educational Institute) Representative and before the strike in the town’s CBD, rallied the troops on the microphone with their collective placards directed at the then Minister of Education, the Hon Chris Hipkins and future Prime Minister, that as a collective, we wanted action. One of the songs from the strike was the Twister Sister song, “We’re not going to Take it!”

“The average age of teachers is 57, there’s been a 40 percent drop in teachers college graduates and one in five teachers leaving the profession within the first five years. Put that together and we have a crisis.”

- NZEI Marlborough Chairman Dave Paterson, August 2018.

Caption: WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT: Leading the collective voice for hundreds of Marlborough primary school teachers, and their principals in August 2018 marching through Blenheim's central business district.

07/07/2025

Have you ever felt like your voice had no significance or influence? That past failings or experiences still have trauma or the inability to find closure due to the mental health or Te Whare Tapa Wha or where you went?

Over the weekend I joined 13 other 'story showers' participating in the Speakers Institute three-day bootcamp with people from Singapore, Dubai and Australia.

I've often felt confident public speaking but the inner dialogue was one of does anyone actually care about my story, my why and I guess what's in it for them or their 'call to action'. I mean, WHY THIS? WHY ME? WHY NOW?

Fine tuning 'the story' through a pitch, three minute, six minute presentations to get across the authenticity, message and vulnerability was bloody hard, raw, yet compelling. I felt heard, acknowledged and grateful.

The key takeaways were many but included;

1. My greatest strengths are my superpowers with the key values I hold dear
- Empathy, Woo, Communication, Learner, Authenticity.

2. That 'Putting the Phone Away' is more than about a book or a message or a mental health journey. It's about connecting and raising the awareness and actioning that time with our students, children and family are the 'gold nuggets'. Screen time is killing our kids, especially in New Zealand in a country where 'the land of the ling white cloud' is becoming overcast and cloudy with a generation of students who are struggling to connect, socially and emotionally with an influx of anxiety and depression getting their validation through a 'like' or 'emoticon'.

3. GROWTH COMES FROM BEING UNCOMFORTABLE . Being present on what you are saying is about pausing, owning the dialogue and being unapologetic for what you stand for and the values that shape and define you.

Thanks Speakers Institute. I've never been more ready to launch my book and tell my story through influence. It's no longer my story but a story for others to change. Watch this space......the best is yet to come!

02/07/2025

Book has been drafted, edited and tweaked. Looking forward to getting this yarn out there but of course, good things come to those who wait.....

Chapter 3: Mr Valli....extract....

To be honest there were times in 2014 where I thought I was out of my depth, pedagogically alongside colleagues who seemed more intelligent, especially with numeracy and inquiry learning.

Yet I knew my strengths were in relationships and curriculum areas where I knew I had a point of difference, especially in literacy and in the arts, where students responded accordingly
to explicit content. It was a time of professional growth.

I began to find my worth and value through getting involved with coaching the local rugby club the Harlequins U12 side - and coaching the U52kg Marlborough Rugby Team for the Seddon
Shield tournament which was to be held in Blenheim. The annual tournament is a junior interprovincial rugby tournament that features teams from Nelson Bays, Marlborough, West
Coast, and Buller.

On the opening game and on my way to Lansdowne Park, Louisa rang to say that Petra was in Wairau Hospital and admitted for a diagnosis with diabetes-mellitus. I promptly informed the
coaching management team and left the team to get on with proceedings.

Petra had displayed symptoms such as an increased thirst and to Louisa’s credit had picked up on the symptoms and acted appropriately. Her diagnosis, although a shock, was one we both
were prepared and equipped for with living with the condition daily.

30/06/2025

Book has been drafted, edited and tweaked. Looking forward to getting this yarn out there but of course, good things come to those who wait.....

Chapter 2: STUDENT TEACHER - extract....

In my second year I applied and was rewarded with a $1000 ‘Gisborne Scholarship Programme’ where I was posted to the East Coast of the North Island - to teach at Ilminster Intermediate with a focus on Health and Physical Education. It was an opportunity I relished and thrived focusing on establishing relationships with students who grew up in lower socio-econmoic backgrounds yet when it came to sport they were top of the class.

I taught about my own Type 1 diabetes and what that meant in their language ie “too much sugar Sir” yet providing a rich, authentic learning and dialogue when it came to role modelling that through sport.

Having the ‘gift of the gab’ helped at times but when it came to application and studying, it came with some perseverance, including doing a summer maths content paper in my last year to get up to speed. The tutor at the time, Dr Chris Linsell, was instrumental in his ability to not only teach but allow the learner, to talk, to recognise gaps or next learning steps and ultimately allow the conceptual understanding and framework that was a maths learner. As a learner, it was empowering and I owe Chris and others such as Joneen Walker and Trish Wells sincere
gratitude.

Trish lit an ‘arts flame’ inside as the teacher/lecturer of Drama education across the primary, and secondary programmes. She bought experience and training in professional theatre and a
primary teaching background. It was engaging, delicious learning where collaboration was at the forefront of most lessons. Often lessons were posed around a big question or understanding
which revolved around how to effectively engage students with drama and connect it to their lives, fostering creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence. It encompassed not just the
technical aspects of acting and stagecraft, but the broader philosophical and social implications of drama.

I was hooked.

Caption: WHANAUNGATANGA (relationships): First year placement 2008 with the Year 2⁄3 tamariki/students at St
Joseph’s Cathedral School, Dunedin with fellow student teacher Sam Mackle (nee Steele).

Caption: University of Otago College of Education Primary intake - class of 2010. “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself’ - John Dewey, American educational reformer.

30/06/2025

As someone who knows the power of words, these are tops. Cheers JD - much appreciated. College chaps are in bloody good hands :)

30/06/2025

Book has been drafted, edited and tweaked. Looking forward to getting this yarn out there but of course, good things come to those who wait.....

Chapter 1: VALUES - extract....

“Christopher must be responsible for his own actions”.

The above was a primary school report comment that was somehow ingrained in the subconscious in my formative years albeit not one that I would often implement and put into practice. I can recall the teacher who penned such prose, one Mrs Moodie.

My J2 (Year ⅔) teacher at St Brigid’s Primary School in Anderson’s Bay, Dunedin.
I mean, what primary school kid reads the feedback on their school report card?

As long as Mum was happy and I was getting my knees dirty on the school field and climbing jungle gyms, I was happy as the proverbial. Little did I know that that comment would come to fruition in the classroom years later and ultimately decide my professional fate and my sense of identity and purpose.

They often say the more effective teachers are the ones who struggled with their own learning at school - academically. The notion and research suggests teachers who do become trained, qualified teachers possess a ‘deeper understanding of the challenges students face and can more effectively relate to them’. They may also be more empathetic and resourceful in finding ways to adapt their teaching to meet the diverse needs of their students.

I guess when I look back and as the youngest of seven children, including triplets, Richard, Thomas and Patricia - affectionately referred to as Tom, Dick and Harriet - my late mother Patricia Anne Boon (née Fitzgibbon) was my first teacher. The one who role modelled constantly to not only myself but indeed to my siblings the foundations of values, work ethic, unconditional love and a faith and spirituality which allowed her to get through life’s tough times.

Caption: SCARY SANTA 1981: Feeling the DIC Department store Dunedin Christmas vibes with siblings from left Rachael, Trish, Richard, Christopher and Tom (triplets were affectionately called Tom, Dick and Harriet). The DIC closed in 1991, and the building is now occupied by the Dunedin Public Art Gallery.

20/06/2025

Arts...making a difference

13/05/2025

Inspiring to be part of this seminar...time to 'show' my story and connecting through vulnerability....

Once again, we’ve filled a room with over 100 attendees at our FREE workshop in Auckland, and we’re incredibly proud of every individual who showed up with the courage to grow.

Communication remains the #1 skill in the world, and these participants have just taken their first powerful step toward mastering it.

At Speakers Institute, we don’t just help people become world-class at storyshowing—we also empower them with the proven frameworks to fill rooms and build a sustainable, purpose-driven speaker business.

Comment “Let’s do it!” and we’ll send you the details of our upcoming workshops.
It’s your time to rise, and we’re here to guide the way!

27/03/2025

Making art with children isn’t for every parent. For many, play will mean kicking or throwing a ball in the yard. That’s important, too, but for those hard questions children have about the world, the arts provide a process for them to think and express their worries and fears in ways words simply can’t do on their own. Making art together as parent and child is an invaluable way to connect and establish fresh relationships.In the distraction of being busy with our hands, deliberate “accidental” talk allows us to talk openly about feelings and fears.

Dr Peter O'Connor

Send a message to learn more

12/03/2025