Talk:Helen May

Extensive revision

This is a more detailed and quite comprehensive updating on Helen May's career up to 1995.

Main Changes

• A picture of Helen May at the time of her major work on Te Whariki is now used, instead of the current picture of her at her investiture.
• Section on early life. This includes her childhood in Kenya, about which she has written on more than one occasion.
• Her primary school career,and how and why it ended. Very significant for her later career.
• Description of her activism in Childcare, including Early Childhood Workers' Union and NZ Childcare Assn.,
• Description of her involvement in the development "Before Five", and of Te Whariki, which together transformed the nature of Early Childhood Education in New Zealand.

Essentially everything already in the article is still included, and new material is backed up by published sources.

Unchanged So Far

Her later career as a professor in Victoria and Otago Universities still requires work. These changes should be ready in about a week. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Carid23846 (talk • contribs) 14:35 6 May 2022 (UTC)

@Carid23846: Great work on expanding the page! I haven't had chance to read through it in detail, but am looking forward to doing so. One initial question, can I ask why you've referred to her as Helen during the article? The general Wikipedia style is to refer to people by their last names (see MOS:SURNAME). Of course, there are exceptions, it's not a blanket rule by any means, but it's generally preferred in the absence of a good reason to the contrary. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 04:04, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. Since Helen May has had the surnames Bradwell, Cook, and May, (and in a transitional period used the name Helen May Cook) I felt it simpler to use the the name 'Helen', which is certainly valid at all times.

You will see that significant events in her Biography happen for all three surnames Bradwell, Cook, and May. But her first name was Helen at all times.

This is my "good reason to the contrary" Carid23846 (talk) 04:22, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Seems sensible enough to me. Cheers, Chocmilk03 (talk) 10:04, 7 May 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for this, and your recent edits. There were a few I didn't agree with, but most were helpful.

The way in which Kohanga Reo is treated in Wikipedia is a bit indirect, and I feel a direct link to the National Trust is appropriate. What was your reasoning in removing it? Perhaps I should include the link as a citation.

Even more egregious is the whole treatment of Early Childhood Education in Wikipedia. That may be a future task for an expert on ECE.

There are better modern pictures of Helen than the one when she received her honour. I'll find one to replace it -- it was already on my list for the sections on her more recent activities. Carid23846 (talk) 04:17, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons files used on this page or its Wikidata item have been nominated for deletion:

• ECWU-1982s.jpg (discussion)
• Helen-Bradwell-1954.jpg (discussion)
• Helen-May-1993.jpg (discussion)

Participate in the deletion discussions at the nomination pages linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 01:36, 3 June 2022 (UTC)