Jessie Moss

Guest writer

Jessie Moss is tangata Tiriti and the professional education adviser at NZEI Te Riu Roa. She is a registered teacher, musician and te reo Māori enthusiast. She lives in Te Awakairangi.

Image: The Spinoff

The problem with making ‘educational attainment’ the key objective for schools

A bill that proposes to demote the place of te Tiriti in the official objectives for state schools is part of a concerning wider pattern.

By Jessie Moss | 10th June, 2025

Image: Tina Tiller

Teachers don’t want the new histories curriculum to be ‘rebalanced’

The initial focus on local histories makes sense, as children’s knowledge of the world and their connections to it grows as they do.

By Jessie Moss | 6th May, 2024

Image: Tina Tiller

The music industry still isn’t safe for women – but they’re working on it

Despite calls for change growing louder each year, the music industry is still a tough place to be a woman or gender diverse.

By Jessie Moss | 21st December, 2021

Lockdown lessons (Illustration: Toby Morris)

Children don’t need to be in a classroom to learn

In our new series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Jessie Moss observes her daughters learning at each step of their lockdown journey.

By Jessie Moss | 7th May, 2020

‘They didn’t disempower us after all’: Coco Solid drops a Waitangi Day mixtape

‘They didn’t disempower us after all’: Coco Solid drops a Waitangi Day mixtape

Jessie Moss talks to Coco Solid about her upcoming mixtape, what Waitangi Day means to her, and how she stays cool on these increasingly muggy days.

By Jessie Moss | 2nd February, 2018

By the numbers: the story of women and the NZ Music Awards

By the numbers: the story of women and the NZ Music Awards

Jessie Moss crunches the numbers on the VNZMAs and discovers some surprising – and unfortunately not so surprising – facts about gender representation in our biggest music awards.

By Jessie Moss | 16th October, 2017

Just one thing: How to calm yourself when parenting is too hard

Just one thing: How to calm yourself when parenting is too hard

We have all had those really, really hard days and weeks where everything feels like it's too much. Mum of two Jessie Moss talks about how she copes when life is sending her curve balls.

By Jessie Moss | 31st August, 2017

Pixabay

Your different brain: How we will tell our child about her diagnosis

Jessie Moss has written for The Spinoff Parents before about her daughter's syndrome and her quest for a diagnosis. Here she writes about a new stage in their lives - how she and her partner will tell their precious child about her differences.

By Jessie Moss | 22nd June, 2017

ALDOUS HARDING (Photo: Steven Acres)

Aldous Harding, gender and backlash: ‘She doesn’t need anyone’s permission’

Jessie Moss on Aldous Harding's disruption of gender norms and her (mostly male) backlash.

By Jessie Moss | 29th May, 2017

Staring at the night sky: Reaching a diagnosis and saving our daughter

Staring at the night sky: Reaching a diagnosis and saving our daughter

How important is a diagnosis? Jessie Moss is a mother who knows all to well how much a diagnosis can change a life, in fact, it saved her daughter's life.

By Jessie Moss | 7th March, 2017