Mai i te kōpae ki te urupa, tātou ako tonu ai“From the cradle to the grave we are forever learning”
Canta Feature Intern Elsie Williams, aged 4, completing her first ever mihi at kindergarten 2007.
Te reo. The sacred language of Māori, beholding a mountain of cultural importance, history, and pride.
Despite the fact it used to be an essential learning area, te reo Māori curriculum is not compulsory in New Zealand. So how is our primary and preschool education system cherishing Aotearoas precious tāonga?
The curriculum stock take began in 2000, resulting in the Māori curriculum being culled out of the system. This systematic change shoved all languages into a “Learning Languages” area of the curriculum, dragging the Māori curriculum with it.
The Ministry of Education states this was due to schools wanting a ‘simpler’ system, therefore derailing te reo Māori education in schools proved to be the holistic idea, diminishing the compulsory factor.
As someone who grew up in a predominately Pākehā kindy, primary and high school, Māori influence was trickled throughout the journey, enough to keep me consciously aware of the Māori culture and key phrase/words.
But having a principal that couldn’t even pronounce “Tena Koutou Katoa”, spoke a thousand words for our school system, especially since not one teacher could even point out the mispronunciation and correct it.
The education system in Aotearoa is divided into state school systems.
· English medium schools: Where English is the main language of instruction.
· Māori Medium Schools: Where all ākonga (students) are taught the curriculum in te reo Māori (at least 51% of the time).
· “Designated character” schools: Schools that operate according to their own aims, purposes, and objectives.
The types of Māori medium schools vary, such as Kura Kaupapa Māori, Kura ā Iwi, Kura Motuhake, Kura Māori and Wharekura. The philosophies of these schools differentiate, but the learning is in te Reo and ao Māori perspectives are taught.
New Zealand Council for Education Research studies concluded that research shows that benefits of immersion education for immersion students include both intellectual and emotional benefits. Immersion education also plays a distinct role in language and cultural revitalisation of Māori and other indigenous peoples.
Before children enter a curriculum, many enter into a pre-school, Montessori, or kindergarten before they dive into curriculum based learning. A core memory I’ll cherish as a four year old was standing up to do my mihi on the whiteboard in front of some other young kids.
It makes me think. Those were the days where our simplest of terms were spoken to us in te Reo. We learnt to communicate with te Reo as our commands. Despite Māori curriculum not being compulsory, there is a universal understanding throughout educators that te ao Māori is here to stay and needs to be taught to tamariki.
My experience is not everyone’s and this story is just a glimpse of one personal tale of how te Reo was incorporated. But for some, te Reo was integral throughout their English medium schooling.
Although I had performed my mihi to my peers, it unfortunately did not stick, therefore I was re learning last year in my te Reo class. As for others, te reo was far more integral to their education.
“By year 2, I had my own pepeha and had to practice it weekly during my classes timetabled te Reo Māori lesson”, says Hariklia Nicola, Canta’s infamous and fabulous print editor.
Whilst attending Lyall Bay School in Wellington, Nicola had te Reo sprinkled all throughout her primary schooling, despite being an English medium school. From year 4-6, attending a te Reo Māori session was compulsory, occurring around 2-3 times a week. These sessions did not just on basic words/terms, they were engaged into a world of Poi, traditional Māori waiata, Te Rākau, Māori games and learnt about the Māori myth and legends.
In comparison with my journey, I learnt the fine print of Te Tiriti o Waitangi through my short stint doing first year law, whereas Nicola learnt Te Tiriti o Waitangi throughout her primary education. Despite Nicola’s acknowledgment of not understanding what happened due to being quite young, the seed has been sown for a rich respect for Māori and their history, which a lot of children may lack.
“I was incredibly lucky to go to a school that had teachers that were Māori and were willing to take time out of their already packed teaching schedules to also teach us te Reo, waiata, and other Māori games”, Nicola says. Since it is not compulsory in the current Aotearoa curriculum, the Ministry of Education explain how they’d hope people would choose to incorporate it, and it’s evident some utilise it more than others.
Nicola believes it was due to her teacher’s passionate nature about teaching the Māori culture, which stemmed a love and respect from the Kaiako (teacher) to the ākonga (student) for the culture.
Primary school teachers Maz Haines provides her insight on te ao Māori incorporation in primary education, a passionate woman of Māori descent who engages heavily in the teaching of te Reo.
Whilst studying to become a teacher in 2006, te Reo education was minimal, stating “there wasn’t really a push for it.”
Haine’s works at two schools currently, but teaches te ao Maori through the arts, writing programmes for the whole school. She reiterates that te reo is laced throughout the programme, but for her it’s more important to highlight the cultural side of learning.
“We’re giving these kids a little bit of a gold nugget going out into the world,” Haines comments.
Taking a further step back to analyse the education system can be seen through pre-school education, looking at the younger tamariki to see what they’re learning.
“Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu”
I spoke to Vivien Robertson, head teacher of Kidz Kindy Gisborne, who highlights how their philosophy is based on Māori concepts such as manaakitanga and kotahitanga.
“It develops children’s awareness and skill in te reo which is part of revitalising the language
Through speaking/using te Reo, pre-schoolers start to learn their own language, which is important for their mana and belonging.”
“It encourages whanau to value children’s education and be more involved whilst developing children’s awareness and skill in te reo, which is part of revitalising the language.”
Robertson’s self-education of te ao Māori displays a strong foundation for the tamariki, combining waiata, karakia, books, puzzles, and art to further inspire and upskill the tamariki and Kaiako.
Vivien Robertson, teaching tamariki to use natural resources respectfully, part of understanding and valuing Papatuanuku.
Whilst Haines teaches at Cambridge East Primary School, she mentions the importance of “Poutama Pounamu”, a group of academics and professionals who work to promote an accelerated pathway of change towards equity, excellence and belonging.
Their role: Questioning, advising, enhancing.
“They come into the classroom and look at the physical room. If you’re doing art, they’ll say ‘you’re studying an English artist? Why are you not studying a Māori artist? What commands have you got on the wall? What Māori commands have you got around the wall?’.”
“The older I get, the more I see, the subtle bias of culture. The racism, the real, narrow mindedness, you know, it's just changing that narrative. Children need to feel proud of the culture.”
Despite te Reo no longer being a compulsory component of the Aotearoa curriculum, it is evident that there are devoted teachers who understand their duty to teach te ao Māori to endorse cultural pride and give the culture the respect it deserves and hasn’t received consistently.
The curriculum clearly comes in different shapes and sizes, but the tamariki are in safe hands with Kaiako who are passionate, rich in education, and proud of the ancestral history that came before us.
“Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu”
Adorn the bird with feathers to enable it to fly.