The Importance of Kōrero Māori in Education
(Scroll for the English version)
Kia ora. Ko Autumn tōku ingoa. Ko Ngāti Kahungungu tōku iwi.
He tauira ahau o Te Whare Wānanga o Te Kūnenga ki Pūrehuroa e ako ana kia kaiako kura tuatahi.
Ka taea e au te kī, kua tautokohia ahau e taku kaikōrero reo Māori i te tau tino uaua o taku ao, i tino whakapau kaha i ahau i te tau whakahirahira rawa o taku ora.
Ko tōna tautoko, mātauranga, me tōna kore whakaaro i te mea whakapau kaha rawa ki ahau me aku hoa mahi, he mea nui ki a au. He whakamārama hoki te whakamahinga i te whakaaro nui ki te whai aroaro ki a rātou e whai wheako nui ana i te ao mahi, i tētahi taha ki a koe e whakaaro ana he whakamahara noa iho koe, kia eke ai ki a koe…
Ahakoa te tautoko kaha, he pouri te kite i te iti rawa o te hunga e haere ana ki ōna akoranga. He whakapau kaha te whakaaturanga nei i ngā whakaaro akoranga, te whakaako, me te ora pai o ngā korero.
koirā te whakamārama tika e hiahia ana e au i muri i te wiki roa o te taumahatanga i runga i ngā mahi whakapau uaua, he ōrite tonu ki te whakarewa tika ka whai ahau i a mātou.
Hei kaiako kura tuatahi, e ākonga mō te mahi, i tino whakaaro ahau he pai ake mātou i tenei, kua whakapono ahau nā te mea ko tātau e whakapau kaha ana i konei, ko tāku whakaaro ko tēnei he wāhi e aro nui ai te nuinga o ngā kaiako.
Ā ka ki, ki taku pouri, kua kitea e au ka kino noa atu! He maha tonu nga kaiwhakaako e kī ana i te ao Māori he mea tuarua ki te ao Pākēha, he kino rawa atu rānei, kāore ki te whakaako i tētahi wāhanga katoa.
I tētahi o ōku mahi o mua, i rongo ahau i te kaiako e kī ana ki ōna ākonga kia kaua rātou e kōrero i te reo Māori ki ō rātou hoa, kei te kura rātou ki te ako i te reo Pākehā, kāore rātou e ako ki te kore e kōrero.
Ka huri whakamuri ahau ki tētahi whakaaro e whakakore ana te ako i te reo Māori i roto i ngā kura 'kare e whai hua,' e ai ki a wai?
Kaua rawa e timata ahau i runga i te: 'tino-pōturi-pākehā-kaipōtitiko-whakamahi-i-ngā-rara-mahinga-enga-i-te-āta-mahere-ka whakapau-whawhati-nga-iwi-ka whakatutuki-i-nga-iwi-ka whakawhāngai-hoki' whakaaro.
Puta noa i toku tītohu, i whakahōnoretia toku pūkenga kua tino whakanui aku kaikōrero i te hiranga o te whakakoi i ngā tauira Māori me Pasifika, ma te awhi i o rātou tikanga ki roto i ngā wheako, ki te whakapuaki i te whaihua o te Māori me te Pasifika.
E whakapono ana i tēnei, e hoa mā? Nā, kei te ūnga tonu te marau i te Ūropi me te whakamana haere nei i te whakararuraru o Aotearoa, e whakakore ana i te ao Māori i ngā kura.
Mō ēnei take, E MŌHIO ANA AHAU he mea nui tēnei akomanga ki te whakarato i te hapori mātauranga tika, pono, me te manaaki mō te hunga e raru ana i te punaha, e whakapaukaha ana i tēnei akoranga.
I whakawhiwhia hoki e te Covid-19 me ngā whakararu hau kōpata, kāore i kitea te whakawhiwhinga iti i roto i ngā kura kaupapa Māori, nā reira, kei te paheke i te mahi whai mātauranga nei ka whakararuraru te ako.
Me whakamana ano hoki i te mea ka whakapai ake i ngā whakaritenga mō ngā hapori i whakatetēa, he mea e whakarongo ana ki ngā inihua o te whakawa e whiwhi ana! Me mārama kei te whakatau ngā raruraru o te tika, engari kua riri tātou ki te whakatinana?
He tino pouri ki ahau te kite i ngā taumata o te kore māramatanga me te rēhita i waho i ēnei wāhi tino nui o te kuare me te kaikiri.
Kāore ahau e whakaae ki te whakawehi i te MEA KORE, me te whakapau kaha i te rongoā kino i tēnei whakapāho.
Ka kitea tēnei i te haerenga whakahē i te mana whakahaere tahi, i arahina e Julian Bachelor (I KITEAHU IA I TE TUMUAKI KURA NEI....HEA ANŌ????).
Kāore tētahi e whakapau kaha ana i tana tino rangatiratanga ki te whakatūrere,- i te kore e tino whakamāramatia ana pea e koe ēnei kupu.
He tangata au, kua rongo i ngā paanga tika o te noho whenua o roto, ka mārama ahau kia whiwhi tūmanako ai ō tātou Tamariki ki te whakahoki ki ō rātou tūpuna.
Ki taku whakaaro he mea ngawari i ētahi wā ki te whakahē i te huarahi e taea ai e te mātauranga anake te urunga ki roto i te ao Māori mō a tatou tamariki.
E tika ana tēnei, ā, e herenga ana ngā kaiwhakaako ki te whakarato i ēnei.
Waihoki, hei kaiako, he āheitanga nui o mātou hei kaiwhakararu i te wareware i te mea nui o tātou hei kaihoko mō te huringa.
He whaihua ō mātou uara me te whakapau hāngai ki te hapori.
Ina whakakore, ina whakaiti i te rerekētanga o te ahurea i roto i ō mātou akomanga, ka ūkui, ka whakaiti rānei te rerekētanga o tētahi wāhi whakahirahira o te hapori.
Ko te reo he huarahi whakahirahira hei hono i a tātou ki ō tātou tīpuna me ō tātou whenua, kāore i te whutupaoro tōrangapū.
E hara i te kī kua horapa whānui tēnei whakatete, kāore he whakaiti i te nui o te whakararuraru nei, engari ka maumahara ahau ki te tautoko nui, te awhi, me te aroha i roto i ō tātou hapori.
Ko tētahi tauira whakamutunga rawa atu i tēnei, i te wā i huihui tātou i te pōhiri mō te tōrangapū korewhana (Te Papaioea) o ngā wāhi katoa i tino whakararuraru ai.
Tino ohooho te aroha i roto i te kotahitanga mō Rāngitane, ahakoa te mate kino ki te matakitaki i nga tangata mā pakira e whakarongo ana ki te tangata kaikiri mō te rima hāora i te pō o te Hatarei - Engari ka tangihia ake e ahau te wairua.
Tēnei kaupapa ka tautoko tino tū ahau! Ka pirangi au ki te kite i a koe kia haumaru i tēnei wiki, ā, puta noa i te tau.
Whakanuia tēnei wiki, mahia nga mea e tika ana kia haumaru ai ō whakaaro.
Inā koa ka kitea koe i waenganui i ngā tāngata e whakapau kaha ana ki te kore māramatanga.
Āhea ana, i waenganui i ērā e tāngia ana ngā whakararuraru iti, ngā whakaaro whakararuraru, whakapau kupu ā-ahurea rānei ki ia whakapōhihi i runga i Pukamata rānei.
Ka mea tētahi ki ahau pēnei tonu, ngā tangata nei e whakararuraru ana, i tētahi āhua e whakapono ana, ka tino rite ētahi atu i te whare katoa i a rātou i a rātou? Whiwhi i tētahi runaruna!!!
Ki taku whakaaro, ko tēnei wiki e pa ana ki te aroha ki te haerenga e tātou ana, me te whakatau hoki ki ngā mātauranga kāore anō kia kitea.
Mena kei te timata tātou ki te hono anō, me whakapau kaha hoki.
Ahakoa kaore koe e mōhio ki te reo Māori, ko te reo Māori e mōhio ana ki a koe, me te tuku aroha noa ki a tātou.
Mauri ora koutou - Kia kaha te reo Māori - each and every week xox
Mauri ora koutou - Kia kaha te reo Māori - ia wiki nei xox"
The Importance of Kōrero Māori in Education (english version)
Kia ora. Ko Autumn tōku ingoa. Ko Ngāti Kahungungu tōku iwi. I am a Massey student studying to be a primary school teacher. I can confidently say that my reo Māori lecturer has significantly supported me through what has honestly been the hardest year of my life. His support, knowledge, and lack of judgement has meant the world to me and my colleagues. It is worth mentioning how important it is to have guidance from those who have substantial experience, in a field in which you feel you are essentially faking it until you make it…
Despite this unwavering support, it is VERY unfortunate to witness extremely low attendance in his classes. These lectures are rich in lesson ideas, pedagogy, and just general good vibes. It's just the right relief I need after a long week of stressing over nerve wracking assignments.
As prospective primary teachers, I really thought we were better than this!!!! I thought it was a space that more teachers were passionate about. And to my dismay I've discovered it only gets worse! There is a prevalence of educators who explicitly or implicitly view te ao Māori as second to te ao Pākēha, or worse, refuse to teach any part of it altogether. In one of my previous jobs I overheard a teacher tell their students not to speak reo Māori to their peers, that they are at school to learn English and will never learn if they don't speak it. This reminds me of the idea that learning reo Māori was deemed 'not useful' in schools. According to whom?
Don't even get me started on the 'silly-little-white-politician-uses-made-up-statistics-to-push-racist-policy-that-then-disenfranchise s-and-marginalises' idea.
Throughout the diploma, my lecturers have highly emphasised the importance of affirming Māori and Pasifika students by embracing their culture explicitly into learning experiences. This makes sense right? Since the curriculum is still highly Eurocentric. And of course, the devastating history Aotearoa holds where the ao Māori was erased from schools. For these reasons, I KNOW that this class is essential to providing an equitable, authentic and welcoming education community for those in which the system tends to fail. Covid-19 and severe weather events aside, low achievement is not seen in kaupapa Māori schools, so refusing to engage in this knowledge will inevitably fail our learners. All things considered, it must also be acknowledged that improving outcomes for marginalised communities requires… listening. to. teachers'. strike. demands! It seems the solutions to equity issues are clear, but are we ready to implement them?
It is incredibly disappointing to witness highly significant levels of ignorance and racism outside of these spaces. It’s so outside of my understanding to allow oneself to be so afraid of NOTHING and perpetuate such dangerous propaganda. This is seen with respect to the anti co-governance tour led by Julian Bachelor (WHO WAS A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL BTW….LITERALLY HOW????). Denying one's tino rangatiratanga should not be up for discussion - especially if you don't know what those words even mean, lol. As someone who has felt the direct impacts of internalised colonisation, I know for sure that our tamariki