The benefits of learning te reo Māori
The influence of parents is discussed in this clip – in terms of their acceptance of, and support for, Māori language. We hear examples of how some children are educating their parents at home, by sharing Māori kupu.
Transcript
Te reo Māori has a special place in the New Zealand Curriculum.
We do have the occasional parents who ask why te reo - when we could be doing more art or more music or something like that. We say, ‘Well you know te reo is one of the two official languages in NZ. It’s also part our obligation to the Treaty and working in partnership.’
Jeremy Edwards – Northland School
The children are going home and speaking Māori and, for any of the parents who perhaps aren't positive, they will win their parents over. I can think of one example which is a child whose father is quite anti, but I know she is going home and consistently speaking Māori to him. And he spoke to me about it, and he indicated he was not that positive about it. But I said she was really good at it, and he did actually grin and smile, he said, ‘Yes I know she's using it all the time at home.’ And he did laugh.
Felicity Bothamley – Brooklyn School
You just have to turn on a television or a radio these days and Māori language is everywhere. It’s being used in the media, it’s being used in the community. I guess that is what excites us about teaching te reo Māori in a primary school setting is we would like to instil within kids at a young age that Māori language is being used as a living language, which can be used in real contexts.
Matt Barnacott – Northland School
