Launch of te reo curriculum guidelines

E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e nga hāu e wha. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

Thank you Taurua Marae for your warm welcome.  It is an honour to be able to join you today. My colleague the Associate Minister of Education the Honourable Dr Peter Sharples is unfortunately unable to attend today.

My warm greetings to the people of Ngati Pikiao and Te Arawa whanui, members of the original planning group who began work on the te reo Curriculum Guidelines here at Taurua Marae more than 25 years ago, learners, teachers and principals, other guests.

Warm greetings to all of you gathered on this historic occasion - to those who have come from far and wide to be part of today, to those who began the work here on this land, and to those whose hearts are in this work.

As Minister of Education I am delighted to launch Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i te reo Māori – Kura Auraki for English-medium schools.

I am particularly pleased to take this opportunity to speak with you today about the Government’s commitment to Māori language education. I will say more about this shortly.

First, however, I want to acknowledge the journey that made this occasion happen.

More than twenty five years ago, a planning hui was held right here at Taurua Marae. Many of the original members of that group are here today.  Not only did you attend that significant hui, you continued to hold that original flame of vision up for others to see the need for a guiding document to teach te reo Māori.  We are grateful to you.

I want to acknowledge the late Monty Ohia, who died suddenly last year.  Monty was a member of the original group, a Māori Party candidate for Te Tai Tonga who worked tirelessly for Māori.  I am sure he would have wanted to be here today. I understand his son Bentham is here.   

To the teachers, principals, teacher training providers, teacher unions, iwi, Māori and government agencies, we say thank you for your time, for the hours you have put in to discussing, writing, trialling, providing feedback on these guidelines, and helping to train teachers to use these guidelines in schools.

Many others here today have shared the journey.  To all of you, we say thank you. Your work makes it more possible for all our young people to become more fluent in te reo, and to grow up with greater understanding of tikanga Māori.

Success is shown in action

The success of the work you have all done is shown in the commitment by schools and the community to using these guidelines.

For many years now, whānau have wanted their tamariki to have quality teaching and learning in te reo Māori. These guidelines are a major step forward.

Many teachers, both Māori and Pākeha, have wanted to teach te reo, and have known the benefits of te reo, but did not have these curriculum guidelines. The draft guidelines have been very useful. For example, they provide descriptions of what students are expected to know at each of the levels of the curriculum.

Many schools are now using the draft guidelines to design and shape a curriculum that includes te reo Māori and teachers are finding innovative ways to provide programmes. Programmes have been especially effective where they have been able to be supported by local iwi. 

For other schools, the guidelines launched today mean the school and its teachers can move up from teaching the days of the week and short greetings in te reo. They can be supported to achieve a greater fluency in te reo, a greater understanding of tikanga Māori, and a greater confidence in working with families, whānau and community.

One of the strengths of the guidelines is that they can be used by teachers with different levels of expertise. Schools can use a number of resources including the TKI website, a CD-ROM and lesson plans, and a multi-media package linked to the curriculum guidelines.

I understand that this month that there will be workshops introducing the guidelines to teachers, principals and whānau members throughout New Zealand.  To the te reo advisers running the workshops – I wish you well.

The place of te reo

So these guidelines are welcomed by many. And this is welcome news for the Government. I will explain why.

The Education Act [1989, Section 61] makes it clear that school charters must take all reasonable steps to provide te reo me ōna tikanga Māori to students when parents ask for it.

The New Zealand Curriculum now acknowledges the grounding principle of the Treaty in our culture, and sets a high expectation that schools will work towards students having knowledge of te reo me ōna tikanga Māori.

The Government is strongly committed to raising system performance, so Māori enjoy education success as Māori. Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success is the plan for action to raise Māori achievement. A key focus of Ka Hikitia is providing te reo Māori to all students in English-medium schools, and promoting use of te reo in our schools and wider communities. The guidelines to be launched today will be of real assistance to schools.  They will help schools take action on meeting the goals of Ka Hikitia.

The Government wants to bring in changes that help all students to learn and achieve success – and we want all students to stay interested in learning. Language, culture and identity are part of every child’s learning. To learn a language is to discover a culture and find an identity.

It is important that schools value Māori identity, Māori culture, and acknowledge the place of Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is crucial for Māori students at the year 9 and 10 stage. Too many young Māori are disengaging from education at this time. It is at this stage that every young person needs to find security in their identity and confidence in learning to go on to be successful throughout their life. Te reo Māori lies at the heart of making this happen.

This Government also emphasises strong partnerships between Māori students, whānau, iwi, Māori communities and schools. Families and whānau need - and want - to be engaged in their child’s learning. When local iwi are able to work with schools on te reo programmes, strong positive relationships are made that really contribute to Māori achieving at school.

I understand that every iwi that the ministry works with has a plan to revitalise their own tribal language. These guidelines help to support iwi to do this and in turn, help iwi to support their schools.

The Government believes that learning te reo is part of acknowledging the central place of tangata whenua, part of what makes us a New Zealander, part of acknowledging the Treaty, and part of building this country in partnership through shared cultural understanding.

In closing I would like to say that success is shown in action. Use these guidelines in a real way in your schools, at home, in your life. This is what you can do to make sure te reo Māori lives and continues to grow in this country.

Make the most of the knowledge and experience that many people have placed in these guidelines. Make the most of the work to protect the place of te reo in this country.

Thank you for inviting me to be here. The guidelines are the end of a work begun more than 25 years ago.  Our job now is to ensure that all our learners have the opportunity and the benefits of te reo Māori.

Teachers – stand strong as leaders and learners.

Families – learn with and share your wisdom with your tamariki.

Students - take the taonga of te reo Māori and wear it with pride, embrace it and use it. You are joining the next wave of an increasing number of people for whom ability in te reo Māori is once again becoming part of work and daily life.

No reira, tena koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.