July 18, 2019
Core curriculum mark of value
A veteran Māori educationalist has welcomed Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis's support form making te reo Māori a core subject.
Launching a programme to train teachers to use more Māori in the classroom, Mr Davis said he would like to see te reo as a core subject as soon as possible, but it's important to bring people along on the journey.
Pem Bird, the principal of Murupara's Te Kura Kaupapa Māori Motuhake o Tawhiuau, says Mr Davis is showing a refreshing boldness.
He says the lack of te reo Māori in mainstream schools is a gaping chasm.
"When you talk core curriculum you are saying what is it in our Aotearoa, in our society, what is it that should be core? What is it that we value as a country and as a society? As soon as you put te reo in there you are saying we value it," Mr Bird says.
He says tools for teaching Māori history were made available to schools two years ago after years of controversy, and schools now say how much they value them.
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