Maori Language From Std. 1

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29767, 9 March 1962, Page 9

Maori Language From Std. 1

A remit saying that the Maori language should be taught in all primary schools beginning at Standard 1. will be considered at the twentyfifth national conference of the Dominion Federation of School Committees' Associations which opens in Christchurch today. The remit comes from the South Canterbury association and the reason given is that Maori is the native language of the jvuntry and ail New Zealand children should have some knowledge of it. The executive of the federation made inquiries from the Department of Education about the teaching of Maori in schools. The department said that the matter, especially relating to Maori schools, had received very serious consideration over the years. “Even in the past, when the majority of Maori children came to school knowing and speaking only Maori, the opinions of both administrators and the Maori people themselves were divided about the wisdom of teaching Maori in schools,” the department’s reply said. The department’s comment continues:

“As the years have passed fewer and fewer pupils have entered the primary school

knowing only Maori and, at the present time, except for a small minority, English can be regarded as the mother tongue for the large majority of Maori children.

“Because of their remoteness and home background, many Maori children are handicapped in their use of English in comparison with children in more fortunate circumstances. Because of this the department considers that one of the most important, if not the most important, aims of the Maori school teacher is to improve the quality of both the oral and written English of the Maori child.

“The school curriculum is already a very full one and the addition of other subjects would require additional teaching time that can ill be spared. Textbooks, newspapers, and a world of other literature are available in English and the department believes that the sooner the child masters the tools which will open these avenues to him, the better equipped he will be to compete on equal terms with his colleagues.” The department said, however, that it had no wish to see the Maori language die out, and was well aware of its cultural value and was anxious to foster it wherever there was a demand and wherever a suitable teacher was available. The department gave the following list of steps taken to preserve the Maori language:

In 1958 an Advisory Committee on the Teaching of the Maori Language was set up and this body . has been active ever since.

Bulletins have been printed in Maori and textbooks on the teaching of the language in schools are being printed and will be issued in 1962.

Courses in Maori are being conducted in several of the district high and postprimary schools.

A great deal of incidental work is taken in schools and attention is given to the pronunciation and meaning of Maori proper names, for instance those of mountains, rivers, towns, birds, and trees. Maori action songs and hakas are taken regularly in a large number of both Maori and board schools and recently the department issued to every primary school in the country a manual on the traditional arts of the Maori.

Special lecturers have been appointed in Maori studies at two of the teachers’ colleges.