MAORI EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 316, 1 October 1908, Page 11

MAORI EDUCATION.

By C. A. Young. When-; the subject of. "Education: The /fative.Schbol System" came up for discussion at the 'reoent Maori Congress in Wellington, ; tho Government Education Department-had jnuoh to say in tho person of the senior inspector of' Native Schools. This gentleman , seemed - disturbed in his mind becauso some person,or .persons had been writing to the ' newspapers about his Department. He said that he and the native school'teachers, being Government officials, were precluded from replying'to criticisms' in'tho press. This is very sad' in a" free and enlightened country, and; eh;passant, _one. may. remark on the distinction.in. - this respect between board school and "native • school teachers ;-but there • may be'consolalion found for the inspector in rcflectirig 'that >thus no native schoolmaster can' write ' about the inspector „iri.' the press, eveii' thoiagli he may exercise, .'his authority somewhat.- autocratically.' _ - 's' , Hbwe.>4rj;.'tho iiispector's ;lips ; wereevidently''uriSoaled on this occasion, as he occupied : an:U6tir. and a-half in much, that hail'nothing , whatever to do :-with the subjcct oni'the agfinda paper, and. as.only , those selec.ted..''by vth'e : . committee; were permittedto ' 'apeakj ,}his £ remarks;. ~ .jiassjd •., unchallenged. . ' Aft«rfallv that-.-was said by 'the-' in§j>ecior. and .Other;,educationists at the Congress, this ■ fact'' unf6l;ttinately. remains, . -that whilo, the Native-school system of "education may ..turn out v a fow lads to qualify, for the higher professions/. and a • fow clerks to.-find : eniploythe Government, tho great bulk . of, ;,the , scholars obtain; but a smattering of 'English J education, which, in a few "months afterUhey return to_ their kaingas, is reduced .to ? a'i-similar 'pidgin "English, 1 , such as is acquired by'all Alaoris'who have never hcen 'to •' By'association with tho Pak6h'at";..But; : it doc-4':not givo .tho young Macris'what {is.' for them, which' :: iS v 'thb''opTOrtiifiity of. training to effici- . ency;-'lii :V 'a^ricuituri';and•_ the, manual arts. •' use- of defending a system which has"failM p ! * The 'principle at the bottom of every; to 'educ'ate the Maori in English is said- by .'educationists to be to catch him young, and.helwill'jievsr afterwards forget what he has' Been' ta'ughfe~ -Yet now, we find platform •• beseeching . that- Maoris should be tak'eh'vby ;tho;Jiand. and led forward after they^llaVfritherichools,-. otherwise, they say, they^faH ; ifr6%rthq'.paths of Ono would ,'Ka.vo, thought that from the beginning this, T eyident. proposition, but it is only nbw'Nativ'e 'educationists are finding out that^itiis.oone.i "thing to .educate the Maori youth; and; another thing to place them occupations among the Pakela/s/if iv^ l l . .Are not the "Maoris of the presqrii",.glay : (of those who-were educated (?) undefecfcheiQiiternment system, and they aro —welletaS i see them. If-vihe/Governmont Native school_ system be the:'Siiceea?.--claimcd for it, why is it that, all the thousands which tho inspectori-.s.tatcd ~ had passed through the' ' GovefSment;! Native schools, it is still neceslaryntopiffahslaie every question and answer in tho Sative Land or any other Court wheneverSMSoris. are under examination ? ; Why,. if a'i singer visits a pa, an interpreter, has , '..to before he .cab establish con; . versatibp ?A- Why, of the many. Maoris one maisO.megt in the'streets, only about one in a hundred can maintain; a conversation in English ?. ,Why, even 'at- the recent congress, had : Sil. speeches in. English .to Be interpreted to i.the : '. i assembled Natives, although these were.'-'tlie pick .of those who had been educated;- (?) :,in , the various -Native schools? Why v is; it difficult to understand a letter writteuyby. ii Native in English? Any coun-' , tr,v...storeckepor near a Native settlement can produce scores of letters., from .Maori . custo'mers written in English characters, but ' which/are,'-almost .'impossible- to ' understand without'^so'rhe knowledge of ; the individual and tlie : cifcurr.stances. '. TheVlnspec'tor-GGiieral of Schools outlined, tiie' : §« , iss'flilalgo'''schoor system,' "which,", lie B3.id^-' i :n)!grit' 'pTofitably r be'adapted to. suit the., r'equiTeipehts" of 'Maori •village" "schools.' in Now'jZe'aland. This' f was; the kind of he'wanted to see among the Maoris in New ;Zealahd)",^ : Of all that was said on the subject ;'of,:Maori education, this speech, of the Inspector-General of Schools was the most practical '-.and ' sensible, but, "curiously enough,-'this speech was utterly ignored by , his; loquacious lieutenant. Why? Because, if Ihejsystem outlined by the Inspector-Gene-, rah were' .carried into effect, it would upset and.-.entirely, supplant the pre'sgnt effete system j .'so . pertinaciously bolstered up by the Native,,... Education Department, and < tho various Native, schools. • In ■ parenthesisj it may be remarked, this is. the systemvwhich has worked so satisfactorily in Nonvayj-Sweden,,,and other countries,■:and was'ithe'-wharekura system of the old-time Maoris. '■ •/ Mrj'ißjrd'said; "that the" vital'principle'of tho'; Native .education system'was the. teaching ;bf->English. The bar .to the civilisation and ,'Kuropeanisatioh of the Madri was the" bar; ofj.language, for, until that was.'.broken down;; they/.could, teach them nothing pracIpse dixit. Oh the. shame of this! • Bekausor.tne teachers cannot teach . tho Maorifj; in their own tongue, are tho history, the- mythology, traditions, folk-song, and fact the -very identity, of this fine, race to'be wiped out?. And this to a fad of this Native School Inspector, : ; and those who instituted the pernicious system': he advocates. . ' ..,i . Several^speakers at the Maori Conference tilled'.that the Maori-language should not bo excluded''altogether froin Native Schools.'. One.i'chicf, who could not speak English, declaredfjthat his. grandchildren.knew little or nothiiig ; of their nativo tongue, and spoke only a debased' form of English learned from their: parents. Another said, "I do not under-stand-English. T ' have seven' children. Six have" been to; school.' They come home, they talk., each: other' in English, and wo-know not what they say.': Then my wife says: 'Woe i' is me 1-fOun'children hayo knowledge that we share, arid speak a tongue that we • do"-'not": understand.' " Thei Kev. C. Nikora Tautau used a strik-' ing .illustration in arguing for the conservation'-" of.Ahe. Maori language. "In tho'days to come,"., he said, "when the inhabitants of New.vZealauQ were one people, such ques-tions-would arise as, 'Who were the Maoris? What-;was their language? And it was for us ■,to i see that there should be an answer. Traditionrecorded that the first Maoris in New'sZealand found 1 another race in pdsses- ! ■ sioh.ir 'J'hey spoke of them as tho "Patu- . paiareho 1 /-;'. (fairies), but knew nothings more of them than the nanie.TWhat was the;:lail'guage of-the-l'atupaiarehe? .What wereAheir.; arts and custom? All-forgotten' and lost." • . .. day.of. the." congress .'.the paper, suggested "The formation;'and expression of Maori national' opinion, Maori newspapers, a paper by'jDr,' Qocken'(punedirij/;<and■ ; Maori journalism."' And these after s ;theH extraordinary. speech by . the"'lnspector/of ..Native "'Schools: These,,were' interesting" subjects,' but not a word'\was said . of^them,'.,the wlibl/i morning, wasi'wasted in a letter I and the employmerit of Maori girls; as domestic servants in I'akeha families. With the kindest ; itid hest intentions tho lady whose letter.'s wjts i read'.,has recently developed an. enthusiastic.,,inte,rest in the Msori people—all tho, questions she'has . taken, :up'requiro more' consideration than sho .has.evidently hitherto had time to.devotß;,td.them. At' tlio same time, the gentlemQn;:.6pposed l to tho domestic servico : idca oughtto knoy very well,, that as with the PaueHa., people, so with tho Maoris. There aro' many landless families living in reduced, penurious circumstances, to the. chilof; which domestic'service in respectable -Paiteha families would be a decided uplifting. '-Pride' of race may become rampant, and. it,is never wiso.to look a gift horse in the mouth,; , i.e.,. active sympathisers .with people are few, and these-'few ahouljl hot; be:discouraged. This innident of thpfcongress illustrates how difficult it is to ; Maoris. •: They seem w distrust their 1 best friends. Evidently only by suggestion and their own efforts can they bo saved. *