Practical Education for Maoris

Te Ao Hou, Spring 1954, Page 21

Practical Education for Maoris BY W. PARSONAGE Until 1930, the dominant feature of Maori education was literary—a concentration on reading and writing and learning from books. When a change of policy was made in 1930, the emphasis was changed to the ‘practical’ aspects of the curriculum—to those activities in which the child was encouraged to do things and in which there was no so much reliance on books. Woodwork, farm-work, gardening, cooking, housecraft, and other practical activities assumed greater importance in the Maori schools. Often these things were taught under far from ideal conditions, but a beginning was made on the provision of suitable facilities such as woodwork rooms, cookery rooms, laundries, bathrooms and simple farm buildings. In many cases small groups of girls were taught cookery and other aspects of housecraft in the teacher's home. In a few cases, the interest of the parents in these activities led to the building of model cottages. At three schools, cottages were built and furnished by the senior pupils themselves. The usual practice in the cottages was for a pair of girls to spend a week doing all the normal housekeeping duties. Frequently they invited their school friends or parents to share meals they had prepared. In woodwork, the boys learnt to handle tools and to produce useful articles for the home. At some schools the pupils built farm gates, troughs, stepladders, tables, cupboards and similar articles for sale to local residents. The farm projects included sheep rearing, pig breeding, cattle rearing, poultrykeeping and beekeeping, as well as the growing of selected crops and trees. Nor were the Maori crafts forgotten. In fact, the most significant change in 1930 was the introduction of a study of Maori arts and crafts which had previously been strictly excluded from the Maori schools. During the past twenty-five years there has been considerable progress in Maori education, not the least significant factor being the development of a balanced curriculum with due emphasis on both the practical and the academic aspects. This development has been along certain well defined lines. First has been a broadening of the conception of practical education. There was a tendency to interpret the term ‘practical’ as indicating that the Maori child was basically different from the pakeha child, and could benefit only from an education which was mainly of a manual character. Put more bluntly, this interpretation meant to some people that the Maori child did not have enough brains to benefit from the ordinary type of education, so had to have a simpler type through which he could be taught to do something practical which would make him a more or less useful citizen. During the years, this narrow view of ‘practical’ has rightly given way to a wider conception which recognises that Maori children possess the same range of innate abilities and aptitudes as the children of any other race, and that ‘practical’ activities can and should be devised to develop their intellectual abilities as well as their manual dexterity. The language disabilities under which some Maori children labour make this wider practical approach of even greater importance, in that it provides valuable experience which can assist the children to a better mastery of language and other basic skills. The next development has been in the provision of better facilities for practical education. Even though there has been such a heavy demand for additional classrooms over the past

few years, more workrooms, cookery rooms, etc., have been erected at individual schools. A new development (made possible by improved methods of transport) has been to convey children to handicraft and homecraft centres, where they are taught these desirable skills by specialist teachers. In some cases (e.g. at Whakarewarewa, Manutahi, Tikitiki, Te Araroa, Te Kaha, Ruatoki and Rangitahi Schools) special handicraft and homecraft centres have been built to cater specifically for the senior pupils of Maori schools within a convenient radius of the centres. The most modern facilities have been installed in these centres. To encourage the development of practical work in relation to farm work and horticultural pursuits a special grant has been made available to Maori schools for each of the past four years. This grant has been used to encourage club work, the experimental side of which has Practical education in home management is a feature of the curriculum at the Ruatoria Maori District High School. PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN ASHTON resulted, in some districts, in distinct improvements to the quality of stock on the farms. The third avenue of development has been in connection with Maori culture. In the past the emphasis was on the actual acquisition of skill in selected arts and crafts. More recently this has broadened to include: (1) A greater appreciation of the fundamental symbolism and significance of selected Maori arts and crafts; and, (2) A study of the less material aspects of Maori culture. Not every Maori child can acquire a satisfactory degree of skill to be a carver or a weaver, but every Maori child can and should be given the opportunity to understand and appreciate the works of master craftsmen (and craftswomen) and to acquire a reasonable kno ledge of the customs, history and achievement of the Maori race. With the rapid increase the number of trained Maori teachers engaged in Maori schools during the past few years, there should be a definite improvement in the quality of the work done in connection with the study of Maori culture. It is in this field that Maori teachers can be expected to make a distinct and valuable contribution to New Zealand education generally. The emphasis given to these practical pursuits has in no way diminished the importance attached to proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking, to arithmetic and the study of desirable aspects of European culture. It is realised that Maori boys and girls are going in increasing numbers to post-primary schools and university and that Maori adults are being required to take an increasingly active part in our national way of life. Consequently, we must ensure that education does not fail in any respect to prepare the Maori for his growing responsibilities. In this respect it is interesting to note the development of Maori post-primary education in the past 14 years. Prior to 1940 the post primary education of Maori children was provided almost entirely by the various Maori Mission Colleges. The increasing demand for post-primary facilities resulted in the establishment of the first three Maori District High Schools in 1941. Since then a further seven Maori District High Schools have been founded. The total enrolment in the post-primary departments of the ten Maori District High Schools is now 655. While this indicates a very desirable growth of interest, further effort is required. Approximately 92 per cent. of pakeha pupils in Form 2 proceed to post-primary education, as against 72 per cent. of Maori Form 2 pupils. * * * A member of a distinguished Maori family, Mr M. T. Te Punga, lecturer in geology at Victoria University College, was awarded a Nuffield Foundation Fellowship for the 1954-55 academic year. The fellowship enables him to undertake advanced studies and research in Britain, and he intends to work at London University. Mr Te Punga graduated M.Sc. from Victoria University College in 1943 and is now preoaring a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Several other members of his family are university graduates.