OKAUIA PARENTS AND TEACHERS WORK TOGETHER

Te Ao Hou, September 1961, Page 40

A parent, Mrs Kaa Douglas, instructs the children in taniko. OKAUIA PARENTS AND TEACHERS WORK TOGETHER by TE RAPUNGA A European teacher in a Maori school, whether he likes it or not, belongs to the ‘leader’ class and becomes part of the community. According to the Maori temperament, anything that comes in such close contact with his home life becomes personal. In Mr Peter White, the community of Okauia (six miles from Matamata) has a headmaster who is more than willing to help with its problems, educational or otherwise. He encourages the practising of Maori songs and dances, arts and crafts among his 28 pupils. The pictures illustrate his excellent programme. An elder, Mrs Mere Douglas, and Mrs White, who has lately become an exponent of taniko, inspect the work. Clay modelling of tekoteko by pupils. Next step will be lino cuts and finally a block of totara. Sharp-Given Studios Matamata