Kohanga Reo

Tu Tangata, Issue 19, 1 August 1984, Page 9

Kohanga Reo

I IS. I the following paragraphs you will meet nine fictitious characters. \ Let them introduce themselves, then use your own imagination to sl write the play which might follow. Lorraine Tarrant

Kuini ‘My mokopuna, they go to te kohanga reo. It warms my heart to hear them korero. My own kids, no, when they were little it wasn’t right for them to speak maori. Koro and me wanted them to make good in this pakeha world, and in their pakeha school. And they did, most of them, Our Rose, she got School Cert., she’s got a job at the Post Office now. We’re proud of our Rose. She works hard, and she’s a good mother to our moko. When I went to school the teacher growled us if we spoke maori, so we learned english pretty quick. But at home it was always maori. Ah yes, music to these old ears to hear my mokopuna run to their nanny with their singing voices.’

Rose I read a lot of things in the papers these days. We want things better in schools for our children. They say there are going to be bilingual schools, that they’re going to train people and get more maori teachers. That’ll be good. My two youngest are at the kohanga reo. It’s great. They’ve got something precious that I missed out on. I only wish I could speak maori too but they talk english to me. When they talk to mum, she makes them speak maori, and

they understand what she’s saying. Terangi went to kohanga reo too, but he’s gone to school now. His teacher’s pakeha. Sonny and mum get cross at how Terangi pronounces his maori words sometimes, because his teacher does it wrong. But for me, secretly, I feel ashamed. I know she’s going to night classes to learn maori. She says it’s hard, and asked me if I’d help her. I was too whakama to tell her I don’t know much myself. I should be doing what she’s doing. But what with four kids and a full time job, I don’t have the time. Anyway I’d feel really stink, going to classes where there’s a whole lot of pakehas, and me being maori, and not knowing my own language.’

Sonny ‘I speak a bit of maori. I wouldn’t speak on the marae, but I know enough to get by. My kids are going to speak it better than me. 80y... you should hear those little ones. Rose’s mum says it’s like music to her ears... and she’s right. Trouble is, Terangi comes home with these words all wrong. That pakeha teacher of his... boy she’s got a bloody cheek. I told Rose to go and give her a good telling off, but you know what

women are.... It’s our language, and our people are the only ones who have the right to teach it. The schools should get maori teachers or leave it alone.’ Terangi ‘l’m five, I’m big now. When I was only little, I went to te kohanga reo. It was neat there; lots of singing, and playing, and all the nannies. I’m big now. I go to school. I’ve got a flash school-bag and a red lunch-box. My teacher, she’s nice to us. She keeps asking me how to say things. Sometimes I don’t know what she’s talking about. I learnt another way to say hello, it’s Tena Kway. There’s a song about it too. I thought it was neat, but Day got real cross when I sang it. Maybe it’s just a school song.’ Aroha ‘l’m seven. I’m in room 4 and Mrs Smith is my teacher. We do lots of stuff at school pictures that go all over the walls, and speriments, and plays and lots of games, and I’m in the Rainbow

Trout reading group. Sometimes Mrs Smith gets a queer look on her face. My brother Terangi has just started school, so I look after him. It’s nice to have someone to look after. But he makes me feel shy sometimes when he calls me “Aroha” my school name is “Arrahar”.’

Joan Smith

‘I don’t see any point in having maori in the schools. It’s not going to do anyone any good. This koh-hangar rio business is just a flash in the pan they’re trying to make us feel guilty about things that are over and done with... history is history. The education system has enough to grapple with as it is without throwing this at us too. I work very hard to give these children a vital, exciting learning experience, to equip them for what lies ahead. What am I supposed to give up to put maori in? Reading? Maths?

Sarah Jones

‘I teach new entrants. I’ve been teaching for four years now, and I like it most of the time, though it’s hard work and some days I get disheartened. About six months ago I went to a meeting about maori in schools and listened to some wonderful maori people talking. I went away thinking “How did I get to this age and not know there was this whole other culture in my country?” Well, I knew it was there, but I’m so ignorant about it all.’

So I made some enqiries and have gradually been finding out more about it. I find it amazing that we pakehas are so egotistical that many of us just totally ignore a whole chunk of what our society is about.

Anyway I’ve been to two hui’s, and I’ve loved it though I felt very ignorant and inadequate. Now I’m going to night classes to learn the language. It’s hard work. I’ve never learnt another language before, but I believe it’s so important, I’ve got lost time to make up for. It’s really difficult to get my tongue around some of those vowel sounds, and I find myself practising over and over again, A.E.1.0.U., even in the bath or driving to school. Sometimes I don’t trust my own ears I hear my tutor say one thing, then I listen to a tape, or watch Te Karere, or hear someone else say the same sound only it isn’t the same sound. I suppose it’s the same in english, when you think of the wide range of vowel sounds that New Zealanders use in everyday speech. Yes, it’s very hard work, but my tutor keeps on saying “Don’t be afraid to practise what you know. It will come more easily to you... the more you use it the better you’ll get.’’ She’s very encouraging and gives me good ideas of things to do with my class. I know I’ve got to use what I know or I’ll give up. If I wait to be a fluent speaker before I’m brave enough to speak to the children, I’ll be waiting till

the day I reach the grave. No, I’ve got to keep at it.’ Principal ‘There’s a lot of pressure coming from the department. We’ve just got to get some sort of maori programme going. The syllabus will eventually come out, and teachers are going to have to come to grips with it. Then there are the children entering school from the kohanga re 0.... What do we do about them? With no inservice time available and very few opportunities for teachers to learn maori, the young ones are not even leaving training college with enough background, I feel we are in an unenviable position. I have ten on the staff here. A couple of teachers have got a maori club going at lunch-time. The children enjoy that. We try to make sure that a certain number of legends are in the social studies and language programmes each year at each level, but I know the teachers shy away from pronouncing the maori names. Young Sarah in the new entrants classroom is going to classes at night, and I know she’s enthusiastic about it and uses the language in her classroom. I wanted her to have time in the other rooms where they’re not getting any, but she says she’s not ready yet and needs to gain confidence with her own children first. For example, I’d like to get her into Joan’s room. Joan is an excellent teacher in most areas. Her children do all sorts of exciting things in drama, art, outings, lan-

guage, science, etc., but she’s just not interested in maori. What can I do? If I force her to do anything, she’ll do more harm than good with the attitude she has.’ Rangimarie ‘I think I’ve got what the pakeha calls Burn Out. My tane says we’re going back home, to give me a break. And then he worries that I’ll work just as much back there. There are so many people thirsting for te reo. Hungry to learn, needing to learn. I look at our young people, and how they feel they’ve missed out. And others, those who used to call themselves part maori, discovering their taha maori. Then there are our pakeha cousins.... Look at them. It’s incredible to see them. Government workers, lawyers, welfare officers, people from all walks of life. Clumsy and pink-faced, struggling with it. I say to them “Be humble, tread softly, nurture what is inside you, what is inside all of us, and we’ll work together to make our country better than it has been.” So many people trying and doing their best. And so many misunderstandings too. That makes me sad. Scared of each other for so many reasons. The young maori parents uneasy about the school. The pakeha teachers feeling very shy about how to make contact with our maori families. Our kohanga reo people apprehensive about what will happen to our mokopuna who have to face the pakeha system. Even

the poor principals (I never thought I’d hear myself say that), caught up in a big system that doesn’t know where it’s going or how it’s going to get there. Teachers and parents see the principal as the boss, but really he or she is just a little cog in the great big education wheel. For me, the important thing is to stop blaming and get closer to real people. We can help each other so much. Everyone has something to give.

It’s exciting, when we gather together and look at all the things that are happening... all the dedicated, committed people, giving of themselves in so many ways. But then there are days when we get knockbacks and we wonder how we’re going to overcome all the obstacles.

I have many friends in this city. But I know the call from the old people back home is too strong for me to stay here forever. ‘Come and help us here,’ they say. ‘You understand what our young ones need to help them live in both worlds.’