The place of Maori culture in the schools is a much debated subject today. We are therefore glad to be able to offer readers this authorative statement from the Officer for Maori Education. MAORI CULTURE IN SCHOOLS by K. I. ROBERTSON Maori culture is part of the birth-right of every Maori child. This article will give some first-hand account of what is being done in Maori education to help the children acquire a knowledge of their own cultural background. The school can never keep alive any phase of a national culture without some support from the homes of the people. The schools alone cannot save the Maori language, Maori arts and crafts or Maori song and dance. The Maori people themselves as a race must take the prime responsibility for the perpetuation of their culture or for its passing. This does not however mean that the schools have no responsibility in the matter; their responsibility is very real and policy indicates this in the following resolution passed at the first meeting of the National Committee on Maori Education (1955): “The teaching of Maori culture, including Maori history legends, songs and arts and crafts is necessary for the full personal development of the Maori.” “The Committee supports the teaching of the Maori language and recommends that everything possible be done to implement it.” This policy has been endorsed by the Government. Here is an outline of what is being done.

BOOKS FOR CHILDREN Among the most valuable contributions made towards a knowledge of Maori history and Maori living is that of the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education. Bulletins issued to all primary schools include: Ruatahuna, by Ray Chapman-Taylor, Life in the Pa, Pts 1 and 2, by Ray Chapman-Taylor, The Maori and the Missionary, by Harold Miller, The Coming of the Maori, by Roderick Finlayson, The Coming of the Musket, By Roderick Finlayson, The Coming of the Pakeha, by Roderick Finlayson, The Golden Years, by Roderick Finlayson. The Return of the Fugitives, by Roderick Finlayson, Changes in the Pa, by Roderick Finlayson, The New Harvest (in preparation), by Roderick Finlayson, The Treaty of Waitangi (in preparation), by Ruth Ross. The series of bulletins by Roderick Finlayson describe, taking as an example one Maori family, how the changes of the nineteenth century affected the Maori people. They explain the facts about the changes in Maori culture almost like a novel, and so simply that children can without difficulty understand what happened. Life in the Pa outlines traditional Maori custom, and Ruatahuna describes the life of a present day Maori community in the back country. These booklets, together with the bulletin on the Treaty of Waitangi yet to come, present a good and lively historical background for Maori as well as European children. They do not, of course, cover the facts about Maori culture in any comprehensive way, but it seems to me such a historical background is an excellent basis for other cultural reading, and further bulletins are being planned.