ngā āhua – attitudes and tataiako

Opportunities to collect data about language attitudes in New Zealand are never in short supply. However, how much they represent the range of views in New Zealand is hard to gauge.

Recently Dr Pita Sharples, Minister for Māori announced a project, ‘Tataiako’ to develop the cultural competency of secondary school teachers in te ao Māori – the Māori world, including elements of te reo, language, and tikanga – protocol. These elements are necessary to engage with the Māori community in the school and in which the school is embedded.  There was the inevitable and for some teachers reasonable response regarding heavy workloads. However, many of the responses did not come from teachers or school principals.

Here’s what readers of the website of the National Business Review had to say:

If you make a minority language compulsory in this way,instead of engendering support for the language, the result will be the opposite – resistance and negative attitudes. Sometimes, I think we have a government of absolute idiots with no knowledge of the wider world and what has happened elsewhere.
Anonymous | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 1:23pm

I was thinking of doing a diploma in education next year but if I have to waste my time learning something that is totally irrelevant I’ll seriously reconsider. Trainee teachers get the treaty of Waitangi rammed down their throats enough as it is. Unless the teacher’s subject is maori it is totally irrelevant and a waste of time & money. What will it achieve? Nothing. Maori will still at the bottom of the heap because their attitudes remain the same. They’ll still beat their children to death, fail school, go to jail, go on a benefit, live in poverty – but their teachers will speak basic maori, even if the students themselves can’t. The real issue is why the govt forces them to go to the crappiest schools because they live in low decile areas.

the visual semiotics of protest

Anonymous | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 4:04pm

We all love the Haka ….. whats wrong with embracing a little more Maori rather than assisting the John Hadfield’s of this world
Chopper says…. | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 4:39pm

In response to Chopper says…. | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 4:39pm
The element of compulsion is what’s wong. Even Labour wasn’t foolish enough to do that.
Anonymous | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 4:43pm

many of our teachers struggle with literacy and numeracy let alone Maori.
Anonymous | Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 4:55pm

Maori Youth Council should learn from some SE ASIAN countries, where local languages made compulsory had actually failed. Most local graduates had problem understanding most communications predominantly in English, written or verbal..
No Time | Sunday, June 12, 2011 – 8:04am

Its actually very similar to how hitler altered Germany’s education system.
Anonymous | Sunday, June 12, 2011 – 11:50am