I thought the teacher to blame

Tu Tangata, Issue 17, 1 April 1984, Page 30

I thought the teacher to blame

Pa ki waitara

Ehoa, you know for a long time now I wonder why the Maori tamariki not do well at school. They no like school play the wag, cheeky to the teacher, not listen and not pass the School C like the Pakeha (and Maori) experts tell me they should if they want the good job. All the time I hear the Pakeha (and Maori) expert say it is because we the Maori are the deprived people (whatever that means) because we, the Maori people, have to go to the Pakeha education system which is mono-cul-ture (whatever that is) because the Pakeha gave us the strap if we spoke Maori in the school (which was true) and made us lose our identity. (I think this means I don’t know who I am anymore).

All this came about because some chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making us “the one people” and because, so I am told by the Maori (and Pakeha) experts, the Pakeha stole all our land or most of it by Raupatu (that is the confiscation).

Oh, it is the werry werry sad thing today! Only a werry few of the Rangatahi (young people) know who they are (have the identity); even fewer pass the School C, and some lucky ones get the UE and go to the University.

“Why is this?” I ask myself. Most of us send our children to school every day, make sure they got the clean clothes and the lunch, the book and pencil (so they don’t have to pinch the Pakeha kids). Still they no pass the School C. I thought, and everyone keep telling me (both the Maori and Pakeha expert) ehoa! that the teacher job to teach the children. They paid to teach yPur kids from the Monday to the Friday from 9 o’clock in the morning to 3 o’clock in the afternoon (except for the holidays). But then I start to think. When I was the small boy, my Kuia and Koroua (grandmother and grandfather) never told me I was a Maori never heard of it! Somewhere I just knew I was a Ngati Pukeko, the best damn tribe in all New Zealand. Fight all the other tribes and mostly win, except the Pakeha who took away some of our land but we get rest back sometime in the future.

When we small, we no worry about the identity, and play Maoris; no, we play the Cowboy and Indians in the hills, in the paddocks, everywhere. Also play the football on the marae when the tangi or other Hui held. We use the poaka puku for the football. All the time we small ones always we hear from the

grown-ups “go out and play, you the hoha” (nuisance). Play is the good fun, but not much time (if any) to talk with the grown-ups. Oh yes, the old man he take us to the football on the Saturday afternoon but we no talk to him because he too busy watching the game. Long time before I understand the side-step, free kick and the dirty play. Good though, when we go to the sea for the Kaimoana. They shows us what to do but not talk loud or turn your Tou (backside) to the sea or else the sea get rough and angry.

Yes ehoa, when I was young, always go out and play; not much the talk in the same home unless it the order to do this get that don’t do that. lam thinking that maybe that why I was good at football and no good at the English and Maths at school. Same thing for the tamariki at school today werry good at football but no good with the pencil. So they just go to school to play football and eat their lunch, I think.

I also been thinking about the number of times I been to the marae to listen to the Pakeha (and Maori) experts who say you must give the children plenty of books to read and quiet room in the house to study and do their homework. Well you know, when you got the house full of kids, many more than the Pakeha, he only has the two maybe three, pretty hard to find the quiet room when you only got the three-bedroom house like the Pakeha.

Also, we not live in the country like before ekao we the “townies” now what the experts say “product of the urban drift”. The tamariki today don’t want to play in the hills (no hills in the City anyway); same for the paddock and the marae. No, they want to play the disco and space machine and afterwards roam around the streets. They just like the morepork come out at night. No, they don't want to play Cowboys and Indians. With all this education business and now ‘learn your culture’ (whatever that is), I think too many young people (and plenty grownups too), now playing Maori and Pakehas. You see them when they stand on the marae and make the whaikorero, beauty, but when they finish and you go talk to them in Maori, hello! nothing there they only can talk pakeha Kai a te ahi, all humbug and only for show.

Now we, the “townies”, become detribalized, urbanised and individualised I like that, sounds good. I hear the Maori experts (not the Pakeha) got

the new programme “Kohanga Reo”. They call it Language Nest part of the Tu Tangata (Stand Tall) programme we hear about.

I think this the werry werry good thing for a whole lot of reasons. The parents learn to talk to their children, and the children not told “don’t do this, don’t do that go out and play, you the hoha”. No, all talk and play together. Even better, they learn to talk Maori the proper way, not from a book that can come later. The Maori parent, he learn to talk Maori properly too. All is fun and laughter, have the good time together. When the children go on to school they not frightened of the teacher and can talk and answer back not in the smart alec way but in a good way. This a big help to the teacher.

I think one of the big problems for the young ones is they learn too much the body talk (what the Pakeha experts call body language, I think), and not enough the talking from the mouth (verbalization skills, I think they calls it). Maybe this another part of the breakdown, teacher not up with the play in reading the body language. (Is this senstivity or communication skills?) That’s where the Kohanga Reo comes in too make the children learn the three things, proper Maori language and so help with the English language able to talk with the grown-ups know who he is and where is is going.

Yes, ehoa; Kohanga Reo is the very good thing. After all that, maybe teacher not to blame but ourselves, for finding the excuses and blaming someone else for our children not getting the School C.

Heoi ano. naTe Wihi