Letters to the editor

Tu Tangata, Issue 20, 1 October 1984, Page 46

Letters to the editor

kia ora koe e piripi

He nui nga kaupapa i kite iho au i roto i nga pukapuka a Tu Tangata. Te mea i tino mamae taku ngakau ko te reta a Robert Marsh kia koe ara kite iwi maori, kia aroha atu kia ratau e noho mai ra i roto o nga whare herehere. Kei te tautoko au i tana inoi kite iwi no te mea e hara no ratou te he, a, kaare hoki au ite whakapae no tatau no nga matua te he. Te tino kaupapa e uru nei a tatau tamariki, mokopuna hoki kite raruraru na te mahue hanga o nga marae. Kaare tatau i akona ki to tatau maoritanga ite kura engari i haere ke tatau kite kura kite ako kite reo pakeha me nga ture pakeha. Te kaupapa i mahue ai o tatau marae na te kore mahi. Koia ra i timata ai te mahue haere o nga marae.

I runga i nga marae e mahi he ai nga tamariki kei reira tonu nga kaumatua hei karanga atu, kei te he tena me penei ke. I pera to tatau ako hanga e o tatau matua.

I akona a waha ke tia tatau. I au e tamariki ana pena he hui kei te marae ka tonoa matou nga tamariki e nga kaumatua kia haere kite whakaronga i nga korero. I pera noaiho te ako i a tatau. Kaumatua rawa ake nga tamariki kua mohia katoa ke te hitori o te iwi. I tenei wa kua kore ke tera ahuatanga i a tatau, no te mea kua mahue katoa nga marae. He tini nga tamariki i roto i nga whare ako, a kua hoki mai kite kainga, whakahokia tonu tia atu ki runga i nga marae noho ai. He nui nga kaumatua kua hoki ki runga i nga marae i tenei ra hei ako i nga tamariki e hoki mai ana.

Tetahi o nga kaupapa e hiahia ana ahau kia whiriwhiri hia e te iwi maori katoa, ko te haina hanga o te tiriti o waitangi. Kua neke atu i te rau tau te hainatanga o te tiriti ki taku mohio karea no itutuki ke kaupapa kotahi. He nui nga maori kua riro mai i a ratou te matauranga i tenei ra. No reira ki taku titiro he pai ake te whakakore atu i tera hainatanga o te tiriti engari me whakatu he komiti hei whiriwhiri kaupapa e rite ai nga hiahia o te iwi maori no te mea katahi nei pea te kawana ka titiro mai ki nga take me nga hiahia o te iwi. No reira noho ora mai e hoa. na J. Pouwhare

Dear Sir,

I was most heartened to read in Issue 19 of Tu Tangata of efforts being made by primary schools to accommodate kohanga reo graduates. I was especially interested in Mr lan Grenfell’s comment that one of his staff members had been able to attend a six week intensive language course at Wellington Polytechnic.

Sadly, I have not found officialdom in the form of the Primary Inspectorate at Nelson very co-operative. I am a primary school teacher at a very small two teacher primary school and last year ran a language oriented taha maori programme in my class (only two of our sixteen children would see themselves as being maori). My own level of maori language was very limited but I was pleased the way it went in my class, especially with my (then) FI children four girls and I felt they could go further than I could take them, and so with supporting letters from the children’s parents, I applied to the then District Senior Inspector for permission to enrol them with the Correspondence School for an appropriate maori course (there is a precedence for this). My request for this was turned down on the grounds that the DSI felt we could provide a suitable course at school (he never saw my programme in action) and anyway, at primary level the emphasis should be on oral rather than written language (agreed).

In February of this year I applied for six weeks leave of absence with pay (no harm in trying!) to attend a course in maori language at Christchurch Polytech. In turning me down, the DSI suggested I enrol at Massey, AST or the Correspondence School. All most appropriate for teaching children orally! Not to worry, I applied for six weeks leave without pay (my wife would teach but get a less then than me and I would have my accommodation in Christchurch to pay for) but this was turned down ‘in view of other options available....’

I don't really see the above as publishable material and won’t be shattered if it is of no use to your magazine, but I think it does record the frustrated efforts of a concerned pakeha teacher. Perhaps your magazine could sound out all the inspectorates and education boards throughout the country to see what their reactions might be.

Nelson area does have an Itinerant Maori Teacher (ITM) who services a few city schools and who would seem to do a good job, but I suggest we need Maori Advisors in the way we have Science, Maths, PE, Art & Craft and Music Advisors. These people would be much freer to help the ordinary classroom practioners in their programmes.

Yours faithfully, (Sgd) Gordon M. Douglas

Kia Ora

As a regular reader of the Tu Tangata magazine I enjoy all the articles etc. In fact I enjoy reading the magazine. Hardly ever though is there any reading material about Southland so I thought if this were an interesting enough item you could print it.

The progress of Te Kohanga Reo and the Matua Whangai programmes have been a success in the South. There are now five T.K.R. centres two operating in Invercargill city, Bluff, Gore and Clinton. The programme for the centres started off with the usual teething problems but with the perseverence of mothers, supervisors and Maori Affairs representatives from Christchurch and Wellington, things have settled down and are now operating smoothly. The centres have attracted outside interests some beneficial some criticism but the people involved have managed to sort out the goodies to their advantage. As T.K.R. has been operating now for nearly two years there are youngsters who have gone on to school. The feedback from the schools is that an itinerant teacher visits schools, helps classes and encourages the class room teacher for an average of half an hour each class per week. These hours are not enough to cater for the T.K.R. youngsters. Some teachers though, have managed to fit bits of maori lessons into their daily routine.

The Matua Whangai programme got off with a bang, a capacity crowd of approximately 200 at the first hui. Following that meeting the numbers of attendance has dropped to around 20-30. Our local Maori Affairs Community Officer and a Social Worker from Social Welfare are the two Government reps with a committee of 12. Since the an-

nouncement of Matua Whangai the committee have been extremely busy checking following up cases and placing children. Members are rostered with the Invercargill police to liaise with daily problems. Also the Maori Wardens and other agencies have been a great help in helping and guiding the Matua Whangai committee to its established situation now. No reira e nga iwi ka mutu enei korero mo murihiku.

Na Mura Clarke

Sir, As one who has followed maori broadcasting over a period of almost forty years, I found Derek Fox's claim that he was television's maori expert, judge, counsel and jury rather nauseating. He is either very naive or extremely naive. Hardly anyone knew of his existence in maori broadcasting until ‘Karere’ was established less than three years ago. Furthermore amongst many maori I have spoken with, he has a long way yet to go in the maori language area alone. Mr Fox should also understand that only the maori people can hand out accolades.

As for a resident television expert, who can dare sidestep ‘Koha's’ Selwyn Muru. Not only has he identified with maori broadcasting for almost twenty years, he seems to have pioneered almost everything in radio and television pertaining to things maori. If my memory serves me right, I believe he also wrote the first maori language plays for radio and television. Ko te kawau anake e whaka hua ana i tona ingoa; ko au ko au. Ko au.

H. Rewiri

N.B. Hope you can publish this letter to put things in the right perspective.

Dear Sir, Referring to your latest issue 18 and the article entitled ‘Hokioi, the extinct eagle' by Alan Taylor, I would like to report that I and my sister-in-law have sighted this bird, both in the same locality though my own sighting being seven years prior to hers hers being just over a year ago. Also on a visit to Bluff three years ago a young man told a story of sighting the enormous eagle in a South Island locality. So in my mind the phenomenon lies, is this bird extinct? I would be very interested as to any source of information on this subject you may be able to offer me.

Anahera Robin