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<div class="gmail-dateline"><span class="gmail-day-name">Thursday,</span> 2 February 2017</div> <h1 class="gmail-page-header">Educators back compulsory Maori language</h1>
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<img alt="Marama Davidson. Photo NZ Herald" class="gmail-media-element gmail-img-responsive gmail-file-odt-landscape-large-21-10" src="https://www.odt.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/odt_landscape_extra_large_21_10/public/story/2017/02/scczen_a_190816nzhdpdavidson04_620x310.jpg?itok=1zwMOt2C" width="992" height="472"><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-caption gmail-field-type-text-long gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even">Greens
Māori development spokeswoman Marama Davidson said many children were
already excited about learning te reo at school because it "belongs to
everybody in this country". Photo NZ Herald</div></div></div> </div>
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<p>Educators have been quick to endorse a Green Party proposal to make
Māori language a compulsory core subject in state schools from years 1
to 10.</p>
<p>The two teacher unions, School Trustees Association and even the
conservative Maxim Institute all backed the policy. Labour education
spokesman Chris Hipkins said he personally also believed in it, although
Labour would not endorse it formally.</p>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/teachers-praise-commitment-te-reo-m%C4%81ori"><strong>PPTA praises commitment to te reo Māori </strong></a></li></ul>
<p>But National's Māori-speaking Education Minister Hekia Parata said children should only learn the language if they chose to.</p>
<p>"I'm for a bilingual nation," she wrote in an article supplied by her office.</p>
<p>But she added: "Of all the drivers for successful language
acquisition, motivation is essential. Compulsion is the antithesis of
motivation."</p>
<p>Greens Māori development spokeswoman Marama Davidson said many
children were already excited about learning te reo at school because it
"belongs to everybody in this country".</p>
<p>Lynda Stuart of the primary teacher union NZ Educational Institute
said te reo should be "taught as a key part of New Zealand's
curriculum". But she warned it would need "much more Government
investment".</p>
<p>School Trustees Association president Lorraine Kerr said:
"Personally, and given that I'm Māori myself, I think it's an amazing
idea." She too warned that it would need a lot more teacher training.</p>
<p>Maxim Institute chief executive Alex Penk said: " We absolutely
welcome the idea that all kids should learn te reo Māori. Like the
Greens, we'd love to see every child have a good grasp of te reo because
it's a core part of who we are as a country."</p>
<p>In the business world, even Export NZ director Catherine Beard was
supportive, although she said compulsion might be "an own goal".</p>
<p>"Whilst te reo obviously is not spoken internationally, there is
evidence that if you start out being bilingual it's easier to learn a
third language," she said.</p>
<p>"Certainly when we go on trade missions the whole Māori aspect is
often emphasised as a point of difference for New Zealand, and that sets
us apart and I guess gets us noticed and makes us proud.</p>
<p>"I would say, though, that the negative thing about compulsion is
sometimes that it can be a turn-off for people, so whether that would be
the right way to win the hearts and minds I guess would be the only
question."</p>
<p>Professor Sharon Harvey, who heads AUT's School of Language and
Culture and has helped to develop language policies for both the Royal
Society and an Auckland regional forum, said children should learn three
languages like most people in Asia and Europe.</p>
<p>"English is the language of power both locally and internationally,
so everyone who lives in New Zealand needs access to high-quality
English language instruction," she said.</p>
<p>"Māori is the language of New Zealand, and I think because of the
Treaty of Waitangi and for many reasons, we should be able to speak
Māori to a reasonable level of proficiency.</p>
<p>"And maybe schools should have community discussions around the
languages of their community and what other languages they will offer to
the kids in their area."</p><p><a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/educators-back-compulsory-maori-language">https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/educators-back-compulsory-maori-language</a><br></p></div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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