Children are being “pulled out” of maths, English and science at school to learn te reo Māori, according to Associate Education Minister David Seymour. But is that really the case? 1News finds out.
Some educators were left scratching their heads over the weekend, following comments David Seymour made about the curriculum.
The ACT Party leader appeared on Q+A on Sunday morning to discuss the Treaty Principles Bill and its purpose.
Q+A presenter Jack Tame asked Seymour what a Māori person gets today that a non-Māori person doesn’t due to the current interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi principles.
The ACT leader spoke to Q+A’s Jack Tame, after tens of thousands took part in a hīkoi to Parliament. (Source: 1News)
Seymour responded by talking about the burdens of consultation around infrastructure and housing, before turning his attention to the education system.
“Instead of asking what is the best knowledge in the world for students that are going through school now to have to survive and thrive, we say, ‘Oh hang on, what does the Treaty say; what does the partnership require?’” he said.
“All of a sudden you find that your school has decided to take on compulsory te reo and whether or not you like it or want it, you’re required to be pulled out of maths and English and science to do a language that only a few hundred thousand people in the world actually speak.
“And instead of saying I respect people’s right to [learn te reo] – if people want to, they can, but no thank you for me – you can’t go down to your school and say that because people say, ‘Oh no, you’re a racist.’”
Seymour’s claims ‘rubbish’ – union
PPTA Te Wehengarua, the union for secondary school teachers, has disputed Seymour’s comments.
“What the Associate Minister of Education said about students being taken out of other classes to learn te reo Māori is complete rubbish – and the Associate Minister would know that,” its president, Chris Abercrombie, said.
“Schools that provide compulsory te reo Māori offer this subject alongside other compulsory subjects such as English, maths and science.”
Meanwhile, education union NZEI Te Riu Roa said what Seymour described wasn’t a common practice.
“Literacy and maths are not just able to be delivered in English. Learning te reo is also a way of developing oral and written literacy,” NZEI National President Mark Potter said.
“Te reo is no different than other parts of the curriculum, for example, music, art, PE, social studies, that does not fall strictly under the categories of maths, English or science; many subjects develop the literacy and numeracy skills of students,” he said.
“While every primary school will have its own way of delivering the curriculum across the school day and week, it’s not common that tamariki are ‘pulled out’ of one class to attend another.”
Te Ahu o te Reo Māori offered free lessons to teachers on integrating te reo in the classroom. (Source: 1News)
Parents, whānau, and students have said they want to access more, not less, te reo in schools, Potter added.
“We need to resource all schools to meet that demand and to support and champion kaiako [teachers] and kaiarahi [leaders] who can share the taonga that is te reo,” he said.
People ‘want what’s best for their child’
Seymour elaborated on his remarks yesterday, saying he didn’t mean children were being “physically dragged out of one class into another”.
“I am saying that to do one thing, you take time away from another,” he said.
“I certainly have heard from parents who’ve challenged their children’s school for emphasising te reo Māori at the expense of subjects they believe are more important for their children. When they challenged the school, they were pointed to the Education Act’s Treaty provisions.”
Seymour said it was difficult to know how often that happened “because people are often unwilling to talk about it”.
“They want what’s best for their child but don’t want to be accused of attacking the Māori language and culture,” he said.
“Each person should be able to choose their own path; they should not be required to do things against their will for political reasons.”
Changes for the curriculum
Government’s decision to fast-track its new maths curriculum has been met with concerns from some teachers and principals it was moving too fast. (Source: Breakfast)
The Government has been busy working on an overhaul of the school curriculum this year.
It began with a directive for all students in Years 0 to 8 being taught reading, writing and maths for an average of one hour a day in each subject.
State schools have also been directed to begin teaching structured literacy and a refreshed maths curriculum from Term 1 next year.
Meanwhile, change is also coming for the history curriculum with the Government pledging to “restore balance” to the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories curriculum introduced by the previous Labour administration.
