Geraldine Koopu is our National Education Manager | Kaiwhakahaere Matauranga ā-Motu, as well as a Lecturer | Kaiako, based in Rotorua.
Childhood memories are often fulfilled experiences about people, places and achievements. In my case the memories are vague, and I often think about who I was back then. I do not remember identifying myself as Māori and I definitely do not remember being educated within a bicultural education framework. According to Shinskey (2016)
"It’s important to remember that, even if we can’t explicitly remember specific events from when we were very young, their accumulation nevertheless leaves lasting traces that influence our behaviour. The first few years of life are paradoxically forgettable and yet powerful in shaping the adults that we become. (p. 1)"
During my school years I now believe that I was assimilated into a mainstream education culture and I guess that was how I lost sight of my identity. I came from a small rural community and attended the local Area School. The curriculum focused on core subjects which were compulsory (e.g., maths, English, home economics, tech drawing and typing). There was a Māori class but that was where all the ‘naughty kids’ were sent, and the content was kapa haka for two hours per week.
I could not speak or understand te reo Māori, and te ao Māori was not integrated in my home life at all. As an adult I often asked my mum why this was; I was told not to meddle in things I did not understand, and she got very defensive. I now understand that this was not her choice; it was how she was brought up. Snippets of conversation I had managed to get out of her was recalled with an ambience of sadness.
My mother was born in 1946 in a very small rural community; and during her schooling years she was not allowed to speak te reo Māori or attend marae events. Her memories of her cultural upbringing were brief, and she noted that the Pākehā way was paramount if she was to get anywhere in life. To elaborate on my mother’s memories, it is important that I reflect on The Native Schools Acts 1867, which had caused the decline of te reo Māori me ona tikanga. The intent of the Native School Act 1867 was for Pākehā to civilise Māori. This was implemented “… by encouraging Māori to “abandon their traditional cultural values, customs and language …” (Simon & Smith, 2001, p. 8). According to Simon and Smith (2001) Māori were sternly disciplined if caught speaking Maori. Similarly, King (2003, p. 234) stated that the Native Schools Act 1867 was “… taken to extremes in the years that followed, with many children reporting that they had been punished for speaking Māori within school boundaries”.
As I reflect on those conversations I wonder if those experiences were guidelines attached to generational stigmas and colonial views. I often reflect on my mum’s views towards her culture and how she avoids having those tough conversations about her identity. I believe that my mum had been a victim of oppression and that the life her whānau lived was so shadowed by colonised influences that over the years she detached from her cultural distinctiveness, which was being Māori.
The cycle of being oppressed had been transferred through the generations of my whānau and eventually the cultural silence saw us creating our barriers which made us the oppressors of our own culture. Freire (1972) writes extensively on the oppression bestowed on Indigenous peoples. He maintains that education is a field of political discourses and that people who are not politically minded in a critical sense are just participants being systemised by the oppressors. He believed that the ‘conscientization’ process would allow Indigenous people to deepen their awareness regarding sociocultural realisms that have the potential to transform lives.
Coxon, Jenkins, and Jones (cited in Marshall, 1998) suggest that disparity is still rife for Māori in education; with indications of Māori still being ‘civilised’ within the classroom environments and the school curriculums. Being ‘civilised’ dated back to the first century when Māori children were threatened to surrender their culture, values and beliefs and language. Assimilating Māori was one way for missionaries and government to get Māori to accept their ways of doing and being which conceded Māori lores. Māori education was being compromised by European educational technologies and Māori students craved for Pākehā wisdom (Jackson, 1975, cited in Marshall 1998).
However, in today’s current early childhood education (ECE) sector there are initiatives in place that are minimising the historic disparities. New Zealand’s early childhood curriculum, Te Whāriki, reflects the logic of Principle One of Te Tiriti of Waitangi that all children have the right to experience and explore the cultural heritages of both partners of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. As stated in the earlier edition of Te Whāriki, “the curriculum reflects this partnership in text and structure” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 9). Consequently Regulation 32(c) of the Education (ECC) Regulations 1998 highlights the requirement that early childhood centres must embrace the diverse cultures and encourage children to be proud of their cultures and ethnicities and support others (New Zealand Government, 1998).
My story of being culturally displaced has not been in vain, because it has become the catalyst for me to become another voice for mokopuna, so they can have their identity rightly positioned in the early childhood sector. When I reflect on my upbringing, I am consciously thinking of current initiatives that have been developed within the early childhood education sector that support whānau Māori, so their cultural identity is retained and nurtured for the sake of our mokopuna. Acknowledging the cultural identity of mokopuna in the early childhood sector is being endorsed by centres having te reo Māori me ōna tikanga practised and visible within their learning communities.
There has been a definite shift towards early childhood centres becoming bicultural. Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017) validates and affirms the importance of ‘kaupapa Māori’ and the importance of ensuring that Māori cultural values are being woven throughout ECE centres’ learning programmes. With substantial work involving kaupapa Māori over the last two decades it is timely to review our current teaching practices and, in particular, looking at what our bicultural curriculum looks like. The promotion of te ao Māori is a commitment made by many centre staff to become bicultural, and the bicultural journey begins with acknowledging that one’s cultural identity is paramount. Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 2017) honours Māori and ensures that the culture is kept ‘alive’. The curriculum is the first bicultural curriculum developed to promote inclusion for Māori learners in the early childhood sector. Te Whāriki validates the importance of centres having children’s cultures visible in their learning environments and for Māori this provides whānau with a sense of belonging (Ministry of Education, 2017).
In my role as a lecturer I believe that it is my responsibility to support student teachers to become the best bicultural teachers they can be. In my opinion the first place to begin is by supporting students with their pepeha. If students can connect with their identity, they will gain a deeper understanding of the children they teach and the importance of respecting who they are as individuals. According to Walker and Walker (2009) every child has his or her own hereditary traits that are passed on from their ancestors. Once teachers acknowledge that a child’s cultural identity is individualised and cannot be attached to groups of children, they, along with whānau and caregivers, can guide and enhance children’s cultural learning experiences.
You can find more of these stories in our free downloadable book Tōku Anō Reo Māori: My Very Own Language.
Rārangi Pukapuka | Reference List
- Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum. King, M. (2003). History of New Zealand. Penguin Books (NZ) . Marshall, J. (1998). Why go to school? Dunmore Press.
- Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Learning Media.
- Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum.
- Shinskey, J. (2016). Childhood memories: Why are they so difficult to recall? https:// www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/childhood-memories- research-early-development-recollection-culture-a7142361.html
- Simon, L., & Smith, J. (2001). A civilising mission? Perceptions and representations of the native schools system. Auckland University Press.