Te reo in schools could help connect young Kiwis to NZ culture

Thursday, 23 August 2018

Sarah Moore is the head of marketing and communications at Neighbourly.

Sarah Moore is taking part in a 12-week te reo course in an effort to show her irāmutu (niece) her whole family values her Māori heritage. This is her sixth column.

OPINION: I was the kid in class asking whether I was going to use math when I left school.

Every. Single. Lesson.

I was much more interested in playing with words but math was, and still is, compulsory in the New Zealand school curriculum. I haven't really needed to work out the circumference of a circle or applied algebra (consciously anyway) to any aspect of my life, but studying math hasn't caused any lasting damage.

* The stories of our journey to a better understanding of our country

* Making te reo part of everyday life is harder than expected

* Getting Maori place names right is all about respect**

I'm not sure if my Mum and Dad ever questioned any subjects in my schooling (apart from religious studies maybe), but the debate as to whether te reo Māori should be compulsory at school has been polarising parents and politicians for a while.

Led by the Green and Labour parties, the push for compulsory te reo seems to be one of the most hotly contested issues since the flag debate.

In a recent (unscientific) nationwide poll on Neighbourly which, with more than 8750 votes, has garnered the most interest of any Neighbourly poll to date, almost 57 per cent said they disagree with the statement 'should te reo Māori be compulsory in schools?'.

Crunching the numbers by region creates a curious picture: 49 per cent of Aucklanders and 47 per cent of Wellingtonians don't think it should be compulsory, compared to 62 per cent of Cantabrians and 65 per cent of those who voted across Gisborne and Hawke's Bay.

I'm personally not in favour of the word compulsory; it sounds dictatorial and oppressive rather than all the wonderful things I'm discovering te reo is: purposeful, relevant, inspiring, inviting, funny.

Ultimately, I believe learning a language doesn't need to come down to one over the other. If your child is learning te reo, they can learn Mandarin too.

Just like you don't have to pick rugby lessons over drama class, you don't have to pick French over te reo. There's no reason why children can't become fluent in multiple languages.

As children, our brains are capable of cramming a lot in. Sure, as adults we might struggle to learn more than one language simultaneously, but exposure to multiple languages at a young age isn't going to do anything except broaden little minds and nurture linguistic agility.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefit of multiple languages to cognitive function and it's estimated that half the world's population is bilingual.

Adding more te reo to the school curriculum has the opportunity to really connect young Kiwis to New Zealand culture – something I've only recently realised I was missing.

It's all very well to argue that te reo has no use overseas or for international business purposes – but it absolutely has its place in our local economy; there are plenty of workplaces (think tourism, government, law, science, politics, science) already placing value on te reo and I predict this will only increase.

A member of the Toro Mai Facebook group shares the following: 'In the Netherlands, when you start secondary school, it is compulsory you have four languages in your schedule. Latin and Greek are the optional extra two – ancient languages that seemingly are 'dead'… to have more than one language in your arsenal, irrespective of what languages they may be, makes it easier to understand others.

'Language is about tone, melody, inflection, structure and movement. It is in those areas you get a better understanding for a language, and the culture it comes from, therefore also creating a better understanding of the people that language belongs to.'

Nationally, 34 per cent have said they believe te reo should be compulsory, with nine per cent 'not minding either way'.

I'm encouraged by this for the simple reason that just six weeks into my course it's already enriching my life and expanding my worldview in ways I never imagined it would.

It's giving me a better sense of place and identity, opening doors, drawing me into conversations I've never been a part of before and helping me create new connections.

For those who are learning, capable or fluent in te reo, I'm sure you'll agree: te reo better connects you to New Zealand.

For those who are in the 'not my language/culture' camp: take my word for it.