Ākonga Māori from a Wellington East Girls' College tutor class, 'Ākina' previously penned a "protest letter" to Stanford asking for the Minister to restore funding to Te Ahu o te Reo. Photo: Supplied / Wellington East Girls' College
Māori students are adamant Te Ahu o te Reo Māori has a positive impact on their education, despite the government's decision to cut funding for the initiative by $30 million.
Ākonga Māori from Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o te Upoko o te Ika/ Wellington East Girls' College earlier penned a "protest letter" to Minister of Education Erica Stanford which expressed their anger at her decision to cut back funding for Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, a te reo Māori teaching initiative.
"Having strong te reo Māori kaiako (teachers) in our school is important to our learning in all subjects because our te reo Māori speaking teachers connect with us in a different way," the letter said.
Yasmeen Parbhu (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Ata, Ngāi Tahu) and Rosie Dunn (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngā Puhi) are year 10 students who helped pen the protest letter. They said they were "shocked" when they heard the news.
"Maths is important but it shouldn't have to be at the expense of te reo," Yasmeen said.
"[Te reo Māori] is the language of New Zealand. It's something really important, and it's something that we're trying to revitalise."
Parbhu and Dunn said that being in a space with teachers who could speak te reo Māori means they could connect "on a different level".
"They can understand us better, they can provide us with different tools to further help us to understand ourselves," Rosie said.
"Especially if you whakapapa Māori, and even if you don't, it helps you understand our country better and the people around you ... it just changes your perspective on things."
In response to the letter, Stanford said that the government was committed to lifting the achievement of Māori learners in all parts of New Zealand's education system.
"Everything we are doing in structured maths and structured literacy is being delivered in te reo Māori, to ensure there is equitable access across our education system."
'Te reo Māori is our identity'
Yasmeen said when she was in primary and intermediate school, they "didn't really speak te reo".
"Even saying 'kia ora' was just crazy, none of that was really a big thing,"
However, Yasmeen said "everything changed" when she came to Wellington East Girls College, and joined Ākina, a Māori tutor class inspired by both mana whenua and the voice of previous ākonga.
Every day, they would embrace mātauranga Māori and learn new waiata and karakia, thanks to their kaiako 'Whaea Kat' who took part in Te Ahu o te Reo Māori.
Yasmeen said their teacher was able to relate to Māori students more because she engaged with the course.
"She knows how to teach us the way we want to be taught and the way it makes it fun but also educational."
Rosie agreed, and said because her teacher underwent the course, she was given an opportunity to connect to her own Māori whakapapa more.
"When we have people raising these topics it makes you want to learn and find out more about yourself. I found out a lot about my family [and[ my whakapapa from being in this class, and from being around people who speak te reo," Rosie said.
"I understand more of it now and I understand why it's so important."
Parbhu said all ākonga, whether they are Māori or not, benefit from teachers speaking te reo Māori. Photo: Supplied / Wellington East Girls' College
The pair said they noticed teachers' pronunciation of kupu Māori improved significantly following Te Ahu o te Reo.
Teachers were more inclusive, more respectful and also understood tikanga regarding te ao Māori, Rosie said.
"It doesn't feel great having to constantly correct people all the time or explain yourself, and it makes a really big difference when you don't have to explain that [tikanga] to people."
Yasmeen spoke about a moment when she was in class once and asked to begin the day with karakia.
According to Yasmeen, the teacher asked "why?"
"But I know if I was with Whaea Kat or any of the people who take that course, they would have immediately said, 'yep, everyone stand up, we're going to do one'."
Yasmeen said to be questioned on an important part of her culture was frustrating.
"Te reo Māori is our identity ... even if you're not Māori, you're still in New Zealand and it's our language.
"[Te reo Māori] is something we all need to learn."
Parbhu and Dunn believe the Minister has not given Te Ahu o te Reo Māori enough time to see the "massive" impact it has on students. Photo: Supplied / Wellington East Girls' College
Keeping te reo alive
Yasmeen and Rosie said New Zealanders should have more opportunities to learn and interact with te reo Māori, instead of less.
"It's so important and just taking it away is so crazy because it's something that was already taken away from us, and it's taken us so many years to try and get it back," Yasmeen said.
"We need more people, not less."
Rosie said te reo needed to be kept alive.
"The way we can keep it alive is to get more people learning it. That means our teachers [because] they have such a broad reach for so many people and it impacts so many people," Rosie said.
The pair said they were worried about Te Ahu o te Reo funding cuts, because to them, it meant less people would learn te reo Māori.
They said it was important for all teachers to earn te reo Māori, because "te reo is important to have in all classes".
"I think that we need more of it in every classroom because when you have it in all of those environments, it means that you're learning it more than just one part of the day," Rosie said.