Pulling a learn-to-read book with six kupu Māori is another educational assault

The Spinoff

a day ago

Restricting the use of te reo Māori words in books for tamariki learning to read further alienates Māori in the education system – and that has enormous consequences, writes Tansy Oliver.
Six words: m arae, karanga, wharenui, koro, hongi, karakia. These are the controversial words that Erica Stanford and the Ministry of Education believe are so confusing for our tamariki that the book in which they appear, At the Marae – a book from the Ready to Read series designed to teach five-year-olds using a structured literacy model, by decoding (sounding out) words – should not be reprinted.
This is a decision that challenges not only literacy and language-learning principles but also how much we value and uphold our bicultural educational system in Aotearoa.
It may seem like this is a decision based purely on educational theory and pedagogy. However, this is where opinions are divided. Education vs politics is a common battleground in New Zealand, but this issue goes straight to the heart of how we value and respect the culture and heritage of our tangata whenua. Māori are the indigenous people of this country and it is essential we revitalise and normalise the use and value of te reo Māori in all settings, especially in our schools. Te reo Māori should not be weaponised as a political tool to sow racism and division.
In 1958, my mother was seven years old and about to emigrate from Britain to Aotearoa. My grandfather told the family that when they reached New Zealand, they would learn to speak Māori because that was the language of the indigenous people. Unfortunately, his excitement at this new language and culture awaiting them only lasted as long as their voyage here. But that story has always lived in my heart as I struggled over the last four decades to understand why reo Māori was not given the place it deserves in Aotearoa.
For us to be fighting for the addition of six kupu Māori in a book for children, 67 years later, feels regressive at best, and like cultural violence at worst. To assume that our tamariki at five years old are incapable of learning six reo Māori words is insulting to our children, our teachers and our nation.
Recently released documents showed Erica Stanford personally directed the Ministry of Education to stop producing texts in the Ready to Read series with Māori words in them. This decision was based on the premise that structured literacy and phonics now teach children to decode words, learning letters and blending sounds together. Māori words fall under the category of 'heart' words – words that must be learned by sight or memory, instead of being decoded.
Structured literacy purists believe the amount of heart words must be kept to a minimum, because they increase cognitive load, or mental effort. This is where children need reading and spelling to become automatic processes in the brain, so the cognitive load is reduced. This opens up other pathways in the brain to be utilised for more sophisticated learning later on.
However, there are also many benefits to be had from learning more than one language, especially at five years old. And new entrants are more than capable of learning and retaining other heart words, especially ones that are directly related to the language and culture of our indigenous people. The research is divided about how we add other languages into a pure structured literacy approach when children are learning to read. But one thing is certain – te reo Māori is not only the official language of New Zealand, it is also one of our greatest taonga. As such, it must be included and valued in our schools and society.
The value of taking home a book that includes your culture and language to share with your whānau while you learn to read cannot be underestimated. This helps tamariki to feel their way of life and language is visible and normalised – that it has value and mana. If children do not feel their culture and language are reflected in their education, then they can feel alienated from school and learning. Many Māori students and their whānau have experienced the pain and frustration of feeling isolated and misunderstood in their schooling. Once that process of alienation starts, it is very difficult to reverse it.
Sadly, the alienation of Māori from education has had enormous consequences in New Zealand.The biggest inequities between Pākehā and Māori start early, at school. Recent statistics show 28% of Māori students left school in 2024 with no qualifications, while only 14% of Pākehā did. The refusal to reprint At the Marae feeds into a pathway of systemic racism that exists in our education system and beyond.
Words, language and literacy matters. But what matters more is the mana and pride tamariki feel when their language and culture is valued and respected. Te reo Māori is a taonga, a living and breathing treasure that is passed down through the generations. It must be protected, celebrated and, most of all, spoken.
Our role as educators should never be to diminish or devalue any language or words, but to raise up and nurture all language and literacy. To restrict or eliminate the ability of our students to learn te reo Māori is to commit cultural violence against Māori. Now, those six words will be remembered as the start of yet another educational assault against indigenous people.