Education minister over-reached on te reo in books, say principals

RNZ News

3 days ago

Erica Stanford was worried five-year-olds would be confused by Māori words in the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
Education Minister Erica Stanford has overstepped by excluding te reo Māori from future books in a series for learner readers, says the NZ Principals' Federation.
A ministry document showed Stanford
made the decision in October
because she was worried five-year-olds would be confused by Māori words in the Education Ministry's Ready to Read Phonics Plus series.
At the same time, Stanford ruled that one of the 27 books that already contained Māori words
should be re-sized as a big book and would not be reprinted as a 'reader'
that children could take home or read together in groups.
She also told officials to ensure that Māori pronunciation was explicitly taught from children's second year at school - a first for the English curriculum.
Stanford later told RNZ the decision about future books would affect only 12 books that were being developed to complete the series.
But Principals' Federation president Leanne Otene said the minister was out of line.
"I don't support any of these decisions. One book, 12 books, 20 books, future books - these decisions have not involved the sector. The people who should be making decisions about the resources that are used in classrooms are teachers. They're the ones who are selecting the books to teach the children how to read," she said.
"I do not understand why the minister is hands-on in this. That's an overstep. It's an over-reach. The experts are the teachers in front of the children. They have always selected the readers and resources that meet the needs of the children in their class."
Otene said the minister was doing five-year-olds a disservice if she thought they could not cope with Māori in their readers.
"We are very disappointed and there will be some very upset whanau, parents of children who want their children to see themselves in these books, who want the language that they're using at home being used within the the learning environment," she said.
"We're not just talking about Māori children here, we're talking about everyday Kiwi kids who are using Māori."
Stanford said she disagreed with the federation.
She said English words were not used in Māori language readers in Māori-immersion classes, so it made sense not to have Māori words in readers in English-medium classrooms.
But Rawiri Wright from the runanganui for kura kaupapa Māori said that was not a fair comparison.
"We are a total immersion Māori language setting for primary school, that is not my understanding of the majority of English-medium schools.
"They say they are English-medium but they are supposed to be places where both official languages or all three official languages are recognised, so I don't think the minister's argument holds any water," he said.
The Education Ministry said it had released 78 books in the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series, of which about 30 included kupu Māori (excluding the names of characters).
"These titles will continue to be printed and made available into the future," it said.
It said seven books currently in development would include Māori names and a further 12 further books were planned.
"Once students have mastered decoding, te reo Māori continues to be supported through the Junior Journal series for Year 3 students and the School Journal series for Years 4-8 students," it said.
The ministry said it also provided additional support for te reo Māori use within the Ready to Read Phonics Plus series, sending packs of te reo Māori Kete Cards to all schools.
"These resources introduce the origins of the words, support correct pronunciation, and explain the sound-letter relationships of te reo Māori.
"We are including appropriate information and guidance about te reo Māori vowel sounds and pronunciation in the English learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum from Year 2. This aligns with when te reo Māori increasingly appears in the Ministry's literacy resources, such as the Junior Journal and School Journal series."
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