Ko Brittany Manawaiti tērā o Ngāti Maniapoto, e koke ana i tēnei huarahi ki te tūhono atu ki tōna whakapapa Māori. I a ia e whakaako ana, mārama te kite i te hua o te reo Māori me tōna mōhio ki tōna whakapapa mō ana tamariki, whānau Māori hoki. I riro i a Brittany tētahi karahipi reorua mai i TeachNZ, kia noho ia ki te ako i te reo mō te kotahi tau ki Te Wānanga o Raukawa. Hei tāna, kua huri tōna ao, e kore hoki e ea i a ia tēnei ara te whai.
Nō Ngāti Maniapoto hoki te pāpā o Brittany, ā, i tipu ake ki Te Kūiti, ā, he Pākehā tōna māmā. I a ia e tipu ana, hei tā Brittany, kāore noa iho i tūhono atu ki tōna whānau Māori, ā, kāore hoki ia i whai i te reo Māori. Heoi anō, nā tāna whai i te reo Māori, kua kitea ētahi hononga kāore noa ia i mōhio.
Ko tā Brittany, “koia te haerenga mīharo ko tēnei” i Te Wānanga o Raukawa, ā, i a ia e ako ana, ka tūtakina ngā tāngata mai i ngā kokona katoa o te ao, mai i ngā kaiako, tumuaki, rōia me ngā kaitaki kiriata hoki. He rawe katoa te hunga o tōna akomanga, he kaha rātou ki te tautoko i te katoa, nā te mea i te ako tonu rātou katoa. “Kāore he aha, ahakoa ko wai, i te ako te katoa. He kāhui tōna hanga, he kāhui tōna mahi, ki te taka atu tētahi, kua huri atu te kāhui ki te kohi me te hiki i taua tangata, he mahi ā-rōpū.”
Ka whakapuaki mai a Brittany mō ngā piki me ngā heke i pā ki a ia, me te hoki atu ki te pātai, “E aha ana ahau i konei?” I tētahi rangi, ka kī ake ia ki te pūkenga reo, me haere pea ia ki te kōhanga ki te ako me ngā tamariki o reira. Ka pau ngā marama, ka toro ake taua pūkenga reo ki a ia me te kī, he hui ā-whānau tā te kōhanga reo i taua pō tonu. E maumahara ana ia ki te wā e noho porohita ana te whānau, ka tū ia ki te kōrero i tāna kaupapa. I kī atu ia ki te whānau, ka whai hua tonu tāna noho me ngā tamariki ki te ako i te reo. Ka tautokohia tāna tono, ka noho atu ia ki te whānau. Ka noho te kōhanga hei wāhi haumaru, ā, ki te hiahia ia ki ētahi mea, ka noho rātou ki te āwhina, ki te tautoko i a ia i roto i āna mahi.
I mahi ia ki Te Kōhanga Reo o Tū Roa ki Ōtaki i ngā Paraire, ā, i ētahi rā kua pukumahi ia me āna mahi mō te akomanga. Hei takoha atu, ka noho ia ki te tuari i ōna mōhiotanga, te āwhina i te kōhanga reo ma te taki haere i ā rātou pūtea me te kohi moni mō te kōhanga i ngā wā e wātea āna ia.
Mō Brittany, i pupū ake ētahi pāmamae, ā, i ētahi wā ka noho whakamā ia mōna e noho ngoikore nei ki tōna reo me tōna whakapapa. Ka kite hoki ia he uaua ngā pepa iwi, pepa hapū hoki, nā tāna tawhiti mai i te marae, ā, kāore i taea e ia te hono atu ki te haukāinga. He nui te pānga tautoko o te whānau kōhanga me ōna hoa o te akomanga i tēnei wā tonu.
Kāore a Brittany i hoki ake i te tau tuarua o āna mahi akoako. He uaua rawa mōna te utu i ngā utu me te hoki atu anō ki te mahi. Nā tāna ngaronga mai i te kōhanga me āna mahi akoako ka taka te pāpōuri e kore ia e kite, e whakaaro ka pupū ake.
I a ia e hoki atu ana ki ngā mahi ECE, ka toko ake te whakaaro mō tōna haerenga reo, te kōkiri, me te noho hāngai ki te kaupapa. Mea rawa ake, kāore noa i roa tōna hokinga atu ki te Raumati South Kindergarten, ka rongo ake kua hapū ia, ā, he māhanga ka whānau mai hai te Haratua 2023. Ki a Brittany, he tohu pai tēnei, e ō ai tāna whakamutu i tōna haerenga reo Māori.
“He mahi nui ki te ako i tētahi reo hou mō te pakeke, he uaua ake mēnā he kaiako koe.”
Hei tā Brittany, e whakaaro ana ia ki te tuku i āna tamariki ki Te Kōhanga Reo o Tū Roa, e tīmata ai āna tamariki ki te wāhi i tīmatahia ai e ia tōna haerenga reo Māori. E noho ai āna tamariki ki tēnei o ngā reanga tamariki kōrero Māori, e noho ai rātou hei toa mō te reo Māori, e ora tonu ai te reo Māori ki Aotearoa.
I tēnei wā kei roto a Brittany i ngā mahi akoranga mō Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, ā, ko tāna, ka nui te pai[1].
“He mahi nui ki te ako i tētahi reo hou mō te pakeke, he uaua ake mēnā he kaiako koe. He tau mahi anō, i runga anō i ngā mahi mō te tau e mahi nei rātou, me te whakaaro ake me pēhea te whakauru i ēnei akoranga hou ki ā rātou mahi whakaako. I tua atu, kāore koe e utua ana mō ngā mahi i tua atu i āu mahi ake. Ko tāu e whai nei, ko ngā whāinga matua e tutuki ai ngā tamariki me ngā whānau.”
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Kua roa kē a Anneke Brouwers, he kaiako nō Te Kura a Rito o Newton i Tāmaki Makaurau, e hiahia ana ki te ako i te reo Māori, engari i tīmata ia i te wā i te whare wānanga ia e ako ana. I te tīmatanga, i oti i a ia ētahi pepa reo Māori, nā tēnei ka whai tūāpapa ki te ako i te reo Māori ā-rumaki nei. Hei tā Anneke, he pai mēnā he mōhiotanga ōu o te reo Māori i mua i te haere ki te ako rumaki i te reo, engari pai ana ki te kore ō mōhiotanga: “Mai i ōku wheako, ki te kaha tō mōhio ki te reo, ka kaha ake ngā hua ka puta.”
Nā runga i ngā mahi tautoko a tōna hoa, tōna whānau me tōna kaiako, i te tau 2019 – kotahi tau noa iho te roa o te ako rumaki ki Te Wānanga o Raukawa – ka tīmata a Anneke ki te ako ki te akomanga rumaki reo ki Te Kura a Rito o Newton a Te Uru Karaka.
Mō Anneke, ahakoa nō ēnei tau noa i tīmata tāna ako i te reo Māori, kua roa kē ia e kaingākau ana ki te reo Māori. Ka hoki ōna whakaaro ki te wā e waru noa tōna pakeke, ka haere ia ki te marae: “E whakapōtaetia ana tōku māmā me tōna tohu Bachelor of Nursing, i taua wā hoki ko tōku matua kēkē hoki tērā e whakapōtaetia ana me tōna tohu kairangi, i tuhia e ia mō te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori. I te pō i mua mai i taua hui rā, ka heke atu mātou ki Te Papaiōea, ki te marae i Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa. Ka noho mātou ki te pakitara o te wharenui mātakitaki ai i ngā tāngata e tū ana ki te mihi ki tōku matua kēkē mō āna mahi whakahirahira. Ka kōrero tēnā, ka puta he waiata, ka mihi mai tēnā, ka puta tōna waiata, he wheako mīharo tēnei ki a au nā te mea e kaingākau ana ahau ki ngā mahi waiata. Ahakoa he whānau Pākehā mātou, i rongo tonu ahau i te manaakitanga i roto i te wharenui i taua pō, ā, mai i tērā wā, ka whai hononga ahau ki te ao Māori, ā, ki ngā waiata hoki.”
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He mea nui tonu te waiata, ina akoako ana koe i te reo Māori. Ko te kī a Jenna-Lee Pfeifer, he kaiako i ngā tamariki i raro i te rua tau te pakeke ki Te Pā, he akomanga ki Te Rōpū Kura Kōhungahunga o Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou, “He mea hira tonu te waiata i roto i tōku haerenga ako i te reo Māori, ina rā e pā ana ki te whakahua i te kupu.” He rawe katoa ki a Jenna-Lee ngā mahi waiata, i ētahi wā ka āhua raru ia ki te whakahua kupu, ka hurihia e ia hei waiata. Mā te whakahuahua anō rā me te rere o te kupu e mōhio pai ia, e mau ai i a ia te kupu.
I te wā i whakarite rāua ko tōna hoa tāne ki te noho mai ki Aotearoa nei, i mōhio tonu ia ka ako ia i te reo Māori. I mōhio ia mō ētahi o ngā tamariki ka noho ki tāna akomanga, ko te reo Māori tō rātou reo tuatahi. Hei tāna, ki te whakamahi ia i te reo Māori me tāna akomanga, “ka kitea tonu i ō rātou kanohi, kua puta te māramatanga ‘e mōhio pai ana ahau ki tērā’ me te ‘e mōhio ana koe ki ahau.’ He mea mīharo te rongo ā-tinana i te wā ka tūtaki te tangata me te kōrero i tōu ake reo. Ka kitea koe.” Mā te kite i ngā āhua a ngā mātua me ngā whānau i a ia ka whakamahi nei i te reo Māori, mārama pai ana rātou kei te whāia te huarahi tika. “Koia nei taku aweawetanga.”
E mahi ana a Jenna-Lee i Te Ahu o te Reo ki Ngāi Tahu, e whakaakohia ana ki te mita o Ngāi Tahu. “Me ako ahau i te reo Ngāi Tahu, te ako i te reo mō te whenua e tū nei au, he haerenga tino mīharo tēnei,” tāna kī, me te mea anō he rawe ki a ia te āhua o te akoako i te reo me te whakarato atu ki ngā kaiako o te rohe nei.
Ko Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga te māngai tautoko mō Te Ahu o te Reo Māori ki Ngāi Tahu. E kore e taea e ia tēnei tū āhuatanga ki te kore tēnei tautokotanga. Ko āna akomanga ka tū i ia Taite mai i te 4–7 karaka i te ahiahi, ā, ko te pūtea tautoko ka utu mōna ki te haere ki ngā akomanga nei. Ki ōna whakaaro, e kore e tutuki i a ia tēnei haerenga ki te kore tēnei akomanga.
“He mea mīharo te rongo ā-tinana i te wā ka tūtaki te tangata me te kōrero i tōu ake reo. Ka kitea koe.”
Nā tēnei haerenga reo Māori, kua takatū ia ki te tuku tono ki te whare wānanga ki te mahi i tāna tuhinga kairangi mō te ‘decolonisation of early learning’ ki Aotearoa nei. He whāinga tēnei mōna ake, e takatū nei ia ki te noho hei kaikōrero i te reo Māori i ngā tau e whā e haere ake nei.
Atu i te ako i te reo Māori, e ako ana hoki a Jenna-Lee i Te Reo Turi, i takea mai i tāna tamāhine, ka noho turi nei mai i te tīmatanga o tēnei tau, ā, kua mau taringa hiko ia. He mate ā-tinana anō tāna, ka noho turi nei ia i tōna taiohitanga. Hei tā Jenna-Lee he uaua ake te ako i Te Reo Turi tērā i te ako i te reo Māori nā te mea kāore he mahinga tautoko hei whai ake mō Te Reo Turi, tūturu ki Ōtepoti nei. Ko tāna hoki, “Kāore anō kia whakaarahia Te Reo Turi ki ngā wāhi, ki ngā mahinga ngaio. He mahi uaua te whakatere i tēnei wāhi, engari kua tuwhera ōku whatu ki te take me titiro tātou ki ngā reo taketake katoa.” Nā te uaua o te whai mahinga tautoko mō ēnei kaupapa ki te wāhi e noho nei ia, koia nei te pūtake o tāna noho hāngai ki tēnei kaupapa.
Kua tūhono hoki a Jenna-Lee ki tētahi rōpū hapori mō Te Reo Turi ki Ōtepoti me te tūmanako ka taea e ia te haere ki ngā hui ka karangahia e rātou, e whānui ake ai tōna mōhiotanga NZSL. Ko tāna, ka rawe katoa ki tāna tamāhine te whai atu i a ia ki te tūtaki i tēnei rōpū, e rite ai tā rāua tūtaki ki te rōpū nei me te whai wheako hoki.
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Ko Maryanne Grocott tēnei, he kaiako kōhungahunga ki Whakatiki, e ako ana i Te Reo Turi mō ngā tau e waru. Ka mau hoki a Maryanne i ngā taringa hiko, me tāna kī kua whai aronga kē ia ki te ako i ngā reo taketake e rua, ā, i noho hoki ki te ako i te reo Māori, he uaua māna i taua wā nā runga i te hoihoi o te taiao i taua wā.
I kite ahau he akomanga koreutu tērā, mō te ono wiki te roa i te whare pukapuka ki te ako i Te Reo Turi. Ka noho ahau ki te mahi i taua akomanga, ā, he rawe katoa ki ahau, he mea hoki hei kohi ake ka whakaako ki ngā tamariki e mahi nei au.” He rawe ki a Maryanne te whakaako i āna tamariki i ngā tohu rerekē mō ngā kai, mō ngā tae hoki. Ko tāna, ko ētahi atu kaiako he mōhio ki Te Reo Turi, ka noho mātou ki te kōrero i Te Reo Turi i mua i ngā tamariki, kua pātai ngā tamariki, “He aha ā kōrua kōrero?” Ko tāna hoki, “He pai ki te uru ki tētahi taiao e taea tō whakamahi me ētahi atu tāngata, ā, ka noho hei reo ora, kua aro mai ngā tamariki, kua tīmata te tuku pātai.”
“I ētahi wā e tohu ana koe ki tētahi tamaiti, ka kite koe e neke ana ngā ringa, e whai ana rātou i ō ringa tohu. Kei taua momo wā rātou, e taea tā rātou tere ako. Ka noho ahau ki te tākaro kēmu. Ka kōrero Pākehā atu ahau ki a rātou, kātahi ka reo tohu atu mō te tae, ka mea atu ki te rapu i tētahi mea whero. Ā, kāore e roa, kua waia ki te reo tohu, kua warea te kupu.”
“He pai ki te uru ki tētahi taiao e taea to whakamahi me ētahi atu tāngata, ā, ka noho hei reo ora, kua aro mai ngā tamariki, kua tīmata te tuku pātai.”
E whakamārama mai ana a Maryanne he turuturu noa tōna haerenga ako nei, e rua ngā wāhanga o te rua tau – i te wā o te Kōwheori-19 – kāore i taea tāna ako i Te Reo Turi. E wātea ana ngā akomanga ipurangi, engari he uaua rawa ēnei ki te whai māna. I ēnei wā, kua tae atu ki ngā akomanga me ngā hui, tere tonu ia ki te whakarite i ngā hui, i ngā akomanga kia tae wawe atu ia. Kua tae hoki ia ki ngā tutukitanga Te Reo Turi i ngā wharekai, he rawe ēnei huinga hei whakapakari ake i tōna whakamahinga i Te Reo Turi.
Ko tētahi āhua o te ako i Te Reo Turi he iti nei ngā akomanga i waho atu i te whare wānanga. I tēnei wā, e mahi ana a Maryanne i tētahi akomanga Te Reo Turi hei whakahou ake i ōna pūkenga. Ko ia tonu kei te utu i āna utu, nā te kore o te pūtea tautoko e wātea ana mō tēnei tū āhuatanga. Heoi, i tērā tau ka puta ake he paku pūtea āwhina mō ēnei akomanga, ā, he kore utu hoki ētahi. “I ētahi wā noa, ka puta he pūtea tautoko mō ēnei akomanga – ētahi wā he iti, ētahi wā he nui ngā pūtea tautoko – i te nuinga o te wā, ko au tonu ka utu i ngā akomanga, mō tōku wā ake.” Ko tā Maryanne, māu tonu koe e taki ki te mahi i ngā mahi nei, e tutuki ai i a koe tēnei kaupapa.
Mai i tōna tīmatanga i ngā mahi Te Reo Turi, kua noho toa a Maryanne mō tēnei kaupapa whakahirahira, mā te tuku i ngā pukapuka Let’s Talk nā Deaf Aotearoa, hei āwhina i te hunga e hiahia ana ki te ako. Ko tāna, mēnā e aro mai ana ētahi ki te kaupapa Te Reo Turi, mahia, rumakina hoki. “Tirohia te ipurangi mō ngā akomanga, tētahi rōpū hapori e taea tō tūhono atu. Kāore he mate mēnā kātahi anō koe ka tīmata, he tohunga rānei koe, he pai ki te ako ā-rōpū. Āe, ka puta he hē, ka puta ngā katakata, ka katakata hoki ō hoa, engari e pai ana, koia nei te tukanga akoako.
“He hirahira te kite e pūawai mai ana Te Reo Turi. Ki ōku whakaaro, he tino rawe ngā pūrongo ka puta i te 1 karaka i ngā ahiahi i te wā Kōwheori, nā te whakamahinga o ngā ringa tohu Te Reo Turi. He mea nui kia kite tāngata, kia kōrerohia te kaupapa nei. Ka rahi ake te hunga mōhio ki Te Reo Turi, ka rahi ake tōna kitenga ki ngā hapori katoa o te motu, hei tautoko i te hapori turi.”
He reo taketake te reo Māori me Te Reo Turi o Aotearoa nei. Nō tātou katoa te māringanui ki te tāwharau i ngā taonga nei, kia puritia mō ngā reanga e haere ake nei. Ko ngā mahi ka mahia i ēnei rā, e whakaawe i ngā mahi ā tōna wā. He maha ngā ara ki te kaha tō hiahia ki te ako, ka taea noatia. Ki te hiahia koe ki te puta, haere, rumakina, tītiti ki te rae! Mahia te mahi!
[1] Ko Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, te “ara kōkiri mō te reo Māori,” he kaupapa nā Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga mō te hunga e mahi ana ki te rāngai mātauranga, ko te whāinga matua he whakatipu, he whakapakari i te hunga mahi mātauranga ki te whakaako i te reo Māori ki ngā ākonga katoa o Aotearoa.
