Anne Tolley

19 March, 2009
First te reo curriculum launched

Education Minister Anne Tolley marked the fruition of 25 years’ work today when she launched the Te Reo Curriculum Guidelines at Taurua Marae in Rotorua.

Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i te reo Māori – Kura Auraki provide guidelines for teaching te reo Māori in English-medium schools in years 1 to 13. Work towards the guidelines began at a planning hui at Taurua Marae 25 years ago, and some of the original members of that hui were at today’s launch.

“Many teachers want to teach te reo Māori, and many families and whānau want their children to get high-quality te reo Māori teaching,” Mrs Tolley said.

“Te reo Māori is one of our country’s official languages. It is a taonga, yet some teachers and schools have found themselves limited to teaching days of the week and short greetings in te reo.

“These schools and teachers can now be supported to achieve a greater fluency in te reo, a greater understanding of tikanga Māori, and a greater confidence in working with families, whānau and community”, Mrs Tolley said.

The guidelines are intended to help every English-medium school in New Zealand design and shape a curriculum that includes te reo Māori.

They include a basis for planning student programmes, describe the knowledge and understanding that students need, and the levels of proficiency they’re expected to achieve as they progress through the curriculum.

The guidelines link to online and multimedia teacher resources and assistance, and later this month workshops with te reo advisors will be held for teachers, principals and whānau throughout New Zealand.

ENDS

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