Why you are learning te reo
Why am I learning te reo, because my tamariki have been educated through Kohanga, Kura Kaupapa, Wharekura, Wananga and now one is a qualified kura kaupapa Māori kaiako and the other is at Victoria University studying Māori. It was clear that I needed to upskill myself to be a part of their matauranga journey and to communicate effectively and confidently with my tamariki in Reo Māori.
Why it’s important to you
It is imperative to me that we all learn our language, unfortunately we weren't given the opportunity to learn it when I was at school, for some reason my mum thought it beneficially for me to be put in a French class and not a Māori class. However, I'm making damn sure that my whanau learn and take an interest in their tikanga, karakia, waiata and language moving forward.
Why have you signed up to be a part of the Māori language movement
It's so important to push this movement full steam ahead so our mokopuna grow confident and proud of who they are, where they are from and where they are heading in life, not fumble and hide with embarrassment because they are not meeting the public perception of a colonised worldview. It brings me immense joy and frustration within myself when I hear other cultures speaking their language freely around Aotearoa and we hesitate to be heard out loud speaking our own reo, often for fear of making a mistake. This is changing, we are becoming more confident and brave in the use of our reo, so well done to TVNZ channel 1, I love hearing our reo being spoken on national media. Well done also to our Māori TV channels, Māori radio, our rangatahi on social media, and to our Māori providers who are becoming more inclusive with the use or kupu Māori on their resources and services, you all rock.
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