Nearly three fifths of the parents and grandparents we interviewed had suffered some sort of punishment in school for speaking Maori but, now that things are different, many people were very keen on the idea of Maori in schools. Some people commented on the irony of this change of attitude. Two who remained very bitter about their school experiences said that the ideal place to learn Maori is in the home and not in the schools. One woman said that she does not blame parents who don't teach their children Māori because they had such a rough time at school themselves for speaking Maori.
Te Matau-a-Māui | Hawke’s Bay | Wairoa | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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