It is te reo MÄori time in Room 13.
The children like te reo MÄori time.
There are songs.
There are stories.
Sometimes there is a haka.
And sometimes there is a hangi.
When there is a hangi you come to school while it is still dark and you get to eat pork or potatoes for breakfast.
The pork and potatoes taste like smoke.
It can be fun to eat food that tastes like smoke.
Especially if you are sick of marmalade.
Today is mihi day.
In a mihi you tell people who you are and where you come from.
Ms Barry says,
Hands up if you had time over the holidays to write your mihi.
Nearly everyone has their hand up.
But not Caleb.
Caleb has something in his hand.
It is a newspaper clipping.
Ms Barry asks, what have you got there, Caleb?
Caleb doesn't really want to say.
His Dad has made him bring the newspaper clipping to te reo MÄori time.
His Dad says it is a complete and utter woke waste of time learning tee bloody ray-oh.
Caleb says,
Dad cut this out and said I had to show it to you.
Caleb gives Ms Barry the column.
Ms Barry reads it.
It is a column by a man called Joe.
Joe used to be a teacher too.
Joe probably would not be getting you to write a mihi if he was still a teacher.
But maybe if you asked he would teach you some Latin.
Joe has written about picking plums and listening to the radio.
Ms Barry says, this might be a good time to do a little bit of reading comprehension. Letâs read this column.
Ms Barry gets Moana to read out what Joe has written.
Moana reads:
It was lunchtime and the announcer was speaking at a breathless rate about the news of the day.
When Joe says the announcer, he is talking about MÄni Dunlop.
People who do not like falling asleep listening to the radio like MÄni Dunlop a lot.
People who like to hear people getting asked a question and being made to answer like MÄni Dunlop a lot.
People who like to hear te reo MÄori spoken by someone who can speak te reo as easily as breathing in and out like MÄni Dunlop a lot.
Moana reads:
As she did so she dropped into and out of the Maori language in a way I have never heard anyone do in actual life. It did not make for relaxed listening
Moana reads:
She was speaking English to convey meaning and she was dropping in chunks of te reo for political or moral purpose.
When Moana has finished, Ms Barry says,
Does Joe think itâs a good idea to use te reo MÄori, do you think?
Madison says,
He didnât say we shouldn't.
Ciara says,
But it did sound a bit like when my grandad says âWho else speaks Maori, why aren't they teaching you Mandarin or Japanese?â
Ms Barry asks,
Did it sound to you as though Joe would like more of us to know how to speak te reo MÄori?
Or do you think he wouldn't really mind that much if we didn't?
Saskia says,
It sounded like he thinks it's okay to use a Maori word like you use salt and pepper on your dinner, but you shouldn't make a whole meal out of it.
That's a nice way to put it Saskia, says Ms Barry, hands up who has a favourite meal?
All the children put their hands up.
Ms Barry says,
And hands up if you would like to just eat that one dinner for the rest of your life?
Not many children have their hand up now, except for Seymour.
Seymour only eats honey and marmite sandwiches.
He would be very happy if that was his dinner forever.
Ms Barry says,
Languages are a little bit like dinners, the more choices you have, the more there is to enjoy.
Ms Barry asks,
Who can speak a language apart from English?
Felix and Celeste and Ramon and Preed all have their hands up.
Ms Barry says,
Preed, when you're at home do you speak in English or Thai?
Preed says,
It depends, Miss.
Like if I'm talking to my grandma I use Thai because that's the language she knows best.
But sometimes, I do because it's just easier to say what you want to say in Thai than English
Ms Barry asks,
Is that because you know Thai better?
Preed says,
No, I just mean sometimes there are words in Thai that say what I want to say best.
Celeste is looking at Preed and nodding.
She says,
I just know that you can have something you feel inside of you and the words I have in French say what I'm feeling better.
Ms Barry is smiling, it can be hard to get Celeste to talk in class.
She says,
This tells us something really important to know about language.
Can anyone tell me what it is?
Seymour says, it's all Greek to me? and looks around with a big grin.
But no one is laughing so he pretends he wasn't trying to make a joke.
Ms Barry says,
Who can think of a word in te reo you would use because it says it better than you can in English?
Amelia says,
Aroha - like if you want to say love but like a really warm kind of love that lasts and lasts.
Jackson says:
Koha, cosâ like not everything in life has a price on it.
Ms Barry says,}
Do you think Joe thinks it's good that we use those words?
Tahlia says
Yes, didnât he say it was okay to take words add add them to English?
Ms Barry says,
Yes he did.
But did it sound to you like he thinks it is a good idea for people to get to know a language so well that they can speak it as well as Preed can speak Thai with his family?
And did sound like he would mind much if it died out?
The children are shaking their heads.
She asks,
Do you think he thought MÄni was showing off to make a point?
Sophia is nodding her head and has her hand up.
She says,
I think if you're really good at te reo and you're on the radio why wouldnât you use it to help people get to know it better?
Ciara says,
He so reminds me of my Grandad.
