Editorial: What's in a name? Plenty if it's yours
5:30 AM Saturday Oct 6, 2012
Hekia Parata. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Is it patronising for teachers to mispronounce children's names? Or is it patronising for the Education Minister to tell the teachers' union she hears that such mispronunciation occurs too often. Probably both.
The minister, Hekia Parata, learned of the poor use of children's names from focus groups of Maori and Pasifika pupils who felt unvalued when their teachers did not make the effort. Her decision to relay those concerns to a representative body of secondary teachers went down poorly because it was taken as a generalisation - an attempt to fire a shot at an organisation which would pride itself on being culturally aware.
Many teachers do get their students' names right. They no doubt frown on any of their number who pronounce names without care. Sadly, those who cannot or will not say names correctly are unlikely to recognise themselves as the subject of her criticism.
The PPTA leadership was all wounded affront, pronouncing Ms Parata's remarks "dangerous". The danger might be to cordial relations between minister and teachers, rather than to race relations or to children on the wrong end of the tongue-tied or intolerant.
If nothing else, Ms Parata has reminded us of the importance given by all individuals to that most basic of courtesies. And the minister might broaden her target: some of her Cabinet colleagues, including the Prime Minister, are less than agile on Maori and Pacific names and phrases.
I know many teachers and not one of them thinks name pronunciation isn't important. That some struggle with some names is unfortunate, but is no indication of teachers in general.
The problem with Parata is that she, like so many of the National MPs, seems to have absolutely no clue when it comes to communication with groups of people. She is tone deaf to the way her remarks can come across.
A lot of the tension between her and the education bodies could be mitigated if she just learned how to speak to people. This is also true of Gerry Brownlee and others. They all need lessons in respectful communication.