Editorial: Te Reo in schools a benefit for kids

I wish I had been given the chance to learn the Maori language at school.

No other country on Earth can lay claim to te reo. It is ours.

If we want future generations of New Zealanders to speak a language, which presumably we do because it is proven to have benefits for brain development, why would our first choice not be the language of this land, the language unique to the country we call home?

Trade Minister Tim Groser has called for Kiwis to learn Maori before they learn Mandarin. This former diplomat and trade negotiator, one of the world's leading authorities on international trade, believes we will equip our children best if we teach them te reo and open their minds to Maori culture.

I learned German.

Every three or five years, I meet up with my exchange family and bumble through some pidgin German exchanges.

It's invigorating to be understood in another language, and it gives me a feeling of connection with that country.

It would not surprise anyone who has learned a language to know that it has improved my understanding of structure and grammar in English, and also given me an aptitude for other languages.

But the thing is, I barely use the German itself.

It would have been immeasurably more useful to have learnt te reo. I would use it daily. Thanks to Maori Television, parts of my day could even be total immersion.

I could potentially earn more, as I would have a skillset rare in mainstream media. I would be able to teach my daughter the language her great-grandfather spoke on the paepae.

Why do Kiwis get a flush of pride when we casually greet each other with "kia ora"?

Because it feels good to be able to say gidday in our own way.

Yesterday, I addressed a class of 27 children from a local primary school. Only two children in the class were bilingual; one spoke Korean, another Mandarin. The children said they knew some Maori words such as colours but did not really learn te reo at school. None of them understood the opening two lines of a rudimentary mihi.

This isn't right. Keeping the language alive is desirable but it would not be the purpose of compulsory te reo in primary schools.

Rather, it is for the children's benefit. They would experience the proven brain development associated with learning another language. They would have a better understanding of the diversity and richness of culture in their homeland. They would learn Maori concepts such as the importance of having a place to stand, a place to call your home.

The New Zealand education system taught us how to communicate - to use one of the official languages of this country to make ourselves understood.

Do you want your children to have the skills to converse in another official language; one which is fundamental to the story of the country they call home? Whatever your view, shrug off your Kiwi apathy and make yourself heard.

Now's the time to speak up. Korero mai.