It is hard to tell if he has taken on the humble Kiwi attitude or if his te reo pronunciation is in fact that bad. He learned French in school and has had to speak Greek Cypriot and Arabic over his careers.
“It is not an issue being Pākehā.
“For me the issue is when I have to use te reo. In school I can give formal speeches but in the community I can't give a free-flow speech which is so important in our whanau.
“But you know, I'm learning. I think it's never too late to learn, and I'm in a situation where there's an opportunity to and people are supportive.”
For Peter, Māoridom's strength is what makes New Zealand different from the other English-speaking colonised countries.
“It's the point of difference for New Zealand, and I don't think Kiwis realise the reason we're not Australian, Canadian or American is that we have a strong Māori culture.”
One of the changes Peter wants to make is a local focus in class and move away from the traditional curriculum.
“The Ministry of Education introduced something called ‘local curriculum' where we can actually link into local industries such as Rua Biosicience, the forestry, and bringing in local authors for English classes.
“Things like looking at beehives for science, and as many ways as possible we can link education to the areas' history.
“There's the story of C Company, the whole Māori battalion history and the Victoria Cross winners, which are relevant to social studies and other curriculum areas.
“Why teach things to children that don't relate to them? Our kids wouldn't relate to Roman history, but they might relate to the World War 2 North Africa campaign that some of their great-grandparents may have been in.
“I go to the RSA on Fridays and speak with some of the elders down there. They tell me their stories of Vietnam and everything, which are fascinating.”
Children often follow in the footsteps of their parents, and that is the story for Peter.
“My father was a university professor. I grew up in a house where education was important and a lot of my family are in the profession.
“I wanted to make a difference. As a student I used to work in hospital schools in my summer holidays, and teaching has always really appealed to me as a vocation — where you actually see children making progress.”
But the first school he taught at was a private school with rules and prestige. He said if students had a wrong button showing there were problems.
“I got a bit bored with it.”
Carrying on his long salute to his parents, he entered the military and joined the air force.
“My mum was in the army. My father had been in the army. My grandfather was in the army and my great-grandfather. We were a military family.”
Over six years he held posts in England, Cyprus and Ascension Island (in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean between Africa and Brazil).
After the military he went back to teaching in England as head of science for two schools, before emigrating to New Zealand.
Asked what his wife Deborah thinks of the extensive travel, Peter lets on another military connection.
“Her father and brother were in the navy so she's used to it. She has been very good about all this. She's a dispensing optician, and she just moved and got jobs wherever she was.
“And she enjoys the adventure going to new places.”
Peter enjoys working in area schools — those that teach primary, intermediate and secondary education all in one — and since being in New Zealand has worked in schools with a high Māori population.
“In the UK and out here, I tend to work in low-decile schools, in places where you can make a real difference to kids' aspirations and opportunities.”
Peter chose the route of his parents, but for those who want another path he holds the belief education can be the key which opens the doors if a child wants a different life.
“I look at education for outcomes, not just education for education's sake. I believe that the higher up the educational ladder you go, the more options you can choose — and I want our children to have as many choices as possible.”
Asked what the world can learn from the Coast and what the Coast can learn from the world, Peter said: “The world can learn about community and identity, about the intricate interconnectedness of people.
“There is a huge network here where everyone actually feels like their family, you know. My teachers, my board and my students are predominantly related to each other and they care for each other.
“That is something that the world could learn, particularly in the current times where there needs to be a support system.
“And what the Coast needs to learn about the rest of the world is that there is more than the Coast.
“I talked to my students about their aspirations and many of their aspirations are based upon local careers.
“They want to be a policeman, a teacher, a forester. They want to be in the forces, because that's all the experience they have. They need to know that there's a wider world out there and that's why I've got them on courses like Outward Bound and Spirit of New Zealand.
“That's why our staff, and our new staff is a blend of well-travelled Ngati Porou teachers and people like myself who've been around the world, coming in with other experiences and who can say, look: if you get educated or take opportunities, you can go and do anything.”
