Hone Morris (lecturer Te Pūtahi-ā-Toi), Dr Cathy Dewes (Te Runanga Nui Tumuaki), Cedella Swan-Taroa, Freedom Ngatai, Parekatene Potaka, Mahina Huata, Danielle Pihema, Te Awhina Leathers, Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas, Te Uinga Mahutonga, Te Korou Roberts, Mahinarangi Torrey, Te Oranga Whanarere, Toni Waho (lecturer).
The country’s kura will soon get an injection of new teachers thanks to the launch of the first university based postgraduate programme in Māori-medium initial teaching.
Massey University’s Te Aho Paewera course got underway this week in Manawatū with 18 students gathering for their first on campus block course.
The one year distance study programme enables those with an existing degree to upskill as teachers. Palmerston North student Mahinarangi Torrey says it will give her the opportunity to give back to the community who have supported her.
She says having been schooled through kohanga reo and kura kaupapa Māori she is excited to be able to do the course in a total te reo Māori immersion environment. But she has no illusions about the hard yards ahead. “My mum is a teacher so I know what it’s like and while that usually makes you want to go in the opposite direction. Since I’ve had kids I can appreciate the contribution I can make as a teacher”.
The programme is delivered in partnership with Te Rūnanga Nui o Nga Kura Kaupapa Māori o Aotearoa, which means students have access to many of the key experts and leading architects of the kura kaupapa Māori movement including Dr Cathy Dewes and Toni Waho.
The Te Aho Paerewa students took a leading role alongside the Te Aho Tātairangi students at the pōwhiri to welcome Massey University’s new Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas, who also started earlier this week.