An Indian teacher who tutors kids at Edukids early childhood centre is encouraging more teachers to practise Māori education. Judy Mathew has a true passion for te reo Māori.
“The Māori language is the mother tongue of NZ and I live here,” she says.
Affectionately known as Whāea Judy, she teaches in South Auckland.
“I teach te reo to my tamariki through waiata. First of all when I come to the centre I greet everyone in te reo like 'mōrena', 'atamarie' to the children and the whānau.
Te reo Māori is part of the requirements for an early childhood teacher under ECE. At Edukids, they are encouraged to have more Māori education for their multi-cultural students.
Edukids Centre Manager Rajinder Kaur says, “We like to acknowledge more te reo and [to] put the language and tikanga Māori into ECE. So, we promote te reo along with other languages. So, we would like to put more emphasis on te reo.”
The famous haka Ka Mate will be the children's last hurrah at their Christmas function next week.