‘Veil of ignorance’ over NZ history
History teachers behind a new petition say the Government should seize a ‘‘zeitgeist moment’’ in Māori-pakeha relations to ‘‘give young people their history’’.
The New Zealand History Teachers’ Association (NZHTA) believes too few Kiwis understand what brought the Crown and Māori together in the 1840 Treaty, or how their relationship developed over the decades since – partly because schools are not required to teach it.
Its petition for ‘‘coherent teaching’’ of colonial history is borne out of years of frustration with the Government’s ‘‘failure to match actions with words’’, a statement from the association said. ‘‘New Zealand likes to pride itself on being at the forefront of progressive social change, and in many areas it is. We have plenty of warnings from overseas of how ignorance of the past allows space for those who wish to create, exploit and exacerbate divisions in society. New Zealand, thankfully, has not chosen this path, but this does not mean that there is nothing to be gained from raising our own veil of ignorance.’’
The significance, interpretation and application of the Treaty of Waitangi are enshrined in the national curriculum, but only one part – an achievement objective in Level 5 Social Science, usually applicable to year 10 students – focuses on how the treaty has been ‘‘responded to differently by people in different times and places’’.
That objective is optional. According to the New Zealand curriculum, schools decide which achievement objectives to pursue depending on ‘‘the identified needs of their students’’. On Monday, NZHTA chairman Graeme Ball said New Zealand’s colonial history was taught in an ‘‘ad hoc’’ fashion, and students were ‘‘lucky’’ if they learned about Parihaka, the New Zealand Land Wars, or the Waitangi Tribunal.
‘‘History is an optional subject from year 11. Immediately, we lose 80 per cent of students and then most teachers who are teaching our shared past aren’t doing that until year 13.’’
Ministry of Education deputy secretary Ellen Macgregor-reid said the New Zealand curriculum was a flexible ‘‘framework’’ that allowed schools to deliver lessons relevant to their communities.
‘‘Having said that, New Zealand’s history is an integral part of the New Zealand curriculum,’’ she said.
It provided scope for teaching local history ‘‘but also sets strong expectations for these opportunities’’.
Ball said the ministry’s position was a ‘‘cop out’’. ‘‘Policy was brought in to give us a highly autonomous curriculum; policy can be brought in to make the coherent teaching of our colonial past part of that.’’
He said NZHTA was not advocating for a ‘‘national story’’ – multiple views, including those of iwi, should be included.
New Zealand was experiencing a ‘‘zeitgeist moment’’, with more Kiwis willing to engage with te reo and New Zealand’s colonial history, Ball said. ‘‘I think people who have themselves an understanding of our own shared past recognise how important it is.’’