New Zealand will introduce a new history curriculum in schools to encourage teachers and students to become more critical of British colonialism and its continuing impact on Maori communities.
The move, which will be taught next year, has angered fringe libertarian groups who accuse Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of promoting “left-wing narratives” and awakening “white guilt.”
But the Labor government argues that New Zealand’s history has been shaped by the “use of power, relationships and connections” between Maori and European settlers and should be taught to children in its entirety.
The new curriculum to be taught next year has angered fringe libertarian groups who accuse Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured) of promoting “leftist narratives”.
“The content of the new curriculum has been designed to be flexible and to include local, national and global contexts spanning the full spectrum of the New Zealand experience,” said Ms Ardern.
“This will help us celebrate our unique place in the world and highlight what has made New Zealand the country we are today.
“This is an important milestone and I know it will help bring our country’s history to life in our communities.”
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said it was vital for young Kiwis to understand “history as an unbroken thread in which contemporary issues are directly linked to major events of the past.”
“Our diversity is our strength, but only when we build connections with each other. We can move forward together, becoming stronger when we understand how many paths our ancestors traveled to bring us to today.”
But not everyone in the Land of the Long White Cloud shares this opinion.
New Zealand will introduce a new history curriculum in schools to encourage teachers and students to become more critical of British colonialism and its continuing impact on Maori communities. Pictured: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shares a traditional Kiwi greeting
WHAT WILL TEACH?
The curriculum will cover the full range of New Zealanders’ experiences and is expected to include:
– The arrival of the Maori in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
– First Encounters and Early Colonial History of Aotearoa New Zealand.
– Te Tiriti about Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi and its history Colonization and immigration to Aotearoa, New Zealand including the New Zealand wars.
– The evolution of the national identity of Aotearoa New Zealand in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
– Role of New Zealand Aotearoa in the Pacific
– Aotearoa New Zealand at the end of the 20th century and the evolution of national identity with cultural diversity
Source: New Zealand government.
ACT education spokesman Chris Bailey said the curriculum “divides history into villains and victims, contains significant gaps, and brings forward a narrow set of highly political stories from our past.”
“Today Labor is deliberately trying to make New Zealand an unequal society. He believes that there are two types of New Zealanders. Tangata Venua, who are rightfully here, and Tangata Tiriti, who are fortunate to be here. We must study the history of our multinational society.
“The curriculum promotes a range of left-wing narratives, including those about the welfare state, ‘cultural appropriation’ and the Crown-Maori partnership.”
Mr. Bailey took aim at three “big ideas” put forward by the curriculum.
“The first ‘big idea’ that Maori history is New Zealand’s ‘continuous history’ excludes many people who traveled from the farthest corners of the globe, brought their history and culture with them and worked to give themselves, their families , this county and a better future,” he said.
“Second that colonization” continues[s] to influence every aspect of New Zealand society”, oppresses and wrongs and neglects elements of our society that are not affected by colonization.
“The last big idea that power has been the main driver of our history creates a narrative of oppressors and the oppressed and leaves out many of the forces that have driven our past forward, including scientific discovery, technological innovation, business and artistic creativity. ‘
ACT education spokesman Chris Bailey said the curriculum “divides history into villains and victims, contains significant gaps, and brings forward a narrow set of highly political stories from our past.”
The curriculum is centered around three “big ideas” that took three years to think through.
First, that “Maori history is the founding and continuous history of New Zealand’s Aotearoa”.
Second, that “colonization and settlement have been central to New Zealand’s Aotearoa history for the past 200 years.”
And finally, that “the course of Aotearoa’s New Zealand history was shaped by the use of force. Relationships and connections between people and across borders have shaped the course of Aotearoa’s New Zealand history.”
In practical terms, resources for teachers suggest things like they should “not drape the Treaty of Waitangi with the English flag, but rather with their Maori cloak belonging to that country.”
The guidelines also encourage teachers and students to watch an RNZ documentary series titled “Land of the Long White Cloud” which “tells the stories of New Zealanders as they reflect on their colonial heritage and white guilt as they try to find a healthier identity.” Paquea.
Andrew Judd, the former white mayor of New Plymouth, appeared on the program and made a cool statement: “We’ve always been a problem.”
Jacinda Ardern (pictured with husband Clark Gayford) said the new curriculum content “is a milestone and I know it will help bring our country’s history to life in our communities.”