Red rag to a bull. That’s what the suggestion from the Teaching Council that te reo Māori may eventually become mandatory for teachers has been.

But no surprises there. Because we live in a country where some people go nuts over some weather presenters on TV using what they consider to be too much of the Māori language and we live in a country where people get all hot and bothered about New Zealand being called Aotearoa.

And where people talk a whole load of nonsense about boycotting Whittaker’s chocolate because Whittaker’s has got the nerve to print a bit of te reo on the wrapper of one of its chocolate bars.

Which is one sure sign that civilisation, as we know it, is going downhill isn’t it? Te reo on a chocolate wrapper. Well, it is as far as some people are concerned.

And, in reality, the chocolate bar thing is probably the closest we’re ever going to get to having the Māori language “rammed down our throats” - as some people like to say. Although, eating chocolate isn’t mandatory, so I don’t think we can even say that.

So when you get an outfit representing the teaching profession saying that it’s likely one day all teachers will need to know the Māori language, it seems to be natural for some people to start banging on about the kids needing to learn the basics first. And referring to te reo as if it's some sort of add-on or nice-to-have.

“Stick to the Three Rs” - reading, writing, ‘rithmetic. That’s a common one isn’t it? Which I’ve always thought is a bit of an odd way of talking about education when one of the so-called “Rs” actually starts with “A”. It’s A-rithmetic. Not ‘rithmetic. And another one starts with "W".

But, anyway, you get my gist.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, what the Teaching Council is saying makes perfect sense. Of course teachers are going to have to up their game on the te reo front.

And that’s not because it’s the right thing to do, or because it’s politically correct, or because it’s fashionable. Or whatever other reason those anti it might want to throw around.

Teachers are going to at least be proficient in all things Māori because it’s not 1975 anymore and, in the years to come (if not already), te reo is going to be just as much a part of literacy in this country as anything else.

Now I don’t speak te reo. I did a course through work a few years ago - it ran for a few weeks - and, to be honest, I struggled with it. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t recognise the value of learning the language.

And I probably did the course as much out of curiosity as anything else. But kids growing up today and the kids to come don’t have that luxury.

Te reo Māori is not going to be a nice-to-have in the years to come. It’s going to be essential. It’s a fact.

You don’t have to love the idea if you don’t love it. But, at the very least, we all have to recognise that - in the future - if you want to be considered literate in this country, then sticking your head in the sand when it comes to te reo Māori isn’t going to be an option.

And that’s why what the Teaching Council is saying shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. If anything, we should be applauding the Teaching Council for saying it.

If your child or grandchild wants a job in the public sector, they’ll go straight to the front of the queue if they speak te reo. If your child or grandchild wants to work for some of the big legal and engineering firms, or in the health sector, they’ll go straight to the front of the queue if they speak te reo.

If your child or grandchild wants to get into politics - again, they’ll be at the front of the queue if they can speak te reo. If that wasn’t the case, then you wouldn’t have people like National Party leader Christopher Luxon learning te reo, would you?

That’s why the Teaching Council is saying what it’s saying. It’s just being realistic and saying what’s going to be needed if we want a teaching profession that can truly prepare our kids for the real world of tomorrow.

The sooner we get our heads around that, the better. Because, as far as I’m concerned, being literate in this country isn’t always going to be about reading and writing and speaking English, and nothing else.

It’s also going to be about familiarity - at the very least - with te reo Māori which, I needn’t remind you, is an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand.

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