I am sending you this brief note to remind you that the opportunity to have a say on the Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories in the New Zealand Curriculum runs out in six days’ time. Consultation closes on Monday 31 May.
For those who have already made a submission, thank you. For those who have not yet please see HERE for a brief submission which you are invited to use, either partially or in its entirety. Or you can use the more substantial submission we sent last week.
If you do not want to go to the trouble of making a personal submission the Ministry of Education has a survey online for people to provide feedback, although please be aware that some of the questions appear to be phrased to support a pre-determined outcome. Still, keeping that in mind, it is better than doing nothing. The survey is available at HERE
For a critical appraisal of the proposed New Zealand history curriculum by John Robinson, author of several books on New Zealand’s history, please click HERE.
When recently questioned about the history curriculum in the House, Minister Hipkins revealed that "I want to ensure that young people in New Zealand understand all of our history - the good, the bad and the ugly - and a recognition of the fact that we have passed down generations of discrimination that has led to some New Zealanders being disadvantaged in their educational journey, some New Zealanders not receiving the same opportunities as others”.
So, there we have it, the history curriculum is not only about the history of this nation, but also an opportunity for social engineering - which becomes obvious when you read it.
The curriculum is but one mechanism for embedding the Government approved ideological line into the minds of every New Zealand child. Radical and divisive ideas are already being introduced into the education syllabus, with Schoolkids Being Taught About “White Privilege.” As ACT Leader David Seymour said recently: “The Government needs to explain why a new education programme is teaching primary school children about ‘white privilege’. A policy that asks children to apologise for their colour is the worst form of bigotry”.
Claiming our education system is afflicted by systemic racism, the Associate Minister of Education (Māori Education), Kelvin Davis, recently announced in a media release a further expansion of Te Hurihanganui. This is a Māori-centric programme with a radical goal: “transformative changes to indigenise and decolonise the education system”. It promotes “recognising white privilege, understanding racism, inequity faced by Māori and disrupting that status quo to strengthen equity”.
Nelson is the latest area to be gifted this ‘enlightened’ doctrine, oops, I mean programme. Davis says that eight iwi in an area identified as Te Tau Ihu are supporting and leading Te Hurihanganui in Nelson alongside students, whānau and educators. The educational facilities involved are: Nelson College for Girls, Victory Primary School, Nelson Central School, Nelson Intermediate, Victory Kindergarten, Nelson Central Kindergarten, Y Kids, Te Kōhanga Reo o Waimeha, and Nelson South Kindergarten. You will notice these are mostly mainstream schools, ranging from tots to high school students.
You can read more about Te Hurihanganui on our website HERE.
For once democracy is front and centre in Parliament. If ever there was a time to act, it’s now!
Our elected representatives are finally speaking up for democracy - well, some of them anyway. Judith Collins and David Seymour have recently exposed Labour’s anti-democratic agenda, also known as the He Puapua report. Its release appears to have rattled Jacinda, as she tries to do everything she can to dodge questions on issues raised in the report. With Labour, the Greens, and the Maori Party - and the mainstream media - dismissing concerns, we encourage you to send messages of support to Judith and David, and urge them to continue this fight. It will only take 5 minutes, but I believe it could be the most important 5 minutes of your week.
You could also email Shane Reti and Christopher Luxon to encourage them to continue to support this matter too.
Thank you so much for supporting the work to protect our democracy. It is all very much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Susan Short
Secretary
[email protected]
Recent media coverage
TVNZ News: Education Minister says it's 'a damn good thing' for students to learn influence of colonialism
RNZ: Draft history curriculum misses 600 years of Aotearoa New Zealand's past