OPINION: You could almost hear the outraged howls from conservative Pākehā parents when the Greens announced their new education policy.
The Greens want te reo Māori taught in all New Zealand public schools from years one to 10, and they want it to be a compulsory subject.
I wouldn't be writing about compulsory te reo Māori in schools if I hadn't experienced it myself - and had some insight into how it affects young and hungry minds.
I was lucky enough to be introduced to te reo Māori while in Standard 2 (Year 4) only because I had a Māori teacher, Mr Ngatai.
My young classmates and I learned a few Māori songs and how to do the haka, while other Standard 2 classes at Hornby Primary School didn't get that privilege because they didn't have Mr Ngatai teaching them.
Back then I'm not sure how much I appreciated learning a few basic words in another language, but as an eight-year-old it felt pretty 'cool'.
Years later during my first year at Hornby High School our Form 3 class (Year 9) was exposed to te reo Māori classes only because we had a Māori teacher at the school.
These te reo Māori classes were compulsory.
This was the first time that te reo Māori had been compulsory at a Christchurch school - at least that's what we were told.
We learned the main te reo Māori vowels, pronunciations and a few dozen basic words.
I enjoyed being exposed to te reo Māori once again, but some of my classmates certainly did not like it - and neither did their parents.
After a hastily organised, and vocal, parents meeting at the school, te reo Māori was quickly dropped as a compulsory subject at Hornby High.
As a 13-year-old would I have wanted to have kept learning the language?
While time has clouded my memory, I can certainly remember I enjoyed the te reo classes a whole lot more than maths and a few other subjects.
Looking back, it was actually a privilege to have been exposed to te reo at all back in the 1980s - I'm not sure many other children had the same opportunity back then, especially in largely Pākehā Christchurch.
The classes gave me a basic insight into what is sadly now a language still in decline.
Children in most European countries are taught to speak more than just one language, in Aotearoa that should also be the case, the benefits are just too positive to ignore.
The second language New Zealand children should be learning is te reo Māori.
Give all Kiwi children the chance to learn it and the next generation of New Zealanders might be a little more caring, considered and understanding of Māori culture.
I'd imagine they'd also be a bit a prouder of themselves and their country.
Newshub.
