By Tony Orman
The Ministry of Education’s prejudiced social engineering and indoctrination
Roger Childs has been a teacher of geography, social studies and history for 40 years. In addition he has worked on many social sciences curriculum and examination contracts for the Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs and has been an author and co-author of several school textbooks, including history ones.
He is therefore very well qualified to carry out a critique of the Ministry of Education’s controversial new history curriculum. In this book he works his way through the curriculum and concludes “The final curriculum published in 2022 is a case of deliberate, pre-meditated social engineering. This curriculum is more about Maori studies than New Zealand history.”
Startling revelations
The author’s revelations are startling and there is strong supporting evidence for his mixture of deep concern and dismay. For instance the new history curriculum has no mention of Captain James Cook, an amazing English explorer, navigator and captain. Cook’s discovery and mapping of New Zealand in 1769-70 was arguably the most important event in New Zealand history. Inexplicably Captain James Cook’s exploits are studied in schools in other countries, but not in New Zealand.
The list of startling omissions does not end with Cook. Other examples of glaring omissions are Sir Edmund and Sherpa Tenzing’s climb of Mt Everest, the 1968 Wahine disaster, the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption, the deliberate Rainbow Warrior sinking, the Mt Erebus plane crash, the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-11, Abel Tasman’s 1642 visit and several other notable events.
Important individuals in New Zealand’s history such as Premier Richard John Seddon, Prime Minister Michael Joseph Savage, George Grey (arguably the most important figure in New Zealand’s post-1840 history), as well as Prime Ministers such as Norman Kirk, David Lange and Helen Clark do not rate a mention.
The author sees this as prejudiced, commenting “there is a very obvious failure to name non-Maori leaders and personalities who have had a major impact in New Zealand’s development. Only Kate Shepard gets her name on the board for non-Maori people.”
Skewed towards Maori history
Instead the curriculum is blatantly skewed to focus on Maori history but with a strong bias. Maori history is based on word of mouth passed down through successive generations. Understandably there were no written records.
I am reminded of the 10 minute, often 10 person party game called “Chinese Whispers”. The aim is to illustrate how easy it is to misinterpret or pass on only part of a message.
The first person is given a relatively short message perhaps two sentences. It is then whispered to the second participant who whispers it to the third participant and through to the last player. At the end the message is read out and compared, to assess how close it is to the original. In most cases the passed-on message is quite different or distorted. “If there are no changes at all —it’s unusual to get this result.” Maori history is arguably a “Chinese Whisper.”
NZ History teaching is welcome if kids get the right stuff
However, Roger Childs welcomes the teaching of history and making it compulsory. “Compulsory teaching for Year 1-10 students is welcome,” he writes and then adds, “But will the kids be getting the ‘right stuff’ from 2023 on?”
He confronts the use of the word “Aotearoa” instead of New Zealand. He describes the usurping of the name New Zealand as “politicking”. After all, Michael King in his Penguin History of New Zealand notes that “in the pre-European era, Maori had no name for the country as a whole.”
The over-emphasis on Maori history passed down verbally is virtually racist in itself. Roger Childs recalls when he was teaching the classroom was of various ethnicities — Indians, Samoans, Tongans, South Africans, Europeans, Chinese — “the colour of their skin was of no consequence.”’
When the curriculum was released in draft form, there were over 5,000 submissions. The Ministry of Education responded “there will not be any radical changes to the content and any additional content will be in line with what currently exists.” Roger Childs writes “the draft was a highly flawed, uneven proposal, riddled with factual errors and saturated with references to Maori history, tradition and knowledge.”
There is no mention of the many benefits of Colonisation
No credit is given by the curriculum to colonisation bringing an orderly society to Maori. Roger Childs writes “The supreme political achievement in our history over the last 200 years has been to bring a Stone Age culture, where cannibalism, inter-tribal warfare, the exploitation of women and slavery were common, into the modern world and create an advanced multi-cultural nation under the rule of British law.”
The author stresses that he has no bias as to Maori. “All citizens of the country need to see themselves first and foremost as New Zealanders —our Kiwi culture is a rich tapestry of many different elements — many immigrants saw New Zealand as an egalitarian society where equality and democracy were fundamental ideals.”
Brave and bold
This book is brave and bold in concluding “the Ministry of Education is engaging in social engineering, aimed at indoctrinating young people with a slanted, Maori-dominated view of our history — lively, impressionable Kiwi kids who want a balanced, honest and interesting syllabus sadly are not getting it.”
‘New Zealand’s History Curriculum: Education or Indoctrination? is available from Paper Plus stores and independent booksellers or direct from the publisher through the website www.trosspublishing.co.nz. RRP $35
Far too many selfoppinionated dreamers at the wheel.
The Tremain cartoon is a fair reflection of how many foreigners see New Zealand: colonialists automatically bad, always; “indigenous” automatically good, always.
Wokeist neo-Marxist racial theory is what lies at the bottom of it.
I could have added as the reviewer that my closest friend -sadly now passed on – was of strong Maori ancestry, much more than 1/6th of Tipene(Stephen) O’Regan and other divisive agitators.. I have a Maori in-law relative by marriage – a really good chap – friends with Maori ancestry. A neighbour – top chap.
All regard all New Zealanders as equal – the egalitarian society which Europeans sought to establish, to escape the feudal society of the Home country where wealth was top of the pecking order.
NZ children should have in their learning curriculum the real facts about NZ. The fact Maori are not indigenous to the land, neither were they first to settle here. The fact there are no Maori left, all that claim to be are of European descent the same as you and I. The fact that there have been many educated science papers proving of earlier settlement. Then on top of learning about NZ’s ancestors, yes they need to know the real treaty was not signed at Waitangi. Then we could discuss this woke rubbish sweeping the globe and that yes there is a difference between aboy and a girl. Then throw in the fossil fuels which is an absolute lie as well. Dinosaurs and trees did not fall into a hole and become oil. The fact it is a renewable volcanic reaction needs to be explained. The green new deal would be next on my agenda. How one car battery is taking near as much raw material to produce an entire standard vehicle. How there are hundreds of children dying while mining these green new batteries. How there is not enough power to recharge these batteries and how just about everything we are teaching our children is so wrong on an ethical scale its off the charts. Teaching children lies is so wrong.
Roger Child stresses that he has no bias as to Maori, but says all citizens of the country need to see themselves first and foremost as New Zealannders. Some Maori identify with their iwi first, for example introduce themselves in their pepeha as “Kei te Tuhoe te iwi”/ “I am Tuhoe”, not I’m a New Zealander.
While we may like to claim our nationality as New Zealanders, that does not prevent others who have a prediliction for alternative preferences.
I have no problem with the teaching of NZs history so long as it is all taught ie cannibalism, slavery, murder and pillaging of neighbouring tribes destroying much flora and fauna among other things before Europeans arrived.
First, I should point out (before anybody adopts current practice, and declares any view that’s not pro-maori as being racist) that my immediate family are all part-maori – (just like all other so-called maori in this country .. who are actually all part-maori).
The situation we now have in New Zealand appears to have gone too far.
We have gone from a situation where practically all New Zealanders voluntarily embraced maori culture, and heritage .. as part of the rich tapestry of the history of modern New Zealand .. to a situation where many people feel “maorification” is being practically rammed down our throats. And all at our own expense, as taxpayers.
As taxpayers, we did not consent to this misuse of our money.
Many of us have been aware that pre-european maori history has been being quietly re-written (not that it was ever written in the first place), through rose-tinted glasses. That the reality of a society that was still practically stone-age, hadn’t yet invented the wheel, was still heavily tribal, and warring (still featuring murdering, raping, pillaging, enslavement and cannibalism, without any methodical system of universal laws to govern behaviour) .. was being reportrayed in a much more favourable light. That those who happily took moa to extinction – were now claiming to be great conservationists, no less.
Nobody was too bothered by this .. as it didn’t really affect the rest of our country’s history.
But we should have been bothered. In fact, we should have stopped it in its tracks. Because now, those promulgating this “chinese whispers” revision of history .. have become completely consumed by it. They 100% believe their own press. What was a distraction in one little corner of our country’s history .. has now gathered a full head of steam. It’s now threatening to overtake the history of our entire country. It’s become .. completely and utterly .. a runaway train.
This is all being led by a bunch of people who are “feeding at the trough” – including our mainstream media, who have been effectively paid-off.
However, these trough-feeders are not representative of the vast majority of grass-roots New Zealanders.
Amongst grass-roots New Zealanders (including many part-maori), there is a growing sense of concern and resentment – which increasingly may lead to a backlash.
Indeed, this resentment is part of what is growing into a strong sense of frustration, and anger, amongst many.
Ardern’s gone .. and that was an important step.
The next, major step in this backlash .. is to rid ourselves of our current government .. who have, without any mandate to do so, so betrayed our trust, misused our money. and so abused our freedoms, our rights, and our democracy / democratic due processes.
“Watch this space” .. it’s got the potential to get ugly, before it gets better.
It is no wonder that more and more parents are deciding to withdraw their children from the corrupted state education system of ideological indoctrination, propaganda and the denial of factual evidence.
The study of history ought to be exposure to factual and unbised information about what people dediced to do in nthe past and how thgese decions effected the lives of other people.
Unfortunately, the people with authority and power always distort the facts and cherry pick what suits their own beleifs, ambitions and ambitions for more authority and power over the masses.
Our education system is being used to indoctinate our children so that they will be more compliant and obedient to the elite minority of people that have influence in the major political parties and whose representatives serve them in the government.
These Oligarches have been stealthily and successfully violating and eroding away our natural rights for 3 generations by incresing our dependence upon and obedience to “the government” that they control for their benefit with our money.
Democracy is a system of government based on the protection of every individual’s natural rights to life, liberty, property and ownership of their own bodies..
Feudalism is a system of government based on the assumed authority and superiority of a minority of wealthy and politically influential people who think they are entitled to decide what is good for everyone else.
The result of this centralization and power by the financial and political elites will be the end of democracy and a new Feudal system in which they own almost everything and control everyone else.
The people in the ACT party and other minor parties have rejected the authority of the elite members and financial supporters of the major parties and their violation of our privacy, independence, freedoms and property rights.
Elections are our only opportunity to hire representatives that respect and understand the ordinary citizens and to fire political celebrities that have been chosen and promoted by the elites of the major parties to further their own ambitions.
Feudalism was the prevailing form of government for most of human history. Democracy is a recent innovation that cannot survive if we allow an elite miority of the people to have authority and power over the rest of us.
We ought to think very seriously about who we support and elect this October and understand that the parties and candidates withn the most funding for their campaigns are not necessarily our best choices as employees.
We will receive lots of promises and bribes as usual and should know by experience that they are false.
My suggstion is to hire new people from the smaller parties to represent us in our goivernment this time.
Roger Childs is in a a superb position to write on this subject as a career educator & head of department in a high school.Also an excellent author of several books & communicator.
I worked closely with Roger on several projects when he was one of the chief editors at Kapiti Independent News, a fine newspaper & watch dog of universal interest & current affairs on the kapiti Coast. His other books on history are superb, must read for all of us.I want to point out again, here, his brilliant main message:
“The supreme political achievement in our history over the last 200 years has been to bring a Stone Age culture, where cannibalism, inter-tribal warfare, the exploitation of women and slavery were common, into the modern world and create an advanced multi-cultural nation under the rule of British law.”
This is the journey that makes up the history that should be at the essence of our teaching in NZ schools. Not some politically twisted & skewed agenda fabricated for another purpose. Most probably a wash over softening innocent children to accept their new masters & rulers of cogovernence. 1930’s Germany comes to mind,with –“Juden verboten” & Orwell, with his–“all animals are equal. but some are more equal than others”,
One is reminded of the Count in Mozart’s opera “Marriage of Figaro” being rebuffed thus: “No you shall not have the hand of Susanna just because you claim to have a special & superior breeding.
Well done Roger Childs, a wonderful addition to the thinking person’s library.
Government meddling in the curriculum is at the heart of the collapse our democracy.
In a world where we had a mix of people ranging from those with a lot of wisdom, usually older people, to those that are easily led, usually younger people, that are left to openly debate the various issues that arise, democracy can work.
However, when politicians start getting involved, it soon turns to custard. The reason being politics today is a popularity contest. Polling companies simply poll the people and then tell the politicians what the people want to hear.
The politicians don’t have to have a philosophy and a bag full of wonderful ideas on how they will make a greater nation anymore, no, they can just say the other lot are fiscally irresponsible, and we will plant 100,000 trees.
If they’ve got the money (given to them by the forestry companies) to plaster this message all over mainstream media, you’re done. It doesn’t matter that your party are a bunch of woke losers with no cohesive plan to do anything but reduce CO2 to a level where plant life ceases to be, you’ll be a hit with the growing amount of hypnotised people watching the gogglebox.
In 1840, there wasn’t a single soul in New Zealand known as a Māori, there were 600 different iwi and hapu and none of them were known as being Māori. Linguistically Māori didn’t exist till well after the Treaty was signed, and that’s why they are not mentioned in it.
It is only that the curriculum has talked this undefined race into existence in the first place that anyone even cares. And it is only that the politicians and academics have banned open debate that they won’t be talked out of existence any time soon.
It is the curriculum that creates these weak academics and politician who operate in the realm popularity contests, instead of ideas, debate and science. It is the curriculum that responsible for the decline of our democracy.
How do we correct the outright fabrications of our history, many of which are becoming , or have been, embodied as fact in the ‘folk-lore’ of the Maori? A prime example of this mythology is the alleged murder of women and children at Rangiaowhia in 1864. The woman interviewed for this e-Tangata article recounts as fact something passed down from her great-grandmother and bemoans the evil of the soldiers who ‘attacked’ the village: https://e-tangata.co.nz/history/rangiaowhia-voices-from-the-embers/
We are asked to treat as absolute fact something passed down orally without any evidential basis.
Yet there are many factual reports of what occurred. Bruce Moon in his ‘New Zealand – the Fair Colony’ summarises succinctlywhat actually happened. The British commander, General Cameron, wanted to avoid a set piece confrontation and was ‘brilliantly successful’. This upset the rebels, who were furious at being outsmarted and rapidly spread lies about church-burning and other autrocities. Yet despite the claims to the contrary, both churches in the village remained standing and in use for some years. The church in which the deaths were alleged to have taken place was not demolished until 1931.
Much more accurate than the hearsay story in the E-Tangata article is an eye-witness account published in 1883 from a young boy who escaped. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18830714.2.38
Also of interest is this article by Murray Reid, from 19 AMrch 2020: https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2020/03/murray-reid-rangiaowhia-fact-and-fiction.html
How do we overcome this constant nonsensical and unchallenged revision of our history?
Maori do not want their past known. They were primitive cannibals who stole, raped and pillaged their neighboring tribes. They hadn’t discovered the wheel, Metal and had a 600 odd word vocabulary. They killed off most bird species to extinction and nearly exhausted the inshore fishery. They profess they have great medicinal knowledge and astronomical knowledge?? Really. Thieves and liars does spring to mind. Hence we now have Mahoota/Jackson and their bar coded clowns spreading the Iwi propaganda we want everything.