Why Every Parent Should Care About the Government’s Move to Strip Te Tiriti from Education

Avoiding the Binary 'Woke' Argument

When the Government announced this week that it will remove the requirement for school boards to “give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi,” many people shrugged. For some, it might sound like a small, technical change. Something that doesn’t affect them, their family, or what really matters in the classroom.

For others, it taps into a fear that has been carefully fuelled. The idea that our schools have become “too woke,” that teaching culture and identity somehow gets in the way of real learning. It’s a fear that politicians like David Seymour have been quick to amplify. But that fear is misplaced. What’s really happening is the deliberate dismantling of an education system that was finally starting to reflect who we are and what our children need to thrive in the world they’re growing up in.

What’s Really Changing

Right now, every school board has a legal duty to ensure their local curriculum reflects Te Tiriti, including local tikanga Māori (customs and processes), mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), and te ao Māori (wider Māori world).

The Government plans to remove that requirement. In simple terms: schools will no longer need to connect teaching and learning to the Treaty partnership that founded our country.

Education Minister Erica Stanford and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour say this will stop the “artificial” insertion of Māori culture into classrooms. But what they’re really doing is narrowing the story our children get to learn about Aotearoa — and about themselves.

The World Knows Better

Around the world, the most successful education systems are those that connect learning to identity, place, and culture.

In Finland, teachers are trusted to design local curricula that reflect their communities — from Sámi language education in the north to urban multicultural classrooms in Helsinki. This approach builds engagement and consistently places Finnish students among the world’s top achievers.

In Canada, Indigenous perspectives are woven through the curriculum. Schools in British Columbia and Ontario explicitly teach First Nations, Métis, and Inuit histories and values — not as an “add-on,” but as part of what every child needs to understand to live well together.

Singapore and Scotland both teach civic values through cultural understanding, ensuring students learn empathy and global citizenship alongside maths and science.

These countries are not “woke.” They are wise. They understand that belonging drives achievement. That children learn best when they see themselves, their histories, and their values reflected in what they learn.

New Zealand’s Te Tiriti-based approach was moving in that same direction - modern, inclusive, and evidence-based. Stripping that away doesn’t make us more focused on learning; it makes us an outlier.

Why This Matters for Your Kids

You don’t need to be Māori to care about this. Because this is about what kind of education every child deserves.

When schools connect learning to local stories, culture, and language, children feel seen and motivated. They understand that learning isn’t just about passing tests, it’s about belonging, about knowing who you are, and about how your story fits into the bigger picture of our nation.

When we take that away, we create harm.

• We harm Māori children, who lose the validation and pride that comes from seeing their culture valued.

• We harm non-Māori children, who miss the chance to understand New Zealand’s real history and to build empathy and respect for others.

• We harm all children, because learning without connection becomes empty. It stops feeling relevant to the world they actually live in.

Research around the world tells us the same thing: when kids feel connected to their identity and community, they learn better. This is what “cultural responsiveness” really means — not politics, just good education.

The Myth of “Back to Basics”

Some politicians say this change is about getting “back to basics” - focusing on literacy and numeracy instead of culture.

But that’s a false choice.

Teaching children where they come from helps them succeed in literacy, numeracy, and everything else. Learning about te reo, local stories, or tikanga isn’t a distraction, it’s the foundation of engagement and motivation. When children see the relevance of learning to their own lives, they work harder, ask more questions, and do better.

This isn’t about choosing between maths and mana. It’s about recognising that belonging and achievement go hand in hand.

Who’s Behind This and Why It Matters

The move to erase Te Tiriti from education isn’t random. It’s the result of a small group of ideologically driven voices. People like academic Elizabeth Rata, who argues that Te Tiriti is a “belief” rather than a fact, something we can choose to believe in “like Christmas.”

Rata has shaped much of our recent education reform: she sits on the Curriculum Advisory Group, leads the English Years 7–13 writing group, and has advised Ministers across the current coalition. Seymour praises her as “the most articulate exponent of enlightenment thinking.”

That influence matters, because when people who see Te Tiriti as optional are shaping what our kids learn, our shared story becomes fragile.

This isn’t about debate, it’s about whose beliefs get turned into policy, and whose history gets erased in the process.

What’s at Stake

Removing Te Tiriti from education sends one clear message to our children: that partnership, fairness, and understanding are optional, not essential.

It tells Māori children that their culture is something to be managed, not celebrated. It tells non-Māori children that their success doesn’t depend on empathy or connection. It tells all of us that the story of Aotearoa can be edited to make some people more comfortable.

That is not the kind of education, or country, we should be building.

A Parent’s Perspective

Every parent wants their child to grow up proud of who they are, confident in their abilities, and respectful of others. When the Government strips Te Tiriti from education, it strips away the very tools that help children build those qualities.

This is not about politics. It’s about values.

Do we want our children to inherit a country that hides from its past — or one that learns from it?

Do we want them to grow up thinking fairness and respect are optional — or fundamental?

What You Can Do

You don’t have to be an activist to care. You just have to be a parent who wants your children to grow up in a fair, connected, and confident New Zealand.

• Talk to your child’s school about why Te Tiriti matters in education.

• Write to your local MP — tell them this change doesn’t reflect your values.

• Speak with other parents — help them understand what’s at stake.

• Model curiosity: ask your kids what they’re learning about Aotearoa, about Māori stories, about fairness and belonging.

• Reach out to learn more — if you’re confused by all this ‘wokeness’. Ask your school principal, your teachers, or organisations such as the Aotearoa Educators’ Collective to explain and unpack why this matters. Model the kind of curiosity and open-mindedness that matters for our children.

Because when we teach our children to understand where they come from, we give them the strongest foundation for where they’re going.

The strength of our education system, and our country, lies in our ability to honour all parts of our story. If we take that away, we’re not just rewriting the curriculum. We’re rewriting who we are.