Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 10, 1981, edition 1 / Page 15
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
* I This account of the educational pro^ UfHi ^rW mr minority race, comes after a three-month stay in both places by Ms. Humphrey. i followed Norma Williams to the high school where teen-agers poured eagerly into their pre-fab meeting place with MsT Williams. Interestedly, they eyed an ornately carved and painted wooden sculpture that was passed around, an art memento of yore. One of the ideas about which they talked excitedly was that of publishing a community news letter. The tall, striking daughter of a teacher's aid cornered m*> C~~ -?i 4 4 * in*, auu c^iucj?j?ca, "i can i wait to leave here." She just didn't like school. No particular reason other than, "the whites call us names behind our backs." A parish priest noted that "the racial blend in classes works well until teenagehood, then the diverse groups withdraw into their own structures for courtship." Upon meeting the history teacher, 1 remarked, "There is the person you ought to key in on," for a more rounded perspective. "Oh, we've gone above him," Norma boasted, referring to the consultative group's hotline into the Department of Education. And he nodded approv ingiy. Even the Minister for Education, Mr. Paul Landa, recognizes the need for the aborigine community to be involved in the preparation of seminars, school courses, teaching materials and resources. "The situation in relation to the education of children is grave," Mr. Landa admits. "Only 2.3% of those entering high school progress on to the higher certificate, as compared with 30% non-aborigine." Clearly neither group is very motivated. But more disturbing are the fiscal records "that show a 35% decrease in commonwealth funding for minority education in the state of New South Wales. Across the Tasman Sea, 1,300 miles away, in the same hemisphere, is New Zealand, a country where 1 felt the welcoming arms of mother around me. Australians and New Zealanders are intrinsically different people, except they are both English speaking who grow up singing "God Save The Queen," and the early pioneers subjugated a native brown skinned people. To one land came the unwilling, convicts and guards who met an aboriginal people and nearly destroyed them. To the other land came classes of free settlers, sealers, whalers, traders, evangelists, who met a Polynesian race and (in time) linked arms with them. Hot and boisterous one, cool and? quiet the other, according to the intuitive description of travel writer Beth Bryant. It was sometime between the 10th-12th century that Maori tribesmen began migrating from a common Polynesian homeland, somewhere in the Tahiti Island group, to settle in the country now known as New Zealand. Until T the "strong, rawboned, wellmade, activeqjeople," as described by Captain Cook who lifted the clouds of obscurity from their hideaway, enjoyed a placidly hedonistic tempo. They were masterful warriors who wallowed in intertribal warfare as if it were a fine sport. The influx of British settlers wrecked the same cultural havoc as in other parts of the then newly discovered world, claiming the land for King George. Maoris were introduced to the concept of sin and punishment after death their lack of shame and easy sensuality was supplanted with christian guilt. Worse of all, the authority of ancient gods lost its sanction and the once cohesive society began to decay. In 1900 their numbers were down to 42,000. The loss of their land and martial power seemingly robbed them of their will to live, to reproduce. They were dying off rapidly through epidemics, alcoholism, defective diets and a strange, tragic, general melancholia. The upswing came...in different ways for different people, but generally involved facets of education. I was beginning to think this was a repeat of the Aborigine's plight in Australia, and in many ways the struggle is similar, but a rare religious imperialism, firmly rooted throughout New Zealand, provides the saving grace. In the agricultural center of Hamilton where carefully tended gardens front each private home, a farm-girl clued me in. "I've noticed," she said, "that those Maoris embracing Mormonism are a confident, more progressive lot." The idea piqued my interest, so I telephoned the Church College of New Zealand, one cold, rainy August day. Through persistence my line was eventually connected to that of Dr. Bomi, the church's biggest, personal success story. He agreed readily to my interview suggestion, and managed to find a free hour within his jammedpacked schedule. The chunky pieces of heavy wood furniture, wall plaques commemorating his successes, his expensive suit, shirt and tie, dwarfed the actual man, who was seated behind a mamoth, ordered desk when I entered his office. Reaching deep down to draw from a commonality of oppression, we fell merrily into conversation. "Ours is not unjike the American black's problem," he said referring to those he met at Provo University in Utah. Assertively he proclaims that New Zealand is one land with two equally valuable cultures. "The difference between the two groups is that we are not steeped in a tradition of academia. We have had to start from behind square one." Out of a population of three million, Maoris number approximately lO^o, yet the public education system made their language punishable in school. The authorities claim their intent was to get one majority as fast as possible. Maoris paid a steep cultural price. Now the times are changing and the system is trying to undo the harm. In marked contrast,-?the Mormons did not segregate themselves as the Europeans did. Mormon missionaries lived with those among whom they proselytised, they learned the Maori language and taught its cultured worth. Dr. Bomi, a high school drop-out in the mid 50's, was struck by the ea$s with which the clean-cut American sect moved in his circles. When the Church College of New Zealand was built in 1958, he was doing menial labor in Auckland. Missionaries were looking for students for the new school in Hamilton, so he gathered his belief in himself and enrolled in a seminar class. The experience gave his self image a boost and he earned a scholarship to I r-Fight ForF Brigham Young University in Hawaii, then later transferred to Frovo University in Utah. Says he, "My feelings of self worth grew as my success experiences grew." He completed a BS in math, an MS and PhD in Education Administration. "1 saw that I could compete with other academics without fear and trepidation," says the small man behind the wide, oak desk. From his educational odyssey he learned there are no stops, except within the Maori himself. "We are limited in our own minds as to what we can do," confessed this self-made man who is striving to develop a professional base among his people. He tells them there is no use trying to fight society, the whites are.here to stay. "Some \ liyw?Ma Www I. inpimwirwiwi ?VI S* lipri II, Vineyard Ptoia OMf _" -gra- -yy _ "T ^Culf ** \ ,.-%u' ' / "'M^IEED / / SANI" / ',: L-3 CA One Smart buy deserves another ? your smart looking coats (and clothes) to us. Our Sanltone cloth makes your clothes look better, and last longer . . . and today, smart buy! I Keep the Great Look I looking great! I ... that's why Creators c recommend Sanito I Samtone III Certified MosferVrydtoner I ?Ihe Worlds Most Recommended k sj=on House hoi I PHONE 722-6196 (or Pick-Up anc I /QualRights ^ XV ' Kg?^j ^(H 4^* '< ^|gc> ' ^'^?rf%^W SSflS^HBra^WXW^V^'ff' ' '' >' ' * would call me an Uncle Tom," he continued in an obvious referral to the violent outbreak at a hearing conducted by the Race Relations Board. The undercurrent 1 against Bomi, by groups voicing opinions on Maori issues, was short of his being lynched. Like some black leaders of the American south in the 60's, he is estranged i from his race by his success. But it doesn't stifle his i tongue. "The reality is that learning Maori culture won't j get you a job, you still have to compete." In-his present assignment, administrator of Church j College, he takes the word to. school kids around the countryside who have no access to the caring. Mormon j See Page 17 I WeatJ* tw* Slwpplm Ctr. I H * 1125% off I < 15-step J tune-up. sal. 38.16 o M ..<1 Reg. 548. Saves energy, % improves performance. \ Tune Up includes new points, plugs, rotor, n< condensor, PVC, air/fuel b< /fiBfiSV ^1 filters. Set timing, adjust . carbandmore. I ? cyl , 8 cyl., Astra, Vega !' 5^?' H an<J om* imports higher. 4|j |l j? |ydeaning - % W\ .D HINTS" I 1 /VI l1 I Delivery . I I v M^ QREENSBO ? ia ? ? ! I????* ~ ' - - If/T ' ' " - " 1 1 The Chronicle. Saturdav, Januars 10, 1981-Page 15 THI AAT COMPANY . LOCKSMITHS SHARPENING?LUQQAQE REPAIR I DEADBOLT LOCKS INSTALLED ^ 744-0119 ^ JEROMES LADIES COATS (on off V regular price Open an Account Downtown at JEROMES ftllpeovsrs Op?n an account Purnltur# (tuJalthev) 520 H. Liberty 1 Waady-To-Ww 722 7474 | RECLINERS I Famous For Comfort I ?V^0^9\^m Anc* 0ua,ityf I Vjft ijHf 4BA Recline m space-saving I comfort only 3" from the I ^M| 1 wall ij^^^gii^HBu Choose from Herculon. Nylons or Vinyls in a host I Iy" to* FURNITURE 7 84 7bO*> 328 Waughtown St. * 7 84 7O0i> mmmmm^ammmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 28 to *52 on 4 er Tamers. (Sale $35.. Reg. $42, plus fed. tax*. Size P155/80R~13. Alt-season Weather Tamer Radial has fc?*ply poly body with 2 fiberglass belts. Whltewall. Size Reg. Sate* P155/60R-13 $42 $35 P185/75R13 $52 $44 P195/75R-14 $61 $51 P20S/75R-14 $67 $56 P215/75R-14 $72 $61 P22S/75R-14 $77 $65 P20S/7SR-15 $70 $59 P215/75R-15 $74 $62 F225/75R-1S $79 $67 P235/7SR-15 $64 $71 Plus fed. tax from 1.76 to 3.12 each tire. Tires mounted at no extra charge. No trade-In required. Sale prices effective through Saturday. SM SM leagemaker Mileagemaker ictronic wheel leel 16?? alignment, balance, 14.88 Sale 4 for *128 EITigre278s. Reg. $42 ea.f plus fed. tax*, Size A78-13. El Tlgre 278a feature a 2 ply polyester cord body with 2 fiberglass belts. Whitewall. Tire size Reg. Sale* A78-13 $41 $32 P70-14 $54 $43 E78-14 $57 $45 F78-14 $59 $47 ~G78-14 I $82 I $49 Plus fed. tax from 1.76 to 3.26 each tira. Save I >20 m*~7* n MacPherson struts installed. Bale 79.88 eg. 99.88 pr. MacPherson Struts. Big>re all-weather replacement cartridges r imports with MacPherson suspenons. Helps correct swaying and ottoming out*. ^Penney to Center RO HIGH POINT WINSTON-SALEM IM1 MS-M11 765-1370
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 10, 1981, edition 1
15
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75