Tiahuia Kawe-Small
Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepuhunga, Ngāti Rereahu, Ngāti Maniapoto
Pouako, Te Wharekura o Arowhenua
Student, Poutāhū Whakaakoranga – Postgraduate Diploma in Education
12 November 2024
Tiahuia was born in Te Awamutu, but her parents moved with her shortly after her birth to Southland, Invercargill for work. There her dad worked at the Alliance freezing works. Southland is where she was raised until her secondary schooling. Tiahuia then returned to Te Awamutu to live with her grandfather – her mother’s father for her senior years at Te Awamutu College.
Tiahuia is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori. Her reo came from a long journey of learning beginning with her studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou - The University of Otago. Her formal learning of te reo began in 1986. A fluent speaker of te reo, her father didn’t speak it in their home until around the time Tiahuia began studying at university. Possibly to support her in her desire to acquire te reo Māori and the general resurgence of speaking te reo amongst Ngāi Māori at that time. Her father was the only person who spoke with her in te reo. No-one else spoke te reo where she was studying apart from her teachers of te reo.
There are six siblings in her whānau. She has three brothers and two sisters. She is the only fluent speaker of te reo amongst the siblings. However, her siblings have taken up learning te reo and are at varying levels. Some have also had all their tamariki educated in kōhanga reo and kura Māori.
Her husband started to learn te reo to support Tiahuia and their whānau and for himself but didn’t find the teaching style matched the way he learns. He supports their home being te reo only especially when the mokopuna are there. They tease him about his pronunciation. They have two adult children, a son and daughter and five mokopuna.
Tiahuia puts all her energy into her kura and her mokopuna. Her mokopuna are the centre of her world. She likes to spend time with them, taking them to their various activities and watching them grow into their uniqueness.
In 1989, Tiahuia completed a Diploma in Teaching, then in 1991 a Bachelor of Education from the University of Otago, then in 1993 a Diploma in Bilingual Teaching at Wairarapa Community Polytechnic, then in 2003 a Postgraduate Diploma in Bilingual and Literacy Education at the University of Waikato, and in 2012 she complete a Poupou Karanga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa with Raina Ferris.
A pouako at Te Wharekura o Arowhenua, Tiahuia Kawe-Small has been teaching since 1990. She did take a break from Arowhenua for five years when she was the tumuaki at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Otepoti, and then returned to Arowhenua in 2018. This year she has been on study leave undertaking the Poutāhū Whakaakoranga – Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Māori Medium) at Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She has loved studying here. She found it to be a supportive environment where she felt safe and secure, and where she could study without the distractions of home. She was inspired to enrol at Te Wānanga o Raukawa through engagements with Te Wharekura o Arowhenua students over the years and to support the initiatives of her iwi.
She recommends Te Wānanga o Raukawa as a place of study for whānau and friends. She understands that there may be some trepidation for a few people thinking about enrolling with Te Wānanga o Raukawa to learn te reo, however Tiahuia believes it is the best place to learn te reo because we learn that language acquisition is best achieved when you are surrounded by it. "Tuwhitia Te Hopo... just do it." Tiahuia feels, “It’s so impressive and humbling to see Whakatupuranga Rua Mano become a reality. What an example to set for others to follow.”
Whaiā te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei
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