It seems this last week of te reo has been enjoyed by a lot of people. So it is a shame to read and hear that in the past, the Māori language was not taught and children were beaten for speaking it at our schools. I was born in 1936 in Rotorua and started primary school in 1941, going through to high school up to fifth form in 1951. At no stage did I witness or hear of any children being beaten for speaking Māori.
As for te reo not being taught, it is simply not true. The Māori language was offered at high school and was offered as one of a choice of several subjects for High School Certificate Exams. In those days, if I remember rightly, school certificates consisted of compulsory maths, science and English subjects with a choice of two non-compulsory subjects. I knew several school mates who did actually study te reo. One, a Māori, ended up becoming a professor at Auckland University.

James Newman, Mount Maunganui (abridged)