WYP: Incorporating perspectives

A question from FP in Sydney - "how do teachers incorporate Aboriginal perspectives across all KLAs without it appearing wishy washy or tokenistic"

This is a key question to being an effective teacher. If we image that teaching is both being able to interact with and engage with learner, while at the same time knowing your content area critically,  then having a critical knowledge and understanding of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander perspectives is fundamental. At the Critical Classroom we believe that teachers are both facilitators of learners and learners themselves.

So the question really is, how do I (as a learner) increase my knowledge of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander perspectives so that I can facilitate this learning in my students.

Let's start with what not to do:

• Don't assume you know everything already: you did a few courses at uni, you've done some professional development sessions, and you've read a few books. That's great, but there is no way that you can completely know any content area - there is always something to learn. One of the myths that is perpetuated is that Learning Stops at Graduation - it doesn't. Learning is forever. At this point in time (the moment you're reading this), one thing is certain, you do not know now all that you will ever need to know in the future.
• Don't be afraid to give it a go - don't be afraid to learn; don't be afraid to admit you don't know; don't be afraid to ask for help; don't be afraid to omit something altogether until you're confident.
• Don't add images of "boomerangs & didgeridoos" to your worksheet border and assumed that you've covered Indigenous perspectives. You haven't.

What do can do: Take incidental opportunities for learning -

1. Make your holiday reading Indigenous: are you going away for the holidays? Do you normally take a novel to read? Why not take novels by Indigenous authors? If you're looking for something lighter - why not take Anita Heiss's Mr Right and Dreaming books? These four novels will give you an insight into the political ideas of ordinary characters, as well as will expose you to the work and ideas of real-life Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and intellectuals. And if you're into Australia Women's Fiction (aka. Chick Lit), then you'll have a great time. 
2. Learn while you're Facebooking - for no cost but time, you can stalk the hundreds of Facebook Pages that are devoted to helping non-Aboriginal people understand and learning about Aboriginal people, community and cultures. 
3. Learn while you're Tweeting - Follow @IndigenousX. Started by Koori Educator, @LukeLPearson, IndigenousX stands for IndigenousX. It should probably be IndigenousD (D = Diversity) because each week, another ordinary Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person tweets about their lives and their interests. Just following and engaging with IndigenousX can teach you so much.
4. Learning while you're listening to music - are you a music lover? Why not buy some Indigenous Music, listen to the lyrics and share them with your students.
5. Learn while you're watching movies - are you going to the video shop to get a video? Rather than a Hollywood Blockbuster, hire out an Indigenous story. You'll be entertained and learn something at the same time. 
6. Be a reader of Indigenous journals. The Critical Indigenous Studies Journal is freely available. It's an international, peer-reviewed journal from the Indigenous Studies Research Network at QUT and has Indigenous writers from all over the world. 

There is no easy way to become a critical expert in any content area - it requires passion, curiosity, humbleness, patience and resilience. All the characteristics we as educators want our own students to have. We've written previously about the investment required to embed new knowledge, and we reiterate it here. If you want to do the best for your students, if you do not want to be tokenistic and superficial, then you have to be an engaged learner who over time "puts the pieces of knowledge together".

World Indigenous People's Conference on Education 2011

Performers at the start of the opening ceremony

I had the great privilege of attending the 2011 World Indigenous People’s Conference on Education last month. Held in Cusco Peru, I quickly learnt the highs and sometimes lows of attending an international conference in a non-English speaking country at high altitude. I’m not complaining though, since its conception twenty four years ago, this was the first time the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) was held in Latin America.

One of the Elders calls everyone together

Along with many great presentations on Indigenous education, the conference saw Guaranies, Aymaras, Mayas, Mapuches and Quechuas communities attending for the first time since it was last held in Latin America. One fantastic initiative of this year’s conference was the allocation of forty-five percent of our registration fee going directly to a local Quechua community.

The overall theme of WIPCE 14 was Living Our Indigenous Roots. There were a variety of presentations to choose from for each day - Day 1 - Indigenous Education for Future Generation,  Day 2 - Living Indigenous Language, and Day 3 - Indigenous Wisdom for Common Welfare


I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Wilbert G. Rozas who talked about his experience of the struggles to getting Indigenous languages recognised as a valued body of knowledge to succeed in mainstream society, and including having recognised bilingual education in Peru. There were approximately 60 pilot schools at the start of their initiative, with only 2 currently in operation. He argued that there is an assumption that if students do not learn Spanish (Peru’s official language) that they won’t succeed in ‘civilised’ society.


I also learned about fracking during a presentation by Mike Bruised Head (Chief Bird – Ninaa Piiksii) from Standoff in Alberta Canada. His presentation was on Environmental Education: A means of survival for Indigenous People. He also talking about hydrolic fracking, and it's impact on Indigenous communities. You can read more about this topic here. 

Overall it was an excellent experience in a very different community. I hope to write up more about the speakers over the next few weeks. I also look forward to attending the next conference in Hawaii in 2014.

You can read other educator's blogs about WIPCE 2011 here:

•  Tamara Bell 

• Alternative Maori Media 

Gathering information and curating the past - some ideas and challenges

Historically, many east-coast Australian communities have paid little attention to the cultural history of their places. Most communities proudly display plaques to their war dead, the young men and women from families that marched and died on battle grounds in Europe, the Pacific, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Occasionally there are plaques to explorer and settler families, but quite often these are held in the naming of places, streets, parks, mountains, and hills.

Generally there is little recognition of the people who walked and lived the land we now know of as Australia, since time immemorial.

Gathering and then curating this knowledge and information to suit classroom purposes is our modern day challenge. Quite often information is held within individual families, but mostly it's in the archives, in old newspapers, explorer/settler diaries and/or historical books that are out of print. Some of this information is on the web, but most is on shelves.

The community I live in, Everton Park in the north-west suburbs of Brisbane, is one such place. Over the past few years I have slowly cobbled together some information in my spare time.

My first effort at compiling information in a way that was presentable was using Google Maps. I was inspired by Stilgherrian's 50-50 project.  Using a word list from Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of early Queensland, I used place markers to mark the Aboriginal names of places throughout Brisbane. My next effort was in creating a Picasa/Google album of Aboriginal Place Names. Unfortunately, life has got in the way of my extra-curricula activity and I've not progressed as far as I'd like - still so many places still to add.

This is one of the on-going barriers to the challenge of curating information for a specific purpose - time, energy and focus. The other key challenge comes in making sure that any texts (in the form of maps, albums, podcasts or books) is done in a way that is appropriate to the memory of Aboriginal peoples of the past as well as respectful of Peoples that live in communities today.


A recent query from a teacher at the local primary school has prompted me to compile what I have so far here in a  a public Google document . I suspect that much of this information would work well and be useable in a blog format - perhaps I'll leave that one for an empty weekend.

What tools have you used to gather and present information about your community? What are some of the barriers or challenges you have faced?

Cheers, Leesa

Update - I'm not certain if the Map link is working. I'm going to try to embed the map below to see if this works.


View Aboriginal Place Names of Brisbane in a larger map

Frameworks and Critical Thinking

A week or so ago, a Principal was telling me how wonderful Uncle Ernie Grant's Tully based cultural awareness workshop based on his learning framework was. She had attended his workshops in Tully, North Queensland, and was in awe of what she'd learned. She seemed to be convinced that she was now set to always use this framework in all parts of the curriculum.

I found another framework - 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning from New South Wales this week.

Both frameworks look fine. But my concern, and the reason for this short post, is to warn users not to suspend critical thinking in the process (I do love that the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning refers to Critical Consciousness!). Stick to your effective teaching principles of encouraging critical thinking, and of applying critical thinking to your own teaching. Don't blindly accept a framework because its the only one you've seen.

Racism: Do you know how to have the conversation?

This week's news cycle (at least in Queensland and New South Wales) has been filled with the Andrew Johns racism saga.

It is alleged that Andrew Johns, the assistant coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, told a player that he needed to stop Greg Inglis (from the Queensland team) by saying he needed to "stop that black c***" as well as other offensive remarks about Tongan-Australian player Israel Folau.

It ended when Timana Tahu angrily left the training session and ultimately the State of Origin team for 2010, offended and disgusted (and rightly so) at the language and the racism behind it.

Over the last few days there have been endless articles & TV spots by professional sports commentators, commentators in general as well as by former and current rugby league players. Some articles and opinion pieces have dealt with the issue well, but unfortunately mostly not. Here is a small collection of a few online newspaper/magazine articles on the topic -

• Steve Renouf says Andrew Johns should be banned from TV and coaching 
• We can't forget but we can forgive: Campbell
• Andrew Johns row intensifies as taunts get worse
• Why racism is the choice of champions
• No place for racism in rugby league

As an Australian who has witnessed and experienced racism, reading & listening to the commentary is frustrating to say the least. But listening to Dr Chris Sarra from the Stronger Smart Institute today, it became clearer to me why I am/was so frustrated. It wasn't just because the commentators disagreed with me, or didn't share my point of view. It wasn't just because those in charge were silent on the issue (ie, NRL headquarters), or too quickly forgiving (ie. Channel 9).

What it is that makes this topic so frustrating, is as Chris Sarra points out, because most Australian commentators (professional & armchair) are unable/unwilling/un-skilled to have this type of conversation, ie the conversation about race and racism.

But we need to be able to have this conversation. Earlier this year, nearly every Murri I knew headed down to the Gold Coast for the NRL All Stars vs Indigenous DreamTime team. People were absolutely busting with pride. If you weren't at the game you were watching it! As Preston Campbell has said, what was the game for, if wonderful young men like Timana Tahu feel unsafe and excluded.

We have to learn to have the conversation about race & racism.

And this isn't just about cleaning out the racist-potty-mouths of people like Andrew Johns and Mal Brown. Its about getting square with the idea that the Australian "way of life" is founded on racism - the racism that led to the British Government declaring the continent terra nullius, which made way its colonisation and all the pain and suffering that colonisation brings with it.

Discussions around racism do NOT have to end in tears and finger pointing - though sometimes they do.

Racism - overt/covert, externalised/internalised, systemic/hidden - prevent our classrooms from becoming safe, engaged, innovative, creative, free, and empowering places of learning. Racism in all its forms inhibits a student's self-expression and their learning.

Do you know how to have the conversation about racism? No? Then take the time to learn it. Read, Think, Engage. Don't be afraid. Be daring. Be bold. Be humble. Listen.

Indigenous Studies Research Network

The Indigenous Studies Research Network at Queensland University of Technology publish the International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies.

With authors from around the world, this resources is a must for your own professional development. All issues are currently available free as downloadable pdf.

Embedding Indigenous Knowlege - What's Your Investment?

Picture this scenario. Kids in bed, its quiet and peaceful, nothing’s happening just sitting in front of the telly, my partner and I reading the weekend papers, drinking tea. And there’s a story on the front page of the paper - a football player (or coach) has managed to get himself into trouble (a spear tackle perhaps? a real cruncher? swapped codes? jumped ship & went off to France?). Its all over the paper, there’s letters to the editor, an editorial, every-one’s got an opinion. Will he be suspended? Will he be allowed to play? Can he keep his contract? Will the club be fined? What should/should not the NRL do about it?

Inevitably, as an avid reader (though in general a sports loather), I’ll get caught up in the issue, and I’ll ask my partner questions and we’ll engage in an interesting conversation (at least for me anyway, I can’t attest to the interest level for him) about the issue. I’ll have an opinion. Then I’ll go to the arts section, and promptly forget the issue, who was involved, what it meant for the game and so on. And this scenario is repeated a couple of times every season and then again for the cricket season.

At every conversation though I’m very much aware that I frequently forget players names, the issues, the rules and my partner (bless ‘im) is forced to repeat the same information over and over again (kind of like when I’ve had a few too many & I constantly have to ask “what’s trumps again?”).

The issue is that I have not embedded new knowledge about the game. I know that any serious embedding of knowledge would require years and years of committed study. My partner has been following Rugby League since he was a boy, first as a junior player, he reads Rugby League Week & other publications, watches games (though not as many as he would like), and discusses issues with his peers. He has invested time, energy, thinking, and a little money into getting to a point where he can have an informed, meaningful and critical discussion about the issues that come up each week and each season.

I’m telling this story, because it fascinates me that many people believe that they can devote the same shallow-curiosity that I have about sport to developing their own understanding and awareness of Indigenous issues.

I am frequently asked simplistic questions in relation to Indigenous issues that indicate to me that the questioner has not given more than a passing thought to the topic. Questions like, “Do Aborigines really want an education?”, “what do Aborigines think about …..” etc etc. Prefacing your question with “I know I’m ignorant but…..” really doesn’t help. And in my experience, “I know I’m ignorant but …” folks generally already have an opinion in their mind anyway.

Of course, being a super polite person, I’ve not yet learned how to “death-stare” these people out of my existence (oh how I wish I could sometimes), and I’ll inevitably attempt to address questions that actually require hours and hours of discussion to get anywhere near to a meaningful answer. But that’s actually not fair on the questioner or me, because I quite honestly do want to answer these questions. I am deep down someone who believes that it’s the small opening of minds that will change the world.

But my request is, if you want to know about Indigenous people, if you’re really truly interested, then you need to think about what you’re willing to invest in embedding new knowledge. Think about how you’ll be challenged in addressing your assumptions, values and pre-existing ideas about Indigeneity and Australian-ness. There are thousands of books, hundreds of movies, many websites that you can use to start your journey. There are many Indigenous voices out there in EVERY level (from children’s literature through to top-tier academic works), but it ultimately is up to you to decide What’s Your Investment?

(Originally posted on InquiryBites blog on March 16, 2009)

created? ....what the???

Its a pink flower but is it really?

 
I think I talk alot about the idea of everything as/being "created". I thought I'd try to explain it a bit more. If you're confused after reading this, tell me, because this is the first time i've ever tried to write about this stuff. 
Well, basically, pretty much everything we know is "created", its not natural or truthful. 

For example:

• The colour pink is only pink because there are humans who identified, distinguished and named it pink.
• A flag is really just a rag with patterns on it. It only becomes a "flag" because we make the patterns on the rag mean something.
• The noise of the mower is only noisy because I'm here to call it noisy.
• The killing of one person by another is murder and therefore a bad thing, because we say it is.

Do you get what I mean when I say created? We don't live the same way we did one thousand years ago, because as humans, we're constantly creating it (by it I mean life, society etc) as we go along.

The rules change as we change as the rules change. Its circular.

Thus, its all created, we make it up as we go along.

Another aspect of all this is that we all agree about the creation. I could suddenly start calling the pink flower blue, but its pretty useless unless other people agree with me and start calling it blue as well.

So, what's the point of this?

Well, I think knowing that its "all made up" helps keep things in perspective. It should make us a little less precious, give us a bit of flexibility. Like the Blak History month I posted about earlier today. It can (and I believe will) become part of our celebrations, because there will be more and more people agreeing that July and Blak History is meaningful. (And we should probably also acknowledge Web2.0 for facilitating this - though thats for another post I think)

There's probably a brilliant thinker who has a seriously meaningful quote that would really work right now. I don't know what it is. I'll look for one, if you find one, let me know hey?

Australia Day Part 2

Michael at Brisbane Invasion Day 2009 march. He asked me "Mum, all the people who celebrate Australia Day, don't they know about the Aborigines?"

Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year 2009 in his acceptance speech told how he believed that 26th of January should not be Australia Day. Linda Burney, in an interview with Fran Kelly on Radio National, told how while she was unable as an Aboriginal woman to celebrate Australia Day in the past, today she believes that we should stick with the day. She argued that it is possible for the meaning of the day to evolve to one that is more inclusive of others (including Indigenous People). Her and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd are on the same page.

Is it possible to continue celebrating on the 26th of January with a clear conscience? 

Today (this year in particular) has shown an increased display of patriotism. The Australia Day committee (australiaday.org.au) should be proud that they have been able to create in Australians a degree of reverence for this date. I remember when I was a kid (in the 70s), no one bothered about the 26th, it was barely worth mentioning. Mind you, we still sung God Save The Queen back then. (We should also thank the "grog" shops and newspapers that gave away car flags, as well as the "cheap" shop suppliers who mass-produced Aussie flag undies, boxers, boardies, thongs, shirts etc) 

Are we just being difficult? Just being wowsers? Does it really matter that a) on the 26th of January the soveignty of our nation was stolen and b) we didn't actually become a nation, only a colony of Great Britain? 

Perhaps I'm just being pedantic. 

Isn't it enough that the PM said Sorry, the Australian of the Year is an Indigenous person, there a numerous Indigenous politicians (in states/territories), a couple of Indigenous people have a few gold medals now. Can't we all rally around the flag?? Can't we just get over it??? 

Well - I guess that's the beauty of being human. We get to create our symbols. The flag, the day, everything is created. None of its natural or truthful. 

So bugger it, I think I'll stick with marching on the 26th of January, and fight and wait, patiently and non-violently, for the CHANGE. 

Always was, Always will be…. Aboriginal Land.

Appropriating Aboriginal Art: To Be or Not To Be

Students will ask "why can't we use Aboriginal images?" Particularly if they see the work of artists like Richard Bell, who is deliberate in his appropriation of "western" artists like Lichtenstein or Tillers.
"If he's apppropriating, why can't we*?
Well there are a couple of responses you can offer that may assist students to get to the core of the issue:

1. Firstly, Aboriginal art was never "given" to the western art industry as a school of art to be appropriated. Picasso knew what he was doing when he first exhibited cubism - he was well aware of the impact of his use of this style and what it meant. However Aboriginal artists, when their work was first being installed as art objects into galleries (and out of museums as ethnographic cultural objects), in the last quarter of the century, would have very little idea about the Western art market and its conventions. Many "traditional" artists still are not aware of their rights (and responsibilities).
2. Secondly, the imagery/iconography may have spiritual significance and by re-producing the image you may inadvertently "call-up" something you're not meant to.
3. Thirdly, why use the image in the first place? The fact that the image is not from your country, your people, your culture, your heritage, meants that you have completely de-contextualised it. You would be hard pressed to create a new meaning for existing cultural icons that would "hold-up" to a critical analysis.

Above all, CREATE FROM WHAT YOU KNOW - don't look for inspiration in the foreign exotic interesting native. 
"Be responsible for your aesthetic." Vernon Ah Kee, 2008
* Yes I have assumed that the "enquirer" is non-Indigenous.

(Originally published on InquiryBites blog on March 9, 2009) 

Australia Book Pt 2

Thinking further about "The Australia Book" written by Eve Pownall, it might be worth exploring the artwork of Aboriginal artist Tony Albert. Tony originally comes from Cardwell but now lives and works in Brisbane. He is a member of ProppaNOW artist collective. His work shown at Gallery Smith in Melbourne in 2008, is a re-positioning of imagery from the period Pownall grew up, worked and lived in. 


You can see the link here:
http://www.gallerysmith.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34
(Originally posted on InquiryBites Blog on TypePad on March 9, 2009)

The Australia Book: How it should & should not be used

The "Australia Book" written by Eve Pownall and Illustrated by Margaret Senior is an Australian history book with quite a standing amongst older book lovers, teachers & librarians. Written in 1952, it's obvious to see why, its colourful, it doesn't hark back to Mother Britain. It attempts to capture Australia from an Australian perspective. And this is where my concern lies. 

It is white Australian in its perspective, assumptions and values.  Aboriginal people are romanticised in the beginning section, portrayed as savage, simplistic and even helpless in the middle, and have disappeared by the end of the book. And while New Guinea is mention, the Torres Strait Islands are completely invisiable.
This book should NOT be used as an accurate account of Australian history. 

• The portrayal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is offensive;
• New Guinea people are seen in the illustrations as simple village folk while in the text are hostile; 
• South Sea Islanders are said to have "not always treated properly" but are afforded no other explanation of their presence on the continent;
•  Chinese peoples and other nationalities are completely invisible (though there is a mention at the end how new immigrants to Australia don't always speak English.

At this point, one might argue, that I'm being a bit harsh "we didn't think of those things in the old days". And I absolutely accept that. And I'm not really questioning that. I question how we might use the book today.
The book should be used as a text to analyse how White Australia used to see itself - herioc, hardworking, stoic, rough & tumble. All of those adjectives that are visualised in the symbolism of our nation - Simpson on his donkey, the digger on his horse, the shearer, the drover etc.

Thee symbols of White masculinity are reaffirmed in Eve Pownall's book. It is an excellent study of Australia - though perhaps not how Australian's think they see themselves today. 

(Originally posted on InquiryBites blog on TypePad March 9, 2009)

26/01: What will you teach on "Australia Day"

In our house, the 26th of January is Invasion Day. We do not celebrate or recognise Australia Day. We live in Brisbane, so each year we march.

• We march to remember those who have marched before us and made our world a better place.
• We march to remember those who were not able to march.
• We march to remind others that soverignty has not been ceded.
• We march to keep clear the vision of what we have and what we do not have.

This position is neither right nor wrong, better or worse than anothers. It simply is. In your classroom you should recognise this, celebrate it and respect it. Do not force your young students to colour in the Australian flag. Give them a choice of flag to colour - respect their heritage and their identity. 

(Originally posted on InquiryBites blog on TypePad March 09, 2009)

"I can't find an elder to come & speak to my class"

"I can't find an elder to come & speak to my class"

This is a fairly standard question from teachers as we move into the time some schools are thinking about how they will celebrate NAIDOC week.

Let's think about why it might be "difficult" to find a guest speaker and how you might consider your standpoint in relation to this comment.

1) Are you attempting to find a guest speaker for NAIDOC from your already existing relationships (professionally & personally)?
Or are you just looking for someone for the day? It will be much easier to find someone if you already have a fulfilling and equal relationship already established. This may be difficult if you are new to an area (location). However, the fact is, you're more likely to get a helping hand from a respected friend than from a complete stranger.

2) Do you want an educator or just an Aboriginal person?
Its not really enough to just want an Indigenous face in your classroom. Think about what you want the speaker to "teach" your students first. Not all Aboriginal people know about Dreaming Stories, and the "cultural" practices that you might expect. (The majority of Indigenous People live in cities on the Eastern coast - just because a person grows up in the city doesn't mean they don't know about the Dreaming, but nor does it mean they do). You want to find the best person for the job you need, not just a body.

3) Do you have a budget?
If you think about how many classrooms are around the country and how many Aboriginal people there are, a person could spend their whole adult life "teaching/guesting" in classrooms. This would be great, if those schools were willing to pay $ for their speakers. This would allow more Aboriginal people to make an actual living (as teachers are doing when they teach) from their work. I would argue that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander guest speakers should be paid the equivalent of a relief teacher's wage. More if they are expected to conduct activities - like art, artefact making etc (the cost of materials as well as specific technical expertise). The cultural knowledge and in many cases, years of working with children and students, means that they are "experts" in their fields. They may not have formal educational qualifications but they will probably have "community" qualifications. And will be more than four-year-trained educators in their field.

4) Are you clear about what key learning area you want them to explore?
Or do you just want them to look at "Aboriginal culture"? This is such an incredibly large topic (past/present; "traditional"; men's business/women's business; dance/story/art/lore). Be specific about what areas you want explored. You'll get more value out of the time spent with your guest cultural speaker. Make sure that you do at least a before & after session with the students. If you're not sure what your guest cultural speaker is talking about - then you have a responsibility to find out beforehand.

5) Is your guest NAIDOC cultural speaker request part of an integrated learning unit?
Or are you only going to look at it for one day while Uncle ____ is in the classroom? Rather than just have a one-off hour or session, consider that it is better for your students that you create a fully integrated unit about a topic - an incorporating a range of "voices". How about a unit on "Celebrations"? Why do communities celebrate? What do they do when they're celebrating? In relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, think about how "new" celebrations like NAIDOC, are as much about celebrations of survival as they are revivals of old celebrations and festivals? What kind of festival would the students like to create?

6) Are you treating the topic, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture/NAIDOC, like you would other topics? Using perhaps an inquiry-based model? Encouraging critical thinking? Or perhaps is your exploration more basic and cursory, with an over-emphasis on art?

7) Do you know what most Aboriginal organisations do? How they're set up? Did you know that most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations operate on shoe-string budgets? That they deal with some pretty hard-hitting issues? Have you considered that while you may only want "someone to come" for an hour or so, that that hour is an hour away from their communities. Why not explore ways that your school community (including parent community) can work to support local organisations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander). In what ways would you be prepared to create collaborations?

In summary -
* Consider your commitment or investment to doing your job well? Do you just want a "taste" of something, or do you wish to work hard to really making a difference?

* Think about your assumptions - what do you think Aboriginal culture is - just boomerangs and Dreaming stories perhaps?

(Originally published on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 12 May 2010)

Why not Indigenous?

You may have noticed that we're using the terms "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander" rather than "Indigenous".

Well some people prefer the term Indigenous, while others prefer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

And in the end, I think there is probably as many reasons for one as for the other. Despite this, we have chosen to go with the latter. It may have something to do with our age (both in our forties). While we were growing up, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander was all we heard. Well - that and Murri, Koori, Goori etc. During the United Nations Year of Indigenous Peoples in 1993, the term INDIGENOUS became used more and more, til gradually it has become an accepted term throughout governmental agencies and inside the community.

We believe that there has been a trend within the communities to go back to the term Aboriginal, or even a step further and use langauge names (anecdotal evidence only).

So, we've decided, for better or worse, that we'll go back to our original roots (so to speak) and use the term, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

What should you do?
If you're in a school & are trying to work out what terms you should use, well firstly, go to your school community and ask them what they think. Secondly, you will also have policy documents written that will provide some direction.

What does your school do?

(Originally posted on criticalclassroom on TypePad on 09/11/20100)

Every Queensland school to teach Indigenous culture

Last month an article was published discussing a new policy to incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture into all Queensland schools. The article received some minor coverage and prompted a few comments from readers of the Courier Mail - the comments were for me disappointing but really not surprising. I'd like to contribute some discussion

Firstly, the teaching of Aborignal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives into classrooms will not by itselt "close the gap" of student educational outcomes.

A number of schools have already worked hard to ensure that cultural perspectives have been embedded across their curriculums. For the bulk of schools however, this challenge will require quite an investment.

However, in thinking more about this issue - I would challenge teachers to NOT consider embedding Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives as a burden.

If you only consider this as something that "I have to do", then you will probably not teach it effectively. Rather, approach the embedding of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives that will provide you with a much more well-rounded knowledge of Australia.

(Originally posted in Critical Classroom on TypePad on 09/02/2010)