Connection between unit readings, professional experience, and future practice:

Over the course of the unit, there are opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage in

conversations on the inequalities present in contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander education, these include, but are certainly not limited to: many students identifying

as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are reduced to stereotypes (inside and outside the

classroom), removed from (or given little access to) traditional/cultural education, deprived

of the opportunity for engagement with the local and wider indigenous community and it’s

respected members, the lack of role models in their lives; and most alarmingly, often seen as

only a statistic for the negative in official documents/records.

The Close the Gap report (2018) only highlights this emphasis on the negative, as it refers to

the schooling environment and achievement rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

with deficit language, i.e. “achieving national minimum standards” (p. 56) or “lowest

performing schools” (p. 55). In reflecting on documents such as “Close the Gap” (2018), and

their aim to literally “close the gap” between Indigenous and non-Indigenous education

achievement and quality, it is shocking to realise how deficit language used to describe the

educational environments and standards of Indigenous students and its subsequent impact on

their communities. The general understanding gathered from these documents characterises

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as having to forever play “catch-up” (Stronger

Smarter [in reference to the Close the Gap report], p. 2 2014), to achieve the same as those

students from high SES backgrounds.

I have found it rather interesting drawing connections between the information provided by

the Stronger Smarter institute as they discuss the “firm but fair” (p. 7, 2014) approach to

teaching, and the practices displayed during my professional placement; in theory, this

approach seems viable for improved education for all students (regardless of culture, age,

religion, etc) in practice however, I foresee circumstances in Indigenous education that will
require teachers and educators to practice leniency more suited to Taylor’s cultural lenses

(2011). In adhering to Taylor’s “cultural lenses” understanding of education, and the need to

reflect/understand the similarities and differences of useful skills and knowledge between

cultures (p154, 2011); teachers are affording students of all backgrounds the opportunity to

participate in self-directed learning, make connections to their personal and wider worlds,

and seeing value in the content being presented. Hegemonic

In reflecting on my experiences during professional placement one (PP1) in Camden, New

South Wales, a predominantly Caucasian, high SES community with firm hegemonic

masculinity beliefs; it became clear that teachers in the English department had little to no

contact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in an educational setting. Of the

ten staff members, one had experience in a remote educational setting in the Northern

Territory; this staff member openly shared her experiences of Indigenous education, often

referencing this time as the most fulfilling and productive period of her career. This teacher

when prompted on the differences or similarities of her pedagogical practices between the

extremely different learning climates in NSW and the NT, she remarked only that linking the

teaching content to the community works in both states but that community involvement was

crucial to learning in the NT schools. Over the course of the unit, this link to community and

the involvement of respected members of the local and wider community is emphasised as

one of (if not the most) important element of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education.

In developing my personal pedagogical practices, it is clear that a defined relationship with

the school’s local Indigenous community should be established, that students both Indigenous

and non-Indigenous are to be given opportunities to recognise and appreciate the value of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, heritage, and personal beliefs. And that these

goals can be achieved through implementation of the 8 ways learning and teaching strategies

within day-to-day teaching/learning pedagogical practices. These 8 ways support Taylor’s

cultural lenses of recognition and appreciation of differences between cultures, specifically

within the Story Sharing, Community Links, Learning Maps, Land links strategies outlined in

the 8 Ways (not discounting the value of the other strategies also outlined).

DiAngelo’s article White fragility sparked some interesting and revealing conversations

between many of my peers and myself during the course of the unit; in understanding that

racism in its essence is the act of abusing: whether verbally, physically, emotionally, or

psychologically, is reinforced in a person’s silence or ignorance to those that are offended,

made many of my peers and myself question our personal reactions to racism in our everyday

lives. Silence, a reaction to racism that I once thought effectively portrayed my aversion to

what was being said or done, now, I have come to realise did not assist in shutting down the

remarks or likelihood of racism occurring, but may have been an act to spur-on the slurs, was

shocking. I found great value in DiAngelo highlighting that the stereotypical slurs or

(attempted humorous) adaptations of culture, religion and social status, for example: a person

of African-American descent calling another the n*****, or reinforcing stereotypes in

conversation (Asian people love rice, Australians are heavy drinkers and swear too much, or

people from low SES are bogans or less educated) or assuming someone will display

stereotypical characteristics of their appearance; whether instituted by people of the culture it

describes, or not, is a form of racism. From my understanding of the DiAngelo article, racism

is the silence of by-standers, the reinforcement of stereotypes, the ignorance of by-standers,

as well as the more noticeable/common characteristics in society; and that I, myself have

reinforced many racist qualities in society in neglecting to speak up when I see or hear it, in

choosing to show my dislike by being silent and ignoring the person talking. These are

personal traits that I am aiming to change, that as a pre-service teacher, I need to change for

the benefit of not just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, but students from all

cultural, social, and religious backgrounds.

This unit has shown me as a pre-service teacher, that all students should be respectfully

included in education, that all students have a fundamental right to education, that all students

are diverse and valuable regardless of social, cultural, religious, and economic status; and that

as pre-service, graduate, proficient, highly accomplished, and lead teachers it is our duty as

educators and human beings to teach and respect the coming generation of students allowing

them to become respectful and accepting humans.

Group project:

During the plan and design stages of the group project: the unit of work surrounding the Red

Hands Cave at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains National Park, we were to collaborate (with

equal contribution) to achieve a series of lessons on the importance of Indigenous culture,

connection to land, historical value, and personal/social wellbeing connected to the

Glenbrook site. As the group project begin, so does the emergence of certain roles within the

group; sometimes people chose these roles, sometimes these roles are forced upon them.

From my experience of the assessment task, it was clear that a few of my group members

acted without thinking or in collaboration with the rest of the group, which often resulted in

the ‘scrap and start again’ process being done a number of times before the final product. I

believe that clear roles need to be outlined, so as to avoid doubling-up on information and

wasting time/resources. Working as a team will always be a challenge, but I believe that open

lines of communication are necessary for any task to succeed; this is something that I will

endeavour to work on in my future group tasks.

Individual lesson plan (English):

Prior to commencing the exhibition of the unit of works to my peers, I underwent a final

reflection on the activities and processes I had used throughout my individual lesson plans.
After deliberating and walking through the steps of my English activity it became clear that I

could make the task more meaningful and personal for the participants than I originally

planned. I had chosen to include demonstrations of black-out poetry designed to make

students reflect on the connection between Indigenous culture and the land on which they

meet, and the students’ personal connection with land, displayed in the words highlighted

throughout the text. I chose to include students’ own hand print into the visual image of the

poetry as a way to further show their connection with the text and deepen their understanding

of the value of the hand stencils at the Red Hands Cave site for Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people. Admittedly, I used the peer exhibition as a trial run for the effectiveness and

easy of process for this new display of understanding and appreciation; and from this test, I

was pleasantly surprised to find that peers participating were more engaged and valued their

experience with the poetry.

References:

8 Ways of Learning. (2012). 8 Aboriginal way of learning factsheet. Retrieved from:

https://www.painaustralia.org.au/static/uploads/files/8-aboriginal-ways-of-learning-

factsheet2-wfklwmnralub.pdf

Australian Government. (2018). Closing the Gap: Prime Ministers’ report 2018. (pp. 51-68).

Retrieved from: https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-

2018.pdf

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian professional

standards for teachers. Educational Services Australia. Retrieved from:

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/teach-documents/australian-

professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf

Buckskin, P. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the

teaching profession (Ed.). Engaging Indigenous students: The important relationship

between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their teachers. (pp. 174-

187). Cambridge University Press.

Di Angelo, R. (2011). White fragility. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3(3), p. 54-

70.

Jo Taylor, A. (2011). Coming, ready or not: Aboriginal children's transition to school in

urban Australia and the policy push. International Journal of Early Years

Education, 19(2), 145-161.

Stronger Smarter Institute Limited (2014). High-Expectations Relationships: a foundation for

quality learning environments in all Australian schools. Stronger Smarter Institute

Limited Position Paper. Retrieved from: http://strongersmarter.com.au/wp-

content/uploads/2015/01/SSI-HER-Position-Paper-Final-lowres.pdf