Name: Ruby Bambrick Student ID: 110170385 Tutor: Christine Jacques

Aboriginal Education Assignment 2: Essay

This essay will discuss indigenous Australians and their culture. This essay will discuss the different
pieces of information this course has taught myself in regards to what I believe Aboriginal studies
means and what I now understand further about it. A quote from the curriculum will be provided, as
well as an understanding into how I will incorporate Aboriginal culture and studies into my classroom
in the future. Diversity and how to include all students will be discussed in relation to how teachers can
help make their classrooms diverse and what they can do to make a change. Social issues around
Aboriginal culture make an impact on indiginous Australians on a daily basis, for example racism.
These different types of racism will be discussed and the impacts it has on Indigenous Australians. This
essay will conclude with what I believe to be the different skills all teachers will need when teaching
indigenous culture and indigenous children.

After studying this subject at university this year, my understanding on Indigenous studies has
developed quite a lot. Before completing this subject, I did not really think much of Indigenous studies
and how important it really is, however, now I have a better understanding on why indigenous studies
is so important to teach to my future students which will include indigenous and non-indigenous
children. I have learnt about how the indigenous people have been separated into two distinct groups.
These groups include Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander Peoples; however, this essay
will focus more on Aboriginal Australians. My understanding on indigenous studies now is that as a
teacher, I need to have a cultural sensitivity to all my indigenous students and their learning. I also now
understand how many indigenous students may be stereotyped and for this reason, they may begin to
lose the motivation to participate in their education. As a teacher I need to ensure that I am inclusive of
and culturally sensitive to all my students, an issue which will be discussed further in this essay. Many
of the readings in this course have given me a better insight into the indigenous Aboriginal culture and
how everything started. The biggest strength in the readings was one specific reading by Harrison, who
talked about being a teacher in an indigenous environment. This was the reading that I found most
relevant and interesting, as it told me what to watch out for as a teacher, for example stereotyping, and
how a little extra attention and faith in my indigenous students can encourage their learning and change
their lives forever (Harrison, 2011). Another reading that provided some strengths included Williams-
Mozleys reading, which taught me about the separations and heartbreak all indigenous people of the
stolen generation went through (Williams-Mozley, 2012). This reading helped me to develop my
cultural sensitivity to indigenous people, as I finally had the chance to see things from their
perspective, which I found quite heartbreaking. I did not find any of the readings to have weaknesses,
as each taught me something about the indigenous culture that I did not know anything about before I
began studying this course. The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, mentions
how teaching indigenous culture can be beneficial to all students when stating;

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures priority provides the opportunity
for all young Australians to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, deep knowledge traditions and holistic worldviews.
This knowledge and understanding will enrich all learners’ ability to participate positively in the
ongoing development of Australia through a deepening knowledge and connection with the
world’s oldest continuous living cultures (ACARA, 2015).

As a future educator I will be sure to incorporate teachings about indigenous culture and indigenous
history into my classroom. A lot of schools have developed and implemented indigenous based
courses, however many schools have not yet done so. For this reason, no matter whether I teach at a
school that has an indigenous based course or not, I think it is important to always include this
knowledge into my lessons. Some ways of doing this can be combined with other lessons, for example
history and art. In history lessons, I can teach children about the indigenous past and depending on
their year level, the harsh truth around the stolen generation. Art can also be combined with indigenous
culture as children can experience creating wonderful art pieces ranging from work using dot paintings,
to drawing and painting the Aboriginal Australians’ flag. Hanging these pieces of art work around the
classroom will also show to the students’ parents and fellow staff and students, that my class is learning
about indigenous culture, and it overall reflects diversity and acceptance in the classroom. As a future
educator, I will also incorporate teachings about indigenous culture into the classroom by taking my
students on excursions to places such as Aboriginal art galleries, where they can look at artworks
created by indigenous people or watch them being created, and in this way learn directly about the
meanings of those works, reflecting the past culture and traditions of indigenous people. Carters
Name: Ruby Bambrick Student ID: 110170385 Tutor: Christine Jacques

reading spoke a lot about how people were starting to hide the truth about Indigenous Australians being
the rightful owners of the land and created a completely new story. This story involved people
suggesting that the Europeans were the original owners and that Indigenous Australians being the first
owners was false (Carters, 2006). As a future educator, I understanding that this piece of history may
infuriate any indigenous families and students in my class, therefore I will need to be extremely
sensitive when teaching this to my class. One way of teaching this is to acknowledge that what
happened was wrong and to remind all students of the truth about the indigenous Australians being the
original owners of the land.

Diversity can be defined with other words such as inclusion, mixed and diverse. Diversity is very
important in society in modern times, as without diversity, the world would be very boring. Diversity
in society means including other cultures, traditions, trends and races. Having a diverse world is
important as it shows that everyone is included, understood and accepted no matter whom they are and
where they have come from. Often diversity is frowned upon, however in today’s society, it is more
often included rather than excluded. Diversity is important in an educational setting as it shows all
children that being different is welcomed into the classroom, and that all students have something to
offer the rest of the class. Showing diversity in the classroom can be very easy and efficient to the
people looking outside the classroom, for example parents of the students. Physically having a diverse
classroom can be as easy as hanging different cultured flags, posters and words on the walls, to reading
stories about different cultural histories. Not only is having a physically diverse classroom important
but students will also benefit from a mentally diverse classroom. Being mentally diverse means that the
children realise and understand how diversity works and how they can benefit from it. As a future
educator I will teach my students to be mentally diverse by being a role model that accepts diversity
and welcomes it into my classroom. Beresfords reading spoke about how many indigenous Australians
have previously been exposed to poor living environments and lifestyle requirements, for example lack
of running water resulting in poor personal hygiene (Beresford, 2012). These small disadvantages can
make a huge impact on the lives of indigenous students in society and is quite a big issue. This is only
one of the many struggles some indigenous students face and as a future educator there are many ways
I can try to fix these issues. Running small breakfast stalls in the morning for children, not only
indigenous, but of any culture, to come and share in the morning can make a huge impact on their
education as they will be able to think better and have a more productive and efficient day at school.
This is one of the many social issues indigenous students can face, however, can easily be fixed with
future teachers putting in extra effort and time towards them, by for example setting up the breakfast
stalls as mentioned above. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have added big contributions to
today’s society through art, history, music and even food. As a future educator, to promote a diverse
classroom that is accepting and different, I will be sure to inform and teach my students all about the
first settlers of the land and all the traditions they have created.

Aboriginal Australians have faced a thorough amount of racism in the past and racism, as a whole, has
become a very big social issue for Indigenous people. Racism occurred back when the Europeans took
over and still continues, although not as much, in classrooms today. As a future educator it is very
important to minimise racism in the classroom through a variety of different ways, such as talking it
over with all students and asking them how it would feel to be discriminated against, and to have
people throw derogatory comments towards them, know matter what race they are from. Another way
is to bring different cultures into the classroom. This can be done in such small ways such as bringing
different cultured books and art works into the classroom. Larson et al, (2007) suggests the two most
common types of racism indigenous people face include institutional racism and interpersonal racism.
Institutional racism is often expressed globally in economic and political systems. An example of
institutional racism expressed on indigenous people is health benefits and how they receive less than
other people even though everyone is on the same policy (Larson et al, 2007). The second type of
racism is interpersonal racism. Interpersonal racism is any discriminations made between individuals,
know matter what race they are from (Larson et al, 2007). An example of interpersonal racism used on
Aboriginal Australians is other people using derogatory words to describe them and match them up
with preposterous stereotypes.

All future educators must have a vast variety of skills when it comes to teaching indigenous culture and
indigenous students. These skills include having cultural sensitivity, a kind and accepting nature,
passion for not giving up on students that take a little longer to understanding content and finally,
compassion. All these skills and qualities make for a successful teacher. Firstly all future educators
must be extremely sensitive to the indigenous culture and indigenous students. Aboriginal and Torres
Name: Ruby Bambrick Student ID: 110170385 Tutor: Christine Jacques

Strait Islanders were the first people to discover this land we live on today. Shortly the European
settlers took over the land and stripped the indigenous people of their human rights, which ultimately
infuriated them. Teachers need to understand that many people from the indigenous culture can still be
quite frustrated with the history behind the land, and therefore need to be culturally accepting and
understanding towards them. Teaching indigenous students about the history behind the land is a great
way to demonstrate cultural understanding, as all students will learn the truth about the land and see
that their teacher is not ashamed to teach them about it. Teachers must also be kind, accepting and not
exclusive when it comes to indigenous students. All students, not just indigenous students, must feel
welcomed and safe at school because they may not feel this at home. Teachers should take extra care
not to stereotype indiginous students whilst teaching, as this can show disrespect and often is not true.
Many indigenous students can be labeled as lazy and disinterested, when they really just do not
understand the content being taught. Teachers should show compassion towards all students but
especially to indigenous students. In Harrisons reading, he suggests when working in an indigenous
cultured school, many of the students were not catching up with the work and were not completing
work at the standard they should be. In many cases, teachers give up on these students and think they
are disinterested, when really they just have not been given a role model that has not given up on them
and shown them support. As I have grown up having teachers give up on me, I will not do the same for
the students in my classroom. Teachers can go the extra mile by running extra classes or programs to
help these children catch up with their work, and show these children that someone has faith in them
and motivate them with their education. Majority of the time, when teachers show students that they
will not give up on them, it empowers the students and makes them want to attend school and try a lot
harder. Teachers need to understand what type of learning their students work best with and apply this
too their classrooms, in order for their children to succeed in the best way possible.

To conclude, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have inured a lot when it comes
to their culture and history. This subject has taught me more than I have ever known, about indigenous
culture and their historical moments, such as the Europeans taking over the land and twisting the truth.
In order to be the best teacher possible, I will need to ensure my classroom is accepting and diverse.
Diversity makes for a friendly and welcoming environment for all children know matter their race or
culture. Minimalising racism and perfecting skills such as compassion and being an accepting role
model will most definitely provide me with the advantage, and attributes needed to teach this subject
and children of this culture.

References

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] 2015, Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander histories and cultures, Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority
[ACARA], 14th September 2015,
http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html.

Beresford, Q 2012, Reform and resistance in Aboriginal education, Revised ed, UWA Publishing,
Viewed 14th September 2015.

Carter, D.J 2006, Dispossession, dreams and diversity: issues in Australian studies, Pearson Education,
French Forest, N.S.W, Viewed 18th September 2015.

Harrison, N 2011, Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education, 2nd edn, Oxford University press,
South Melbourne, Vic, Viewed 14th September 2015.

Larson et al. 2012, ‘it’s enough to make you sick: the impact of racism on the health of Aboriginal
Australians’, Barriers of health, vol 31, no 4, viewed 18th September 2015, <
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1753-6405.2007.00079.x/asset/j.1753-
6405.2007.00079.x.pdf;jsessionid=E9452F488963350C91B0B1B2B250FF1C.f01t03?v=1&t=ienuo8a
x&s=a3053e10d5be5ea9a72e7493dfa0c1374e487692.>

Williams-Mozley, J 2012, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educator An Introduction for the
Teaching Profession, Cambridge University Press, Viewed 14th September 2015.