Teaching Aboriginal students

In most schools across Queensland (and probably across other states) the proportion of Aboriginal children is about 5% or less [1]. Many white teachers do not have a lot of experience teaching and dealing with Aboriginal kids or communities.

As a consequence white teachers can misinterpret certain behaviour by Aboriginal students, for example when students avoid eye contact. In Aboriginal culture direct eye contact to an adult is considered rude.

When teachers in such a way misdiagnose Aboriginal students' classroom behaviour we can speak of 'soft racism'. Other forms of such racism might be when teachers ignore Indigenous students, expect them to deliver low results or victimise them.

For many Aboriginal children English is their second, third or fourth language. White teachers should explain things in more than one way and more than once to enable Aboriginal students to understand and learn. In Aboriginal culture knowledge was passed on through repetitive story-telling.

If possible, Aboriginal children should be taught in their first language. "Learning to read and write requires the brain to be neurologically developmentally primed," explains speech pathologist Mary-Ruth Mendel [2]. "Children's brains need to be stimulated in the first language that they speak."

Teaching Aboriginal students needs to convey a 'relatedness', which is a key feature of Aboriginal world views, and connect it with the skills necessary for them to have a full and productive life [3]. Aboriginal students need to receive an education that enhances and promotes their Aboriginality.

When studies are relevant to students and applicable to everyday activities results can improve significantly.

The Teaching Indigenous Maths Education (TIME) program at Queensland University of Technology related mathematics classes to everyday tasks such as shopping and sports. Students were much more engaged, and some gained A-level results for the first time while none received an E-level [9].

It was education, plain and simple, that changed the way I look at the world, it probably changed the way the world looks at me.—Vickie Roach, Aboriginal graduate, Institute of Koorie Education, Deakin University, Melbourne [4]

Aboriginal parents fear Western education

In some parts of Australia Aboriginal people have "a huge hesitation" about the embrace of Western education, according to Aboriginal elder Noel Pearson [7]. Many Aboriginal people are afraid of losing their children to a bigger world, and their children losing their identity and culture.

Indigenous leaders try to foster "a [cultural] centre of gravity" in their children so that they are able to "operate in two worlds" [7]. Only when children accommodated both western and traditional Aboriginal culture would they be able to build their socio-economic strengths and maintain, revive and re-double the strength of their cultural determination, Mr Pearson said.

Black science has observation and experience, white science has measurements and experiments. If we put the two of them together we'd get a much deeper science. —Frances Bodkin, Dharawal Elder, NSW [8]

Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] 'Educator gives bad grade to teachers', NIT 30/10/2008 p.9 [2] 'Kids' brains 'need help'', Koori Mail 511 p.54 [3] 'Mandatory training a welcome first step', Koori Mail 440 p.60 [4] 'Leading the charge', SMH 23/5/2009 [5] 'School is in a class of its own', Koori Mail 507 p.40 [6] 'Learning in a league of its own', Koori Mail 508 p.58 [7] 'Education, recognition hot topics at Garma', Koori Mail 482 p.3 [8] 'Black science in documentary', Koori Mail 482 p.41 [9] 'Students engaged in maths program', Koori Mail 514 p.50