17 October 2017
Sue French and Natalie Pierson reflect on their experiences as teachers and leaders of Aboriginal Education. Together, they suggest some approaches to supporting our students and schools.
I think that Aboriginal Education is in two parts; one part is Aboriginal People and making sure all Aboriginal Peoples have all of the same opportunities as other Australians do… but it’s also about building understanding and knowledge throughout the community, and I believe that until we build that knowledge and respect throughout the wider community, long term very little will change. I think we will struggle and struggle and struggle until this lovely land of ours is free of fear and racism…
… For young Aboriginal teachers, I say, ‘focus on your craft and have a look at the things you need to do to get better at teaching’…
For schools, having a look at what’s mandated, what’s mandatory and what’s important …What do staff already know? What is happening and what else can we do? It’s really important to do a little bit of an audit and evaluation of what we are doing and what’s working and then go from there…
Sue French and Natalie Pierson
Note for listeners: This episode was originally recorded for the JPL Podcast, hence the references to the JPL Podcast throughout.