Adapting to a New Environment
Moving from the suburbs to a remote community means adjusting in lots of ways. There is a romantic and glamorous side: the beautiful country, the newness and rawness of a major change, the thrill of travel, adventure and meeting new people. There is also the reality of culture shock. Feeling alone in a strange place. Not knowing what is the right thing to do or say. Not having the familiar or comfortable easily accessible. Not understanding how things work, or why things are not ‘normal’.
Imagine this: the town you are teaching in can only be accessed by aeroplane six months of the year. It has one local store that sells lettuces for $4.00 a pop, and there’s not a caffe latte in sight.
http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/AE/Win04pp30-31.html
The QUT article on culture shock wisely states that ‘culture shock is normal‘. And strongly recommends keeping an open mind, talking to people, staying in touch whilst also inviting new friendships, and not being too worried about making mistakes.
The advice from the video specific to living and working with Aboriginal and Islander communities is to be flexible, share with fellow workers and move one’s thinking to being in the centre of the world instead of seeing the location as the edge of the world.
It is important to be aware of being a role model and setting an appropriate example. In particular this means things like not wearing tight clothing (women & men?), and not drinking alcohol in public.
It is crucial to get past the culture shock, and move to a mindset where one can join with the community. This quote from the Gumala Mirnuwarni Education Project emphasises the need to be wholehearted in the:
Teacher’s commitment to the success of their students, and their attitudes towards the project from the beginning were significant reasons for the project’s success. Many teachers also worked to remind other teachers that, for Indigenous students to do well at school the expectations hold needed to be high
http://www.whatworks.edu.au/4_6_2.htm
Cultural Awareness
This for me boils down to Respect, Respect, Respect. Suspend value judgements, and be willing to go beyond first impressions to an understanding of underlying reasons and rationality.
The rights of Indigenous people to own and control their cultures should be respected. Diversity of Indigenous cultures should be acknowledged and encouraged. Indigenous worldviews, lifestyles and customary laws should be respected in contemporary life.
http://www.abc.net.au/message/proper/principles.htm
There are many new concepts to deal with – Elders, Law, Pride, Shame
There are dos and don’ts – avoiding direct eye contact, treating initiated male students as men, being aware of the relationship between male and female teachers and students, allowing for different concepts of time, allowing for different perceptions of childhood and self.
The original inhabitants of Australia predate us by at least 40000 years, their cultures are complex and can not be comprehended or evaluated without taking a suitably respectful amount of time and effort.
There is a strong push to turn the tables and make us all more aware of Aboriginal and Islander culture:
The AEU believes that all teachers employed in the public education system in Australia should complete a comprehensive sequence of Indigenous studies as a minimum requirement for their employment.
http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Atsi/index2.html#INDSTUD
Building Relationships
True for all students, and indeed all people – learning is better, more fun, and more effective when there is a genuine relationship between teachers and students.
How can we build better relationships?
Taking a genuine interest in people without being intrusive helps foster ongoing relationships. Being helpful and friendly is particularly appreciated.
http://www.atsip.qld.gov.au/resources/documents/mmsection2.pdf
The video points out that one factor working against teachers in remote areas is that the parents of the students more often than not had terrible experiences at school. Fortunately for all, the world has moved on and now the classroom should be an inviting and friendly place. The video suggests encouraging parents to participate in activities in the school and classroom to build connections and ownership through improved relationships. The inclusion of more Aboriginal and Islander teachers and teachers aids is an obvious and essential step towards improving relationships and understanding amongst all the participants.
How could I be a better teacher in this context? As the video suggests by being relaxed, enjoying a joke, showing care, and being respectful both inside and outside of school. I am not only the teacher, but also a fellow student of life.
The essential requirement of good relationships underpins the success of many official programs aimed at improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Islander children, though they are in my opinion not often not made explicit in the language of their reports.
Effective transition to school programs have the potential to help children–as well as their families and communities–feel comfortable, valued, and successful in school
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Successful+transition+to+school+for+Australian+aboriginal+Children:…-a0143008207
Attendance
There seems to be lots of research to indicate that a large percentage of ATSI children do not regularly attend school.
Why?
Are the students not happy or engaged at the school? Irrelevant content?
Are families ‘too nomadic’?
One of the most important obligations or expectations of kin [in Aboriginal families] is that they maintain contact. Although people participate in mainstream Australian social life in many day-to-day activities, they place the highest priority on seeing relatives.
http://www.whatworks.edu.au/3_2_1_3.htm
Are their parents passing on their feelings about their own bad experience at schools (and with western institutions in general)?
Are children staying up too late, are families affected by alcohol abuse and domestic violence? and are students not able to get enough breakfast or clothes for school?
From an Aboriginal point of view, non-attendance at school may be a positive reaction to a hostile social environment and a purposeful assertion of Aboriginal identity in the face of an institution which often denies this identity
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/rciadic/national/vol2/191.html
The school cannot be a source of transformation or redemption if students do not come. The ones who come the least or not at all are the ones who most likely would benefit the most.
How to address this failure? Put in place teachers with cultural awareness, promote positive relationships at all levels, include ATSI teachers and teachers aids as much as possible, provide content that is relevant and interesting in the local language, do engaging and real tasks in the school and also in the wider community, provide a portable curriculum so nomadic students can pick up where they left off at whichever school they are at (like the modular Pathways Program). Involve and invite parents, elders and the whole community to participate in the process. Be aware of indigenous teaching and learning strategies.
Working Together
United we stand, divided we fall, … good American advice stating the obvious! We will all be more effective by working together rather than trying to conquer the world alone.
A dialogue between ATSI teachers and teachers aids and western teachers/teachers aids will without doubt be essential to ensuring an inviting and open learning environment, and to solving many of the alienation issues. Students can also be invited to participate in the teaching themselves – a good constructivist approach which promotes student interaction and real problem solving.
Even the Liberal/Conservative government recognised the need:
Communities … must work together in partnership
to overcome these obstacles. This can only happen if the
stakeholders have common objectives and a commitment to
making the partnership work.
http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/schools/indigenous/publications/wtiy/NationalFramework.pdf
The video highlights the need for the right gender of teacher/aid to be available to deal appropriately with men’s and women’s business issues.
Two Way Learning
The paper “Reconciling Indigenous And Western Knowing” by Neil Hooley of Victoria University of Technology was excellent. This is a definition of two way learning:
Beginning with the culture and understandings of learners, enquiry emphasises a unity of practice and theory and of so-called academic and practical knowledge, without privileging one over the other.
http://www.aare.edu.au/00pap/hoo00103.htm
Hooley then goes on to say:
the major characteristics of good pedagogy for Indigenous students were again confirmed as including student-centred and negotiated teaching, flexibility, fairness, knowledge of Indigenous history and culture, small group relationships and strong community links. These factors appear unremarkable and should be pursued by good teachers for all students.
http://www.aare.edu.au/00pap/hoo00103.htm
IE, what is good practice for indigenous students is good practice for everyone!
How do I make my teaching this good?
The video suggests the use of books and materials in local languages, co-opting older students to be translators for younger students, the inclusion of the history of invasion in middle school, the removal of ignorance as a means of reducing prejudice.
Teaching and Learning Programs
The video suggests that indigenous students learn best by observation and that they are very spatially aware.
Tasks need to be engaging, hands on, real tasks and the role of play is important (true for all students!)
We need to be looking for and celebrating the individual gifts and talents of each student.
We need to be able to work with multi-age groups, we need to be flexible and have lots of activities ’stored and ready to go’.
This fits well with the sage advice of Howard Gardner with the theory of multiple intelligences. It is about recognising, valuing and utilising the many different learning styles that students have so that each student is challenged and ‘met’ appropriately. Again what is good for indigenous students is also what everyone should experience in their education.
There are some specific issues to deal with: eg hearing affected by middle ear infections – the BBC (Breathe, Blow Cough) program, and using microphones to amplify speaking.
Behaviour Management
Crowd control and behaviour management is an issue for all teachers. Behaviour issues in indigenous contexts may be exacerbated by frustration, cultural misunderstanding, racism, and top down decision making.
What can we do to improve?
The video suggests the inclusion of anger management programs that utilise drawing as a means of negotiation, Assertiveness training without bossyness or bullying, the recognition of the need for students to have their own power, and to win. The inclusion of indigenous teachers and aids helps to give conflict and behaviour issues a context, and helps with negotiation and understanding what factors outside of school may be influencing the issues.
The impression I got was that greater patience and care are essential, but on the plus side, having good relationships and connections with the students, cooworkers and the community goes a long way towards working stuff out.
Drug and Alcohol Awareness
A harsh reality of dis-empowerment and post invasion disenfranchisement, combined with a 40000 year biological and cultural separation from the mainstream of drug use.
The effect on indigenous students are on a number of fronts. Alcohol abuse within families leads to co-dependence, fighting/domestic violence, untimely deaths, and further impoverishment. The affected students bring this background with them to the classroom – they may be affected by lack of sleep, injury, and stress.
The message from the video was clear: we can’t “force empowerment on people”. Goodness knows westerners have enough of their own problems with alcohol and drug abuse.
What will help? Equal partnerships. Education that is open and relevant which helps prepare students to deal with the issues and make their own choices. Good role modelling by teachers. Promotion and celebration of personalities, events and activities that are drug and alcohol free.
Hope and excitement for the future, along with knowledge and community support will go a long way to breaking the negative cycle that drugs and alcohol are part of.
