Mount Druitt Youth on Education & Mentorship

EDUCATION & MENTORSHIP

Summary

The FUNPARK Mount Druitt Press Conference participants shared their thoughts on education and mentorship, focusing on two topics.

Dropping out of school

Jason provides a shocking statistic that is followed up by Christina who is a youth leader at her local church. She expresses why some kids are struggling to get to school.

Robyn and Christina provide insight into how often young people are forced to be the adults in their families; taking up several jobs, holding onto money for groceries and caring for their parents. A lot of families have no access to the internet or devices for young people to use. This was exasperated during the lockdown when only 20% of kids in Bidwill attended online google classrooms due to limited digital access.

First Nations History/ Education Curriculum

Riana and Brittney believe that not enough is being done to include Aboriginal history in schools. At their schools, less than a term is dedicated to the subject, leaving little time for cultural learning and history that is beyond the perspective of colonisers. This conversation comes at a great time when the newly elected Labour government has just announced their commitment to the ‘Uluru Statement From The Heart’.

Testimonies

JASON

"Less than 20% of students graduate in Year 12 in Mt Druitt... that makes me question... What are we doing wrong as a community?... is this generational or habitual?”

CHRISTINA

"I feel like there's a lot of things going on in a young person's life living in Mt Druitt, which may stop them from wanting to go to school. When I do youth group on a Friday night, I hear stories from kids that tell me they sometimes lack groceries that week... or they have early experiences of trauma or early exposure to substances... some of them have to lock their parents' stuff away... or hold onto money so that there's money for tomorrow... these kids want to do well but they're stuck in cycles unfortunately."

CHRISTINA

“We need to combat youth stigma by understanding and having empathy with what these young people are going through that affect their education"

ROBYN

"There are kids there that need to focus that have two or more jobs at the age of 14 because they're trying to support their families. They can't focus on school cause they don’t have the time, they don't have the resources, they don't have the support."

DAISY

"When classes have 30 students with one teacher, anyone who is not actively learning gets left behind"

CHRISTINA

“We need access to the internet, laptops, safe places to study, and connections to the arts and sports”.

JASON

"Education is always going to be important… but in the context of where it doesn't work, where these kids are filled with trauma in their households, they go through a lot - and I've definitely been through my fair share of trauma... but was fed the same thing that everyone else was being fed, it's just not relatable or inspiring… textbook knowledge itself won't heal my trauma... and it may not inspire me, but when you pair the power of education with teachers who actually invest in you personally and cater learning to your own goals and aspirations - I feel like then, you have ingredients for success, to break generational poverty in your family. I think mentorships are valuable"

RIANA

"In school, we're mainly learning about other cultures or other countries... their histories, rather than our own. We spend maybe only half a term on our own history and that's the white side of history. We should have a whole term on Aboriginal culture. Then everybody learns about Australia's history. We want to learn more about OUR history."

BRITTNEY

"We can start by introducing our Elders back into schools just for like 10 minutes for words of wisdom."

LEON

"In Blackett...we have the Fred Murray Community Centre. We have youth gatherings...and we just run classes for young children in school to come out and do their homework. I think that we need more spaces like that...because some kids don't even have that at home"

Solutions and Actions

Changing school curriculum or policy is generally out of our control, however families and students can advocate with their local schools to find ways to teach Aboriginal culture and to better support those kids in need. Bringing Elders into schools regularly to meet with kids and share stories is an important way to bridge the knowledge gap, alongside introducing Darug language, First Nations arts - weaving, painting and dance - or holding NAIDOC week activities etc.

School staff do understand the barriers that are stopping kids from attending school. Schools need to ensure their staff are supported so they have the capacity to listen and be there for the students. They also need to tap into the right resources and contacts so that each student can also seek the support they need outside of school.