www.firstnationstelegraph.com
Who you gonna call? by Frank Pearce 6 January 2014
A
teacher upsets Aboriginal students by saying Aboriginal parents don’t insist that their kids go to school. An Aboriginal student is painfully self-conscious about not knowing her cultural story. An Aboriginal boy does not want to be the one always asked by a teacher to explain what it means ‘to be Indigenous’ and to give the school’s Acknowledgment of Country. An Aboriginal student stays home for weeks on ‘Sorry Business’. An Aboriginal student is embarrassed because his parents are too poor to send him on a paid sporting trip or excursion. The new principal has never worked in an Aboriginal school and needs to meet community leaders.
A teacher thinks an Aboriginal student is sullen and inattentive, but the truth is he has major hearing loss from otitis media. The Aboriginal students want to do something special to celebrate their culture and show the school who they are. The school librarian wants advice on the purchase of Indigenousthemed readers. Sorry Day is approaching and no appropriate school assembly has been arranged. An Aboriginal child has a sudden drop in school attendance The behavioural issues of another Aboriginal child need investigation, with possible links to a negative change in the home environment. The school has to report on what it is doing to improve Aboriginal outcomes. An Aboriginal funding submission has to be filed out. A
student from another disadvantaged group is very distressed and just needs a friend to confide in. Teachers and parents are interested in learning about the story of the local Aboriginal community. A teacher wishes to engage with the local Aboriginal community. What’s the difference between a Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country and who should do which? A teacher wishes to broaden their knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate language in relation to Aboriginal students and community. Your school is being asked to explain why the Year 5 Aboriginal students NAPLAN results have dropped since they sat the test in Year 3. You have an Aboriginal parent who wishes to enrol their child but is
unable to pay the fees. A young Aboriginal boy has an altercation with another student but refuses to explain why. Your schools retention of Aboriginal students is low. Some of your Aboriginal students need some additional classroom assistance. A teacher needs direction in adding an Aboriginal perspective to their lessons. An Aboriginal students becomes ill and you can’t locate the parents. An Aboriginal student because of financial circumstance has no lunch. You need someone to negotiate with local Aboriginal organisations. You need someone to help you advocate to government agencies on Aboriginal issues. A young Aboriginal boy who is normally well behaved is starting to act out and refuses to talk about it. To use a catchphrase from a popular 1980s movie: ‘Who you gonna call?’. In many schools, the answer to each question is the Aboriginal Education worker (AEW). Their reward for all this low pay, many additional duties that are not in the role description, job insecurity, low expectations of school staff, racism, stereotyped by staff and in some cases considered a tall poppy by their own community. So why do they do it? For the kids.
Page 1