Global issues and Local Effects: The Challenge for Educational Research

Dianne Roberts, OAM,
Director and Principal Minimbah Aboriginal Pre- and Primary School,
Armidale, New South Wales.

Keynote speaker, Teachers' Day, Tuesday 30 November 1999

Creativity stems from difference, not sameness. For some, globalisation means turning the world into one homogenous identity like a giant Disneyland, or a sea of golden arches. Standards have their place, but if educators attempt to move students through the system, as if ONE T-SHIRT FITS ALL, without nurturing DIFFERENCE, the world will be a poorer place.

Educators have an obligation to each and every child in their care to nurture that child towards his/her potential. Each child has different beliefs and values, interests, skills, abilities and needs. To give full attention to each child is not an easy task in a crowded classroom.

Aboriginal children historically have been considered as problems, and when Minimbah was founded, some educators were glad to pass their problems to Minimbah!

For Aboriginal children, education is more than learning about, and preserving their culture. Culture is not static. Education is about developing skills and building the self esteem to walk confidently in the world 'out there'; to walk in mainstream society with pride, with dignity and knowledge of their true history.

This paper aims to provide an insight into the growth and development of the Minimbah School community as it strives to tap into, and encourage the rich diversity of the children on whom it focuses through a program of individualisation.

To describe the Minimbah story, I'd like to invite you to walk with me through some of my personal history. As we walk, we will step through seven stages in my story of Learning and Education, but first, a little about my background.

I was the youngest girl in a family of thirteen children. We lived on a Reserve at Bellbrook, in northern New South Wales Our movements and way of life were limited and controlled by what the "white authorities" thought was 'good for us"

We were never asked what WE thought was good for us. My parents would say, "they know best".

The first stage of Learning for me was being at one with the social, physical and spiritual environment; having a sense of wellbeing; a balance with Nature and with self.

In my early days before I had any formal schooling, I learnt from the environment around me, and from the Elders. Education was all around us, in the bush, and In our way of life. We have an oral tradition of learning that starts when we are tiny babies, and continues as much more than just reading and writing. For us, education is living.

My first experience in the school system introduced me to forced rote learning as we sat behind rows of desks. The teacher would walk up and down the aisle, and if we didn't say things right, he would stick his thumb into our ribs, or bang our knuckles with a ruler. This teacher was not qualified. He tried his best, but we had to be wary of him.

Sometimes he would take us to the creek to swim. Some of the girls were abused by him. My sisters and I weren't touched. Mum and my aunties were always around. They would come to the school and check on us. Once my mum and aunties belted the teacher, and he was sacked.

The second stage of Education for me was a restriction of social, physical and spiritual beliefs and values. These restrictions limit a person, just like fences, barriers and attitudes do.

The next teacher that came to the Bellbrook mission was a qualified teacher. He was Welsh. He wanted the children from the Mission to experience High School at Kempsey, on the coast. Eight local boys and girls were chosen, and I was the first child in my family to go to High School. The road to Kempsey was all gravel in those days and with Bellbrook 70 kilometres from Kempsey, our days were very long. The Welsh teacher would take us in his Kombi van at 6.00am and we would return by bus after 6.00pm.

The best thing about this experience was that I got to read a lot. I read everything I could get my hands on! Before I went to Kempsey High, I had learned to read and read everything that the Missionaries gave my mum. At Kempsey High, we Aboriginal children were not allowed to borrow books. I suppose they thought we wouldn't take care of them. We were not to be trusted. But I used to sneak books home, and I read Enid Blyton's Famous Five, all the English 'school' books, fairytales, Robinson Crusoe, and all the classics.

In High School, the Aboriginal children were all placed in an "AO" class. This was for "underachievers". I thought it meant "Aboriginal Only", as only Aboriginals - 40 of us- were in this class. We huddled together in one small room. At break times, we stayed huddled together in the playground. We did not mix with the white children. We did not know how. After years of being separated, we didn't know how to be together. We felt lost in an alien place

The Third Stage of this Education story is symbolised by low self esteem. We were second class citizens with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, and with health problems.

At Kempsey, we were on our own. We weren't part of the program. We would sit by ourselves to eat our lunch and speak our own language. We didn't go anywhere. We were allowed to play one sport, but if we were chosen in a team that was playing elsewhere, we couldn't go as we were not allowed to be billeted with a family. Girls were often molested or raped. This was a way to control us. There was no-one that we could tell our misery to.

Our emotional, spiritual and physical energies were drained and we were filled with a sense of shame.

The Fourth Stage in my learning represented an opportunity for education, but without adequate support or acceptance of beliefs and values.

After I had worked at Minimbah as helper, bus driver, class assistant, I was given the opportunity to train as a teacher at Armidale Teachers' College. The Federal Education Department provided funding. I was a pioneer. I was absolutely thrilled by this opportunity, but filled with some fear too. Here I was, an older "mature age" student, a mother, going to school with fresh faced kids straight out of high school.

The first lesson was Maths. The Maths text book was rather large. The lecturer just told us "read pages 20-50 and come back next week". The younger students may well have accepted this, but not me! I had already had too many battles with authority. I stood up. "Mr A, I can read pages 20-50. 1 can keep reading until Doomsday, but I won't understand, unless you show me HOW. I need you to show me the process. " I needed to let him know that there is more than one way of learning, and I needed to be taught in a way that was appropriate to me, that is, through visuals and by doing, or, kinesthetic learning.

I can always remember my first Science assignment. The subject was "photosynthesis". I could not say the word then. I had learnt about the cycles of life from my Elders, so I knew something about the subject My husband, Frank, climbed high into the trees, and collected bark from the sunny side of the tree, and bark from the shady side to demonstrate the difference that sunlight makes. I pasted these bits of bark on to a card, and I received full marks for this assignment. I was learning to do things my way, and to ask that teaching meet the demands of my learning style., but there was no recognition of special needs There were only set ways of doing things.

The Fifth Stage of Education is represented by the attitudes of the Education Bureaucracy: trying to make one T-Shirt or one curriculum "fit all". One method of teaching suits all? I have learnt from my childhood, and from the children that I meet each day, that this is not the case.

With the "one T-shirt fits all" philosophy, it is easy to judge, and label, those who do not meet certain standards at a certain level as "stupid", or as having some "mild intellectual disability". We can "pigeon-hole" children. When we reinforce our opinions of the child by the way we respond to the child opinions such as "not very bright" may stay with the child all through their schooling. The child may come to believe that he or she really IS dumb. This will be reflected in their school results.

When Minimbah was just a Pre-school, and not yet granted status as a Primary School, the big challenge we had was to prepare our children for mainstream education. Some of these children were clearly not ready to move. The parents were afraid that in the larger environment of the mainstream school system, their children would be seen as "dumb" or would develop behavioural problems.

Many parents are afraid of "Welfare". They are members of the "Stolen Generation", or their parents were "stolen". So, their fear of being a "bad" parent, and having their child, or children, taken away from them is very, very real.

We had no idea of what the Education Department would think, or say about this issue, and we didn't want to ask. We just knew that we had to do something different. The one thing that we started to do differently, was develop a "transition class". We knew we had to support these mainly five year old children from where they were coming from; not from where we thought they should be going to, according to Department Guidelines and Standards.

We started to work with the children on an individual basis; that is, we tapped into their interests, their strengths and their needs. By beginning from the child's own strengths and interests, we were able to use this as a solid bridge to build confidence in other areas. We soon found the children growing in confidence, and starting to blossom. The children looked forward to their schooling experience, rather than being afraid of it and worried about being called "dumb".

Underpinning this philosophy was my own experience of being labelled. I wanted these children to have a different experience. As well, the parents and teachers wanted a different outcome for the children. Together we make a formidable Team.

The Sixth Stage of Education recognises "differences", and the need to change the "one size fits all mentality". For the T-shirt to fit comfortably, it must be adjusted, and stretched, and fitted to the uniqueness of its wearers. That is, the curriculum must be designed to be flexible, so that there is freedom within broad parameters to explore, and to be creative.

Rather than assuming each child has to be at a certain level, proven by testing, and if the child doesn't reach this, he/she is "dumb", we recognise that children mature at different ages, and have different strengths and interests. Some may love drawing, some may dance, some may make music; others are gifted at storytelling; others are clowns. Another wants to know "why"? Still another "how". Some love working with numbers; another loves running as fast as the wind How would it be for Cathy Freeman, (and her fans) if her love of running had been restrained, unrecognised, not encouraged, because she was forced to fit into the "standard size" T-shirt?

I see this Sixth Stage as a change in direction, or "How to Educate". We need to tune into the spirit of each child, and encourage a natural progression in accordance with the child's needs, not just in accordance with what we think the child needs. At Minimbah, we have individualised programs, working the curriculum to fit the children, and not the children to fit the curriculum. This means if a child is focused on Science, we build on this with special programs whenever we can. We try not to be limited by what the curriculum states. This can be very demanding for the teachers, so we must work very closely as a team. Diversity, different ideas, spark creativity and contribute to workable solutions for each child.

I call the Seventh Stage of the Development of Education "Beyond the Boomerang", that is, one that is accepted by the Board of Studies. In this Stage, an Aboriginal perspective is seen as legitimate within the curriculum, but expands beyond this to mainstream Education. It is not a case of either/or. It is a case of us working together in an ongoing dialogue that is creative, imaginative, co-operative and collaborative. It is a dialogue that is advanced along the continuum of Education. Inter-school visits, and cultural exchange days support this notion of being able to move with ease, and with dignity between the Aboriginal world, and the 'world out there". Our children will walk with pride, with dignity and with knowledge of their true history. They will increasingly prove that they have the high self esteem and confidence to be successful in whatever they choose to do.

But this is not a quick overnight result. This is something that takes a huge amount of effort sustained over a very long period of time The continued support by, and dialogue with, 'mainstream' organisations and agencies is critical for the successful future of this and future generations of Aboriginal children.

Aboriginal communities are still disadvantaged in terms of Health, Education and Employment. These disadvantages often lead to other social and legal problems. The vicious circle must be broken so that the Aboriginal children of today and tomorrow have equal opportunities for Health, Education, and subsequent Employment that are experienced by other Australian children.

Health and Education go hand in hand. At Minimbah we do not separate them. Good health is the foundation stone for full participation in learning opportunities.

When I put forward a proposal for a Health Program, and it is accepted as an integral element of the Education process, instead of being referred from one agency to another, then I believe another battle will have been won, and another Stage of Education will have been reached.

I have shared my personal story and personal changes as a metaphor for the development of Education as it applies to the Minimbah community, it's been a long road to travel, and the journey is not yet finished. We must be ever vigilant, ever supportive, ever open to dialogue between sectors. Now that we have learned to match the needs of the children with the needs of the Board of Studies, we must continue to support this bridge throughout each child's formal education. In other words, we cannot afford to weaken the foundations.

Teachers must know their communities thoroughly. Teachers, parents, families and communities must work together, and work with Agencies and Organisations to strengthen the foundations for Education. They must creatively tap into, and encourage, the rich diversity evident in each of our children if we are to make the most of our differences. Only when this happens can we really say: "LOOK OUT TOMORROW!"