Abstract:
This presentation examines the role of teacher placestories within the Australian Curriculum. I present my own placestory, situated against the historical backdrop of post-colonialism in Hong Kong, as a departure point into understanding and challenging some of the notions presented in the Australian Curriculum. As teachers, it is our duty to honour both the ideas within the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration and the national curriculum. Yet, education never functions as a simple trade - a teacher cannot be free of their own personal histories and contexts as they deliver important lessons to young people. In this sense, teaching is always an inherently political act. This symposium therefore seeks to explore the tensions that are present between a teacher's own personal context and the content that they are required to teach. By examining critical moments wherein the Australian curriculum and my own context appear discordant, I hope to emphasize the importance of teachers understanding themselves if we wish to honour the knowledge espoused by our national curriculum. However, my goal is not to criticize or slander these guiding documents. In turn, I also suggest potential ways of navigating around these challenges that continues to honour a multiplicity of different perspectives (both included and excluded within the curriculum).