Indigenous education across Australia has been gradually improving as we become more aware; however it is still drastically behind the standards of non-indigenous students. Therefore it is our responsibility as teachers to become aware of continual issues that have arisen and address them to enable progress. We must examine the ways in which we can Engage and encourage learning within our English classrooms.
Before we begin I must tell you my personal experiences and explain why this is an important issue that I endeavour to discuss. I grew up within the far south coast community of the Bega Valley Shire home to the Yuin indigenous group. 2.5% of the population and only 0.5% of NSW may seem like very small amounts of indigenous people compared …show more content…
Setting realistic aims for students allows for future progress; The 2004 National report to parliament on indigenous education and training reported the following information; indigenous students are less likely to obtain a Year 12 certificate than non-Indigenous students. Of those who do obtain a Year 12 certificate, Indigenous students are less likely to gain a Universities Admission Index (UAI). Both these statements reflect negative ideas of student achievement; we need to find ways to encourage students to be at school rather then tell them they are unlikely to succeed even if they attend. As we would with non-indigenous students it is important to draw connection between they study and their personal; social and cultural worlds; the 2003 discussion paper outlines the need for the following three ideas within quality teaching “Intellectual quality; Quality learning environment and …show more content…
As a teacher we have a responsibility to ensure students feel they have the potential to defy statistics, all students regardless of cultural difference should have the opportunity to meet their highest expectations and fulfil their future. Lastly when we include indigenous texts into the classroom we must be mindful of the environment we have created texts that have themes on the horrific histories can affect students personally and we must be mindful of this
Before we begin I must tell you my personal experiences and explain why this is an important issue that I endeavour to discuss. I grew up within the far south coast community of the Bega Valley Shire home to the Yuin indigenous group. 2.5% of the population and only 0.5% of NSW may seem like very small amounts of indigenous people compared …show more content…
Setting realistic aims for students allows for future progress; The 2004 National report to parliament on indigenous education and training reported the following information; indigenous students are less likely to obtain a Year 12 certificate than non-Indigenous students. Of those who do obtain a Year 12 certificate, Indigenous students are less likely to gain a Universities Admission Index (UAI). Both these statements reflect negative ideas of student achievement; we need to find ways to encourage students to be at school rather then tell them they are unlikely to succeed even if they attend. As we would with non-indigenous students it is important to draw connection between they study and their personal; social and cultural worlds; the 2003 discussion paper outlines the need for the following three ideas within quality teaching “Intellectual quality; Quality learning environment and …show more content…
As a teacher we have a responsibility to ensure students feel they have the potential to defy statistics, all students regardless of cultural difference should have the opportunity to meet their highest expectations and fulfil their future. Lastly when we include indigenous texts into the classroom we must be mindful of the environment we have created texts that have themes on the horrific histories can affect students personally and we must be mindful of this