Responsive Classroom Milieu

As a future primary educator, providing a culturally responsive classroom milieu is paramount to effective pedagogy. The documentary Strong and Smart, vividly and authentically demonstrated the importance of valuing Indigenous culture and embedding Aboriginal ways of learning as a tool for improving overall societal outcomes for Indigenous students (Newman, 2003). A primary consideration of my personal ethos of valuing Indigenous cultures, will be the creation of a holistic, calm, welcoming and supportive learning environment.
Beginning with a whole-class constructed Acknowledgement to Country, it would be my intention to establish from day one, mutual respect between the local Kombumerri community and the class. Two-way collaboration with the Kombumerri elders, the exchange of cultural perspectives and language, will bridge the cultural span and ensconce an atmosphere of respect for the geographical and biological links to the land on which my classroom stands (Oxfam Australia, 2007, p. 1; WADE, n.d.). In addition, the inclusion of Aboriginal English into everyday classroom discourse, will scaffold Aboriginal children’s learning and understanding of Standard English by …show more content…
A key project that I would like to embed into my teaching and learning space, is a class bush garden program, to extend children’s knowledge, understandings and links with the local environment (ECU, 2012). For this program to be culturally significant, I would seek to establish the project as a collaborative venture with the local Kombumerri people. With the children working and learning in their local surroundings, the Kombumerri elders would provide the children with an authentic opportunity to see the land through the eyes of Australia’s first people. The opportunities for a culturally competent pedagogy, link learning opportunities through role play, games, and Altjeringa recounted in the local Bundjalung language and creative