Thomas Wachtel 2119420EDUC2422Wed 3pm

Student ID

2119420

FAN

Wach0021

First name

Thomas

Family name

Wachtel

Topic code

EDUC2422

Topic name

Teaching Indigenous Australian Students - 2014

Tutorial lecturer

Vicki

Assignment number and title

How does race and racism impact upon the Indigenous

child at school? How could you address and combat racism
in schools?

Word count

1,934

Due date

13/10/14

Date of submission

13/10/14

Is this a resubmission?

No

Thomas Wachtel 2119420EDUC2422Wed 3pm

How does race and racism impact upon the Indigenous child at school? How could you
address and combat racism in schools?
In Australia and around the world many students are participating in the nationwide race for
knowledge. Students of all ages participate actively in their education. The education system
attempts to create schools which provide equality and harmony. Knowledge is perceived as
equal and accessible to all, but in many cases this is not true. Throughout this assignment we
will discuss the affects of racism on indigenous students, what role does whiteness play in
racism and how history has constructed unequal opportunities for students. Ultimately
answering the question: How can we address and combat racism in schools?

Education plays a pivotal part in everyones lives, it can determine where you go, what you
want to do and ultimately creates who you are as a person. Unfortunately many people have
limited opportunities to achieve their life goals due to their education. In the 2011 the ABS
(Australian Bueuro of statistics) identified The Indigenous population is much younger than
the non-Indigenous population. In 2011, half of the Indigenous population was aged 22 or
under compared with 38 or under for the non-Indigenous population. i This is alarming
number of aboriginal students which deserve to be treated equally in all facets of life. A
number of factors can contribute to poor education. Some of these factors include socioeconomic disadvantage, living conditions, emotional factors, people living in remote areas,
racial and gender discrimination, just to name a few.

The rural remoteness of students impacts students opportunities. Although the majority of
aboriginal people are now located in metropolitan areas or surrounds, 21% still live in remote
and very remote areas (8% in Remote areas (51,300 people) and around 14% in Very remote areas
(91,600 peopleiii). It limits students accessibility to medical and educational resources and
assistance. During the 1970s, researcher linked the continuing poor performance of
aboriginal students to health and housing issues. In rural New South Wales, for instance,
many aboriginal people lived in bush shelters or improvised dwellings, and20 per cent
were found to be living in either a shed, tent, garage or humpy iv. The predominantly
European government perceived this way of living as inferior and unorthodox. Although the
indigenous way of living was seen this way it does not necessarily mean it is incorrect. In fact
many aboriginal camps were kept clean and tidy. As Mona suggests Old tin tubs served as
baths for personal ablutions and laundryAn important chore was sweeping with brooms
made from the branches of local trees. I remember Ngunytju teaching us to keep the camp
area clean.v There is also a connection between aboriginal school attendance and being
ii

Thomas Wachtel 2119420EDUC2422Wed 3pm

located in remote areas. Statistics show the correlation between the remoteness of indigenous
students and decreasing attendance rates (As shown in the graph above). The attendance is
noticeably lower for students located in remote or very remote areas. Lower attendance rates
lead to lower performance overall. This is mainly due to the location of schools with students
having to travel long distances just to attend.
Socio economic disadvantage plays a huge role in education. Often this issue is seen as an
easy fix by government. They simply invest money towards beneficial programs and policy,
and if results are not seen immediately the money is then withdrawn or the policy replaced.
Evidence of this can be seen in the government in 1947, attempting to assimilate the
indigenous population into the European society. Banishing aboriginal people to reserves
where they are made to see, that they are not wanted within the compact residential areas of
a town.vi Policy such as this has disadvantaged the indigenous population greatly. By not
allowing aboriginal persons to be part of a community they were not given the same
educational opportunities
as European students.
Evidence of the struggle
for aboriginal students in a
school is portrayed throughout Mona Kennedy telling of her experiences. Mona attended a
predominantly white European school of Oodnadatta. Although her story sheds mostly a
positive light on her experience it highlights the constant struggle for knowledge. Mona often
found herself being targeted by bullies due to her darker skin. The other students also created
a stigma that the indigenous students were dirty and riddled with disease. This is not the
case. As Mona suggests this has remained as a stigma with me to this day and I have always
felt the need to be cleaner about my person and also my home than other peoplein most
cases we were cleaner than some of the white kids. vii It is clear to see that some of Monas
schooling experience has mentally affected how she feels about herself and how she believes
she viewed by others. This is an unnecessary aspect of indigenous students education. Mona
was luckily able to be included into the European schooling, an opportunity which many
would relish. Monas schooling experience highlights that due to her socioeconomic
disadvantage she was harshly judged by other students. Due to this indigenous students may
feel left out or rejected effecting their school performance and emotions linked to school.
The Australian schooling system is based primarily on European culture and norms. This
provides an unsuitable or unfamiliar learning environment for indigenous students. The
relationship shared between both European and aboriginal culture stems back to the invasion
of James Cook. Since this time the power in the relationship between indigenous Australians
and the settling Europeans has been held by the Europeans. Believing their race to be superior
and then exploiting this. This country is based on past actspast actions of murder,
massacre, poisoning, torture, dispossession, interment, enslavement and genocideThis
means that we white Australians tend to see racism as causing Aboriginal disadvantage. viii
Evidence still remains in the classroom with the predominantly European history shown to

Thomas Wachtel 2119420EDUC2422Wed 3pm

students. Although students may not have been exposed to the horrific dealings of the past
they are able to recognise the power relationship.
Due to this European or Non aboriginal have gained unearned privilege. White people have
a number of privileges which associate with the disadvantage of aboriginal people. This is
namely relevant as indigenous children will also experience white privilege at some point in
their lives. Privileges such as:
1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people my own race most of the time.
2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learnt
to mistrust my kind or me
9. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence
of their raceix. White people experience privileges which they often discard as normal.
Many of these privileges are not given to indigenous Australians.
How can we as teachers change this? As future teachers we will pass on our knowledge and
experience of the world to future generations. Our reach extends past our life time onto the
students which we teach. We can positively reinforce the affirming of indigenous culture and
cultural identity of indigenous students in schoolsx.Education allows teachers to tap into
students knowledge and extend it. By furthering their understanding of different cultures and
their customs, students will become more accepting of all cultures.

Since the invasion of the Europeans the government has been supportive of European culture
and customs. The government has come a long way since then but still also has a long way to
go. The government has made a number of crucial Acts which have changed the lives of
indigenous people. Some of these Acts include The Commonwealth Racial discrimination Act
(1975), Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act (1986) and the
Commonwealth Racial Hatred Act (1995)xi. All of which have influence what is accepted and
expected of Australians. The most recent act is one undertaken by the Commonwealth
government regarding education.

In April 1999, State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers of Education met as the
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) to endorse
this declaration as the common and agreed national goals for schooling. The achievement of the
national goals is aimed to assist young people to contribute to Australia's social, cultural and
economic development and to develop a disposition towards learning throughout their lives so they
can exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens of Australia.
Goal 3.1 specifically relates to discrimination in education and states that:
Schooling should be socially just so that students' outcomes from schooling are free from the effects of
negative forms of discrimination based on sex, language, culture and ethnicity, religion or disability;
and of differences arising from students' socio-economic background or geographic locationxii

Although the Australian government has made considerable change there is still room for
improvement. Aboriginal people have experienced unimaginable disadvantage over the

Thomas Wachtel 2119420EDUC2422Wed 3pm

course of hundreds of years, Disadvantage that may never be reconciled. There only thing
which can be done and that is to pave the way to a brighter future to prevent such actions for
ever happening again. The time for reconciliation has passed; instead Australia must be
redeemed for the many years of pain which it has inflicted.
In conclusion, aboriginal students education is affected by a number of factors. These
include socio-economic disadvantage, living conditions, emotional factors, people living in
remote areas and racial and gender discrimination. All of these factors contribute in some
way or another to the education of indigenous students. With the world ever changing and the
world becoming more multicultural, the government will continue to make the world a level
playing field for all races. As a future teacher I aim to create an open environment for all
students regardless of socio-economic standing, living conditions, emotional factors, religious
views, housing location and race or gender of my students. By doing so all students are on an
equal playing field for learning. Every student will have to greatest opportunity to achieve in
their own learning.

i ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2011. The health and welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples. ABS cat. no. 4704.0. Canberra: ABS.
ii Indigenous Statistics for Schools. 2014. Indigenous Statistics for Schools.

[ONLINE] Available
at:http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/cashome.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562b
b00121564/be2634628102566bca25758b00116c3d!OpenDocument. [Accessed
13 October 2014].
iii ABS 2013. Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011. ABS cat. no.
3238.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
iv Beresford, Q 2012, Separate and unequal: An outline of aboriginal Education 1900-1996, in Beresford,
G Partivggton & G Gower (eds), Reform and resistance in aboriginal Education, UWA Publishing, pg110
v Tur, NN 2010, Fringe to town dwellers- Oodnadatta: 1943-1950, in NN Tur, Cicada Dreaming, Hyde
Park Press, Adelaide, S. Aust.,pg23.
vi Beresford, Q 2012, Separate and unequal: An outline of aboriginal Education 1900-1996, in Beresford,
G Partivggton & G Gower (eds), Reform and resistance in aboriginal Education, UWA Publishing, pg97
vii Tur, NN 2010, Fringe to town dwellers- Oodnadatta: 1943-1950, in NN Tur, Cicada Dreaming, Hyde
Park Press, Adelaide, S. Aust.,pg27.
viii Tannoch-Bland, J 1998, Identifing white race privilege in Bringing Australia together: the structure
and experience of racism is Australia, Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action,
Woollongabba, Qld.,pg1
ix McIntosh, P1990, White privilege:unpacking the invisible knapsack, Independent School, Winter, pg32
x Halse, C Robinson, M 2011, Working with aboriginal studenst , in R Craven (ed), Teaching Aborginal
studies, 2nd end, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW, pg 258
xi Racism. No Way.: Australian legislation and international law - Commonwealth. 2014. Racism. No Way.:
Australian legislation and international law - Commonwealth. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/legislation/index-Commonwe.html. [Accessed 13 October
2014].
xii Racism. No Way.: Australian legislation and international law - Commonwealth. 2014. Racism. No Way.:
Australian legislation and international law - Commonwealth. [ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/legislation/index-Commonwe.html. [Accessed 13 October
2014].