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August 24, 2008
Larissa Behrendt's Rethinking indigenous policy in The Age is one of the better op-eds on this issue. This article is based on her keynote address on Saturday at the Melbourne Writers Festival. She says that the Rudd Government still follows a policy of mutual obligation and shared responsibility and then adds:
The philosophy behind this works on the premise that the root cause of all problems in the Aboriginal community can be found in the behaviour problems of Aboriginal people and that forcing change through a carrot or a stick approach is the way to fix things. This is not just seductive to those whose prejudices are fed with this simple characterisation of dysfunction; it helps governments deflect attention from the fact that they continue to underfund basic health services, provision of education and adequate housing in Aboriginal communities. Nowhere is the flaw in this approach more apparent than in the idea of linking school attendance to welfare payments. The failure of children to attend school is simply explained by bad parenting, yet the evidence that quarantining welfare payments will lead to increased school attendance rates is scarce.
She adds that the quality of teaching and the culture at the school were as significant as parental attitudes, and overcrowding in houses makes it more difficult to provide an environment in which families can be "school ready" or a culture of learning can be created.The frustrating thing for many people involved with Aboriginal education is that there is plenty of evidence about the sorts of mechanisms that have been shown to improve attendance and retention rates.
These include:
■Breakfast and lunch programs that attract children from dysfunctional families to school.
■Programs that bring the Aboriginal community into the schools (such as an elder-in-residence program) by providing a person who can liaise between Aboriginal students and the school environment.
■Aboriginal teachers and teacher aides who can also provide a support role for Aboriginal students and influence changes to curriculum and teaching methods.
■Curriculum that engages Aboriginal children because it teaches them the essentials in a way that resonates with their culture, values and world views.
■Programs such as that developed by Aboriginal educationalist Chris Sarra that unite approaches that promote self-esteem and build confidence through engaging with culture with a focus on academic excellence.
These sorts of programs are effective because they work on building the relationship between the school and the community. They are often developed with community and school initiative, with no funding or by leveraging off funding for other purposes.This suggests that, rather than simply punishing parents for their children's non-attendance, the Government should be providing schools, teachers and resources that meet the needs of the Aboriginal community.
She rightly says placing a punitive measure on families to ensure their children come to school is hypocritical from any government that neglects the same children by failing to provide adequate funding for a teacher and a classroom.
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I agree that big stick approaches are a road to nowhere. Particularly agree with the statement that it panders to ingrained prejudices. I would go one further – it reinforces the master/slave dynamic that indigenous welfare policy seems to be founded on.
However, I still think that all opinion on this is stuck in a ‘them and us’ mindset; there seems to be an implicit assumption that they must assimilate with us (this is my main gripe with Noel Pearson’s ideas) – in a way, to paraphrase Dr Strangelove “inside every Aboriginal person there’s a white man dying to get out”.
What about we turn this assumption on its head, Gary? It’s us that should assimilate with them. I don’t mean moving to the bush and living a nomadic lifestyle but more symbolic taking on of their culture – similar ro NZ and Canada. We should become proud of our Aboriginal people and engage with them - they truly are an amazing race of human beings. It should be a 2-way street.
I could go on but I think a good place to start would be more education in schools … and, dare I say it – compulsory camps/excursions to remote communitites. That would maybe just maybe produce a generation that genuinely understands and engages with our indigenous peoples.