Education
is one of the most privileged things any person will attain, yet it is
definitely one of the biggest systems that needs change. Some may argue against
this, however for Indigenous students, they face a daily struggle to even
attend schools over the country. Social and racial discrimination unfortunately
lend for a somewhat failed education for Indigenous students. Through altering
the hidden curriculum, financial opportunity and closely evaluating training
and attitudes of teachers we can improve the overall outcome of Indigenous
students in our education system. Sydney
schools have a lot more ooprtunity and access to a decent education compared to
the metropolian areas of Australia.
In
Australia, three percent of the population identify themselves as Indigenous,
and majority of these are in their late teens to early twenties; the crucial
age for opportunity, experience and education. Yet how many of these Indigenous
Australians are being exposed to an equal education throughout the country? Not
enough. Unfortunately in Australia, a hidden curriculum, social discrimination
and economic turmoil causes Indigenous students to be disadvantaged in the
education system. This is proving to be a problem as we all know education is
one of the most important attributes to any individual's confidence and
upbringing. Without education, there is a negative attitude to academics and
substantial division in social expectations; hence Indigenous students are too
often led down a troubled past in the adolescent period.
The
study of NAPLAN tests help to identify where individuals and schools are
sitting on average in literacy, science and numeracy, with recent results
reinforcing how desperately we need to address the education system towards
Indigenous Australians.
"The highest failure rates are in Indigenous
schools - those with more than 75 per cent Indigenous attendance. They enrol
some 20,000 students, mainly in bush communities on Indigenous lands that have
no private sectors or real jobs, and are hence totally welfare dependent. These
schools typically have failure rates of more than 90 per cent." (Hughes,
2011)
Although it's
evident programs like 'closing the gap' (Alicke,
2000) are being enforced to try and eradicate these issues, the changes are
far too slow to make an immediate difference in the present or even future.
Indigenous students are harshly exposed to poorer access to health care,
financial instability and poverty in comparison to that of the average 'middle
class' Australian, ultimately effecting their ability to learn. As a teacher,
and a growing society, we need to understand the importance of education to an
individual's life and introduce more scholarships and opportunity for
disadvantaged students. Programs such as the Australian Indigenous Education
Foundation are constantly providing students like Ricky Buchanan, the
opportunity to blossom and achieve in their academics. Stemming from the
bushland of Nambucca Valley, northern NSW, Ricky was able to escape from the
stereotypical cycle of his culture and was awarded a scholarship to an elite
Sydney private school; St Josephs Boys. Assistance like this needs to be more
readily available and common in order to eliminate the financial and social
class distinction that otherwise separates students
“aiming to give
Aboriginal kids the life changing education that used to be the preserve of
well-to-do white kids” (Fanning, 2009)
REFERENCES-
Fanning,Ellen ,2009, 60 Minutes
http://www.atsiphj.com.au/index.php/atsiphj-video-feed?task=play&id=64&sl=cats&layout=listview
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