The idea for today's post was already in my head before I heard the news of how indigenous people have been discriminated against in AFL. It was heart breaking that even after all the publicity, the resources we have, the information that has been shared with us, that this is still happening today. This is not the forum to discuss politics and be controversial so for now, I will leave that track and move on over to what is on my heart to chat with you about.
When I was growing up, I was privileged to be in a family where people of all nations were recognised as equal. As it says in the Bible:
For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)
Having said that, as a child and a young adult, my knowledge of indigenous people and Australian history was very limited. My primary school and high school education glossed over the atrocious ramifications of colonisation and there wasn't a unit of aboriginal studies when I was learning to be a primary school teacher. A few years ago at a school I was teaching at, Lynette who is Head of Indigenous Initiatives, ran an informative and practical PD for staff to learn about First Nations people and she also gave me resources to help me teach my students in a meaningful and honest way about colonisation. I am very thankful for her input and for the inspiration to delve deeper and find out more about our First Nations people.
There are a lot of practical resources and information that we can have access to and I encourage you to stay abreast of this knowledge. There are picture story books, novels and text books to read with your class, no matter what their age. I also found some flash cards that have character qualities with aboriginal illustrations at a local craft store.
Two great places to find resources are: Australians Together which includes cross-curriculum lessons with a teacher manual and student worksheets.
The other is: Welcome To Country which is an online store which sells resources that are useful.
Stay informed and help your students stay informed. It is important that we value all people.
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