ReViewing Australia:

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Dare to Lead National Indigenous Education
Conference What a difference a good start
makes Indigenous Early Childhood
Approaches September 2009 Melbourne
Thinkin you knowgettin it wrongand us
missin out Aboriginal worldview and knowledge,
English literacy great expectations or grating
obsessions? Dr Karen L Martin Associate
Professor in Early Childhood School of
Education, Southern Cross University (Lismore
NSW)
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Acknowledgements
Ancestors Traditional Owners Elders Conferences
Organisers Conference Participants All
who contribute to our individual and collective
Stories
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Equitable and appropriate educational outcomes
...In April 2007, MCEETYA released the 2005
benchmarking results. The overall results show
that most Australian students in Years 3, 5, and
7 are achieving the national literacy and
numeracy benchmarks.... ...Boys have lower
achievements than girls in reading and writing in
Years 3, 5 and 7 while students living in remote
regions, especially in very remote regions,
achieve the benchmarks at lower rates than
metropolitan and provincial students in all year
levels and domains... ...As in previous years,
however, the achievement of Indigenous students
in reading, writing and numeracy was well below
that for All students for every year
level... Commonwealth of Australia. (2007)
National Report to Parliament on Indigenous
Education and Training, 2005. Canberra. WHAT
ISTHE QUESTION THAT MUST BE ASKED IS IT... What
does this mean for a young Aboriginal boy, living
in a remote location in Australia? OR... What
meanings does a young Aboriginal boy, living in a
remote location give to this testing, to the
content, to school, to life?
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The NAPLAN tests for writing are assessed
according to the ability to compose a narrative
based on this definition A narrative is a
time-ordered text that is used to narrate events
and to create, entertain and emotionally move an
audience. Other social purposes of narrative
writing may be to inform, to persuade and to
socialise. The main structural components of a
narrative are the orientation, the complication
and the resolution. The ten criteria assessed in
the writing task are Audience Text
structure Ideas Character and setting
Vocabulary Cohesion Paragraphing
Sentence structure Punctuation
Spelling
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...We do not come to the world sharing exactly
the same experiences and realities. We do not
give exactly the same meanings to these
experiences and realities. Nor do we develop
exactly the same understandings Nor should
we... And now some ways to test your levels
of understanding, the importance of meanings and
the terms of reference for understanding.
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Lets reconsider this test (for writing
narratives) using Aboriginal Terms of
Reference First...the story in its written
form Jinda Ore raid. Dad ol-omen i bin ab
boor jill-rin. Jerry ji ja depela nugudpela bud
jindarila i bi ore raid. Dempela awl-a-dame bin
doc abadim, Jindarila nugudpela, Jindarila
nugudpela!. Ore raid. Dem jerri ji ja, dey bin
huggly do-marge, and dey bin go corroboree, dad
beeg beeg corroboree an Jinda i bin lep om. Den i
bin gray, gray, gray, gray, gray. Den dad perry,
i bi lilwan bit ore-raid and nem bilong im
Pirana Bitch-are-ding i gamab an i bin doc la
Jinda. Dad Pirana awl-a-dame doc, doc, doc.
Wepela bin gal im ngankidi bad i maj bi gainda
marbarn not coj i bin jenj dad raggy durij bla
Jinda and gibim niyu durij do margie gud. An
dad Jinda i bin durave la corroborree ina wayid
G.T. Muduga. Ore raid. Dad Jinda i bin Jigalong
all naid wid nambawanbala. Cundeelee-bim alon?
dem jerry ji ja dey bin doc abad imdupela. Den
Jinda i laig orla jilipela wajula wari, wari,
wari abad dame. Awl-da-dime i bin luk, luk la
waj. Den i bin run op an i bin looj one pela
jinabootba. Ore raid. Nambawanbala i bin luk luk
eberiwe an i bin dray bit dad jinabootba la awla
jina bla awla oowan. Jinda i bin dray jinabootba
an im bin bit im. Yunmibala labda git merry
dumarra. Ore raid. Olman i bin gamab an i bin
doc la imdubala. Najing doing. Yundulbala bi
long la rong jab-jekjin an Jinda bilong la mi.
Ore raid. Den olman bait with nambawanbala an
nambawanbala i bin pinij. Do marie, init?
(Created by Dr Toby Metcalfe, 1993).
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Lets reconsider this test (for writing
narratives) using Aboriginal Terms of
Reference Now...the story in its spoken
form Jinda
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And now the story in its written and verbal
forms. Jinda Ore raid. Dad ol-omen i bin ab
boor jill-rin. Jerry ji ja depela nugudpela bud
jindarila i bi ore raid. Dempela awl-a-dame bin
doc abadim, Jindarila nugudpela, Jindarila
nugudpela!. Ore raid. Dem jerri ji ja, dey bin
huggly do-marge, and dey bin go corroboree, dad
beeg beeg corroboree an Jinda i bin lep om. Den i
bin gray, gray, gray. Den dad perry, i bi lilwan
bit ore-raid and nem bilong im Pirana
Bitch-are-ding i gamab an i bin doc la Jinda.
Dad Pirana awl-a-dame doc, doc, doc. Wepela bin
gal im ngankidi bad i maj bi gainda marbarn
not coj i bin jenj dad raggy durij bla Jinda and
gibim niyu durij do margie gud. An dad Jinda i
bin durave la corroboree ina wayid G.T. Muduga.
Ore raid. Dad Jinda i binJigalong all naid wid
nambawanbala. Cundeelee-bim alon? dem jerry ji
ja dey bin doc abad imdupela. Den Jinda i laig
orla jilipela wajula wari, wari, wari abad
dame. Awl-da-dime i bin luk, luk la waj. Den i
bin run op an i bin looj one pela jinabootba. Ore
raid. Nambawanbala i bin luk luk eberiwe an i bin
dray bit dad jinabootba la awla jina bla awla
oowan. Jinda i bin dray jinabootba an im bin bit
im. Yunmibala labda git merry dumarra. Ore
raid. Olman i bin gamab an i bin doc la imdubala.
Najing doing. Yundulbala bi long la rong
jab-jekjin an Jinda bilong la mi. Ore raid. Den
olman bait with nambawanbala an nambawanbala i
bin pinij. Do margie, init? (Created by Dr Toby
Metcalfe, 1993).
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...We do not come to the world sharing exactly
the same experiences and realities. We do not
give exactly the same meanings to these
experiences and realities. Nor do we develop
exactly the same understandings Nor should
we... And now some discussion to share how
meanings do differ and how this impacts on the
teaching-learning of literacies, but especially
English.
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RELATEDNESS and LIFEHOOD Aboriginal Terms of
Reference
RELATEDNESS THEORY Aboriginal Terms of
Reference MIBU MATILDA GEORGE
KAREN GRANT ??? By Aboriginal Terms of
Reference, is Mibu my Grandmother, mother,
aunty, sister, daughter, niece, grandaughter?

• Conception
• Birth
• Babyhood
• Childhood
• Young adulthood
• Adulthood
• Old age Elders
• Death

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Australian Realities
Aboriginal Realities
Schooling / Education
Aboriginal Studies
Aboriginal Schooling
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That Aboriginal culture is an oral culture and
that makes the acquisition of English written
literacies more difficult. That to be
effective, these English literacy skills must
replace, or fill up an Aboriginal childs
existing understandings and practices for being
multi-literate in their own worlds, homes and
Communities. That carefully selected
artefacts are effective for teaching an
Aboriginal child in English literacies (ie.
computers, games, dvds, books).
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That reading books to learn English is a relevant
and effective strategy in the English literacy
learning of Aboriginal children. That books are
the most relevant means by which to engage,
enthuse and immerse an Aboriginal child in
English literacy. That Aboriginal parents or
families dont value schools. That just doing
good things, nice things, satisfying things is
enough especially if the children / families
say they like it.
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That measuring Aboriginal learners against
non-Aboriginal learners is valid. That testing
Aboriginal learners should not be
different. That being Aboriginal IS the problem
and this needs to be changed, challenged or
erased. It is the task of teachers to replace
the childs reality, vs. expanding his/her
relatedness.
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An interface for the teaching-learning
engagements with Aboriginal learners
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Now...for the low risk takers/low achievers, the
story in a more comfortable form Cinder All
right. That old woman he been have four children.
Fairy sister themfella no good fella but
Cinderella he be alright. Themfella all the time
been talk about him. Cinderella no good fella.
Cinderella no good fella! All right. Them fairy
sister, they been ugly do magic and they been go
dance, that big, big, dance and Cinder he been
left home. Then he been cry, cry, cry. Then that
fairy he be little one bit alright and him belong
Fran Fitzharding he been come up and he been
talk about Cinder. That Fran all-the-time talk,
talk, talk, talk. We fella been call him
ngankidi but he must be have gained a (mabarn)
power not cause he been change that raggedy
dress and give him a new dress do magic good.
And that Cinder he been drive to dance in a white
GT motor-car. All right. That Cinder he been
dance all night with number one fella. Then
Cinder he like all the silly fella whitefella
worry, worry, worry about them. All the time he
been look, look the watch. Then he been run off
and he been lose one fella shoe. All right.
Number one fella he been look, look everywhere
and he been try fit that shoe to all the feet of
all the women. Cinder he been try that shoe and
him been fit him. You and me fella have to get
married tomorrow. All right. Old man he been
come up and he been talk to him two
fella,Nothing doing. You two fella belong the
wrong sub-section and Cinder belong to me. All
right. Then old man fight with number one fella
and number one fella he been finished. Do magic,
eh?
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To our Fathers Fathers, the pain the sorrow...
To our childrens children, the glad
tomorrow Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1993)