This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/30/literacy-just-doesnt-gel-for-some-indigenous-students-but-we-have-found-solutions
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Literacy just doesn't gel for some Indigenous students – but we have found solutions | Literacy just doesn't gel for some Indigenous students – but we have found solutions |
| (6 days later) | |
| In the remote NSW town of Brewarrina, where 45% to 65% of Aboriginal adults are functionally illiterate, a community-run program is making a difference | In the remote NSW town of Brewarrina, where 45% to 65% of Aboriginal adults are functionally illiterate, a community-run program is making a difference |
| Sun 30 Jul 2017 03.48 BST | Sun 30 Jul 2017 03.48 BST |
| Last modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 12.01 GMT | |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| View more sharing options | View more sharing options |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Close | Close |
| There is a cycle in Indigenous communities: when parents struggle with reading and writing, their children often do too. Literacy is different for every person – it just doesn’t gel for some folk. The reasons are varied but some Indigenous people are not engaging with the western school system in the way that other people do. | There is a cycle in Indigenous communities: when parents struggle with reading and writing, their children often do too. Literacy is different for every person – it just doesn’t gel for some folk. The reasons are varied but some Indigenous people are not engaging with the western school system in the way that other people do. |
| For my documentary In My Own Words, I followed a class of adult Aboriginal students learning to read and write under a different method: one that understood disadvantage, that was Indigenous-led and used teachers from within the community. | For my documentary In My Own Words, I followed a class of adult Aboriginal students learning to read and write under a different method: one that understood disadvantage, that was Indigenous-led and used teachers from within the community. |
| I witnessed people’s confidence grow and their belief in themselves grow. Enough to do things they wouldn’t normally do. | I witnessed people’s confidence grow and their belief in themselves grow. Enough to do things they wouldn’t normally do. |
| I wanted to talk about Indigenous illiteracy for a long time. It has impacted my own family, my friends and colleagues, who are not necessarily illiterate but who struggle with reading and writing or aren’t very confident. As a film-maker, I thought about doing it as a drama, but I realised it needed a documentary. | I wanted to talk about Indigenous illiteracy for a long time. It has impacted my own family, my friends and colleagues, who are not necessarily illiterate but who struggle with reading and writing or aren’t very confident. As a film-maker, I thought about doing it as a drama, but I realised it needed a documentary. |
| In the New South Wales town of Brewarrina, where we filmed, half of the adults in the Indigenous community couldn’t read and write. Nationwide, 45% to 65% of Aboriginal adults are functionally illiterate. | In the New South Wales town of Brewarrina, where we filmed, half of the adults in the Indigenous community couldn’t read and write. Nationwide, 45% to 65% of Aboriginal adults are functionally illiterate. |
| The class was organised by the Literacy for Life Foundation, an Aboriginal-run charity that uses a Unesco-approved, Cuban-developed model designed for disadvantaged communities. | The class was organised by the Literacy for Life Foundation, an Aboriginal-run charity that uses a Unesco-approved, Cuban-developed model designed for disadvantaged communities. |
| Pivotal to the whole method is that they have women or men from the local community running the show. There’s so much that happens outside the classroom that needs to be taken into account. These local facilitators have their eye on the game. | Pivotal to the whole method is that they have women or men from the local community running the show. There’s so much that happens outside the classroom that needs to be taken into account. These local facilitators have their eye on the game. |
| In Brewarrina the coordinator was an amazing woman called Mary Waites. I watched her work with people who were sometimes struggling or feeling a little shy, amazing people smothered by life’s circumstances and poverty. A lot of people were just trialling it, to see if it was something they would do. I watched her and the other teacher, Janelle Frail, just keep people there. | In Brewarrina the coordinator was an amazing woman called Mary Waites. I watched her work with people who were sometimes struggling or feeling a little shy, amazing people smothered by life’s circumstances and poverty. A lot of people were just trialling it, to see if it was something they would do. I watched her and the other teacher, Janelle Frail, just keep people there. |
| The other unique thing about the Cuban model is that the lessons bring out themes for and about marginalised people. It gives students an understanding of why they are at the bottom of the rung, how they aren’t the only people in the world there, and how struggling communities like theirs can improve if they work hard. | The other unique thing about the Cuban model is that the lessons bring out themes for and about marginalised people. It gives students an understanding of why they are at the bottom of the rung, how they aren’t the only people in the world there, and how struggling communities like theirs can improve if they work hard. |
| For every student in that class, the reasons for illiteracy were different. Some really enjoyed school, but there were issues at home that didn’t allow them to learn very well. Some of them had wonderful home lives but had no attention span. | For every student in that class, the reasons for illiteracy were different. Some really enjoyed school, but there were issues at home that didn’t allow them to learn very well. Some of them had wonderful home lives but had no attention span. |
| Some people were of that generation where they were put in missions, and weren’t educated because they weren’t expected to learn to read and write. They were expected to be slaves. In our research, we found there were a number of women for whom this was their life – and they went back in their 70s to learn to read and write. | Some people were of that generation where they were put in missions, and weren’t educated because they weren’t expected to learn to read and write. They were expected to be slaves. In our research, we found there were a number of women for whom this was their life – and they went back in their 70s to learn to read and write. |
| With young men there’s sometimes real resistance; a lot of them didn’t have a great time in school and don’t want to be sitting in a classroom again. I watched Mary work really hard to bring those fellas in the door, and it took a long time. | With young men there’s sometimes real resistance; a lot of them didn’t have a great time in school and don’t want to be sitting in a classroom again. I watched Mary work really hard to bring those fellas in the door, and it took a long time. |
| Not all of them lasted, but one young fellow you see in the documentary did. Mary is confident that it doesn’t matter because there’s always the next intake. After the first intake, everyone else in town who is sitting back and observing the brave ones, they come forward and join the second intake, or the third. | Not all of them lasted, but one young fellow you see in the documentary did. Mary is confident that it doesn’t matter because there’s always the next intake. After the first intake, everyone else in town who is sitting back and observing the brave ones, they come forward and join the second intake, or the third. |
| Mary was very gentle, very persuasive and had a never-give-up kind of style that was amazing. It’s a lot of out-of-hours work. It takes a lot of strength. | Mary was very gentle, very persuasive and had a never-give-up kind of style that was amazing. It’s a lot of out-of-hours work. It takes a lot of strength. |
| Teaching parents to read and write then engages children and grandchildren with literacy. There are schools in Enngonia where the principals say that children’s engagement with reading has improved out of sight. | Teaching parents to read and write then engages children and grandchildren with literacy. There are schools in Enngonia where the principals say that children’s engagement with reading has improved out of sight. |
| Moving forwards from here, the issue is proper funding. The Cuban method is about mass campaigns – doing it across the nation so the problem is fixed relatively quickly. At the moment, Literacy for Life has only been able to do it from town to town with piecemeal financial support. | Moving forwards from here, the issue is proper funding. The Cuban method is about mass campaigns – doing it across the nation so the problem is fixed relatively quickly. At the moment, Literacy for Life has only been able to do it from town to town with piecemeal financial support. |
| People’s lives are very difficult out in these remote communities where all the work has gone. They’re struggling, the town is struggling, and a little thing like this, such a simple thing and relatively inexpensive, can make such a profound kind of difference in giving people confidence and hope. | People’s lives are very difficult out in these remote communities where all the work has gone. They’re struggling, the town is struggling, and a little thing like this, such a simple thing and relatively inexpensive, can make such a profound kind of difference in giving people confidence and hope. |
| As told to Naaman Zhou | As told to Naaman Zhou |
| • Erica Glynn’s In My Own Words will premiere on SBS and NITV on Sunday 30 July at 8.30pm, as part of the You Are Here series | • Erica Glynn’s In My Own Words will premiere on SBS and NITV on Sunday 30 July at 8.30pm, as part of the You Are Here series |
| Indigenous Australians | Indigenous Australians |
| Literacy | Literacy |
| Australian media | Australian media |
| Australian education | Australian education |
| Documentary | Documentary |
| New South Wales | New South Wales |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |