Eight Aboriginal Ways of Learning

Incorporating Aboriginal perspectives is a requirement for public school teachers in New South Wales, however I would wager that most would struggle with doing this in an authentic, non-tokenistic manner.

Tyson Kaawoppa Yunkaporta, an Aboriginal Education Consultant for Western New South Wales, has created a richly evolving space at http://8ways.wikispaces.com/about the eight ways that Aboriginal people learn. I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Western New South Wales for sharing this knowledge and their generosity in making it available for teachers to use. I hope that this becomes a vessel for skyrocketing educational outcomes for Aboriginal students.

I would have loved being taught in these ways and definitely would have relished going to school even more than I did - yes, a total nerd! But who can resist the pull of deep, contextualised learning? So let's use it!

Is it all in the head?

Maybe it is, but it's in the physical world that much of what goes on upstairs has its impact.

The parts that comprise a person are awfully and intricately webbed. Applied to teaching, I find it impossible not to see children (or anyone, for that matter) holistically.

I've been finding myself drawn into wanting to be more involved in student welfare. And although it has historically served a responsive role, I've been chuffed to find a relatively recent movement towards positive psychology, which seeks to foster elements that enable people to thrive, as opposed to just survive. This philosophy resonates deeply with me and so of course I've devised another of my frequent plans (harebrained or pie-in-the-sky styled plans 8-) I'm often told) so that I can do something about this. Scratch, scratch, scratch!

So my goal is this: work towards school counselling and in this role research, develop and implement school and community-wide programs that strengthen individuals, families and society. Start in Western Sydney, and then work with leaders in the field to evangelise the nation!

In the meantime, it's going to mean a lot of work :D Small steps first. I'm applying for psychology sponsorship and then retraining. Thanks, DET. This process will take several years, so there's time to flesh out the steps and details of the plan.

Yes, I still believe in education as a key, but I believe that there is another part I can play, where I will feel at peace, pursuing that which I feel even more pivotal. I knew something wasn't quite right, that there's a deeper need. After all, yes, there's a key, but we need to consider the individuals to whom that key has been offered.