The importance of connecting with community is a well-travelled topic in education, particularly with Indigenous communities in Australia. I feel, though, that it is often a long and slow process for non-Indigenous educators. Why can it be so hard to build community connections? What strategies have people in other communities put in place to connect with families, students, colleagues and elders in environments that are not centred within our own Western experience?
Recently, I had the pleasure to work with Education Changemakers and a number of our Anangu educators in the Indigenous Education Worker Program through Charles Darwin University. It was an honour and pleasure to work alongside a range of educators from Central Australia to discuss strategies for positive change in our communities. Building an understanding of country, life in community and culture was raised by some of our educators as an issue that they would like to develop a solution for. The action plan that we drew up involved taking piranpa staff out on country with Anangu educators and their families for an evening or a camping trip. It was a simple solution - but had the potential to be quite powerful.
Bush trips are not a new idea at our school, but it is rare for our staff to go out on country without students in tow as a collective group. We have had reasonably high turnover in recent years and a lot of knowledge amongst piranpa staff can quickly be lost. With a group of new and old teachers, the start of this term presented as a perfect opportunity to trial an activity that could become part of a regular induction to the school.
As a piranpa educator, the pressure to try and 'organise' everything was incredibly great. As I worked with our educators to bring our action plan into fruition, I found myself generating ideas of what we should be doing, how to do it. These were even added into the plan. However, when it came to the event, these parts were left out. As we set up our site, I watched as my Anangu colleagues took control of the evening, sending the ladies off to learn to dance, while the men learnt how to cook malu wipu (roo tail) properly. People fluidly moved through country; kids rolled down sand hills laughing; adults wandered nearby exploring the area.
It was an important night for our staff. I think it helped us to connect with each other - Anangu and Piranpa - in a different context. But most importantly, it reminded me of the importance to work flexibly, with intent but without rigidity. A partnership after all means 'with', not 'for' or 'by'.
What are other examples of building community within remote schools?
Recently, I had the pleasure to work with Education Changemakers and a number of our Anangu educators in the Indigenous Education Worker Program through Charles Darwin University. It was an honour and pleasure to work alongside a range of educators from Central Australia to discuss strategies for positive change in our communities. Building an understanding of country, life in community and culture was raised by some of our educators as an issue that they would like to develop a solution for. The action plan that we drew up involved taking piranpa staff out on country with Anangu educators and their families for an evening or a camping trip. It was a simple solution - but had the potential to be quite powerful.
Bush trips are not a new idea at our school, but it is rare for our staff to go out on country without students in tow as a collective group. We have had reasonably high turnover in recent years and a lot of knowledge amongst piranpa staff can quickly be lost. With a group of new and old teachers, the start of this term presented as a perfect opportunity to trial an activity that could become part of a regular induction to the school.
As a piranpa educator, the pressure to try and 'organise' everything was incredibly great. As I worked with our educators to bring our action plan into fruition, I found myself generating ideas of what we should be doing, how to do it. These were even added into the plan. However, when it came to the event, these parts were left out. As we set up our site, I watched as my Anangu colleagues took control of the evening, sending the ladies off to learn to dance, while the men learnt how to cook malu wipu (roo tail) properly. People fluidly moved through country; kids rolled down sand hills laughing; adults wandered nearby exploring the area.
It was an important night for our staff. I think it helped us to connect with each other - Anangu and Piranpa - in a different context. But most importantly, it reminded me of the importance to work flexibly, with intent but without rigidity. A partnership after all means 'with', not 'for' or 'by'.
What are other examples of building community within remote schools?