What Are Indigenous Australians Identity Stereotypes

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Preparation to Teach – Identity, Culture and Stereotypes Indigenous Australians have been educating their children for thousands of years. Since ancient times, young Indigenous Australians have been raised with a sense of purpose; their talents observed and nurtured by knowledgeable adult and peer mentors (Price, 2012). Lester (as cited in Price, 2012) depicts Indigenous education beautifully, “the world around us was our class room [sic]; the five senses were our means of learning. The grannies were examiners, the elders masters” (p. 4). This seems in stark contrast to judgements from European invaders who deemed Indigenous Australians to be “uneducable” (Price, 2012, p. 2) “natives” (Harrison, 2012, p. 26). Ironically, the Europeans were…show more content…
Morgan and Slade (1998) made a good point discussing Aboriginal Australian perspectives of “invasion, brutality, betrayal, domination, … neglect and exclusion of their people, their culture and their lands” (p. 7). This evoked memories of history lessons in the 1970’s classroom dominated by a Western worldview that proclaimed “discovery, settlement, commonwealth … growth, and opportunity” (Morgan & Slade, 1998, p. 7). I cannot imagine how isolated and excluded my Indigenous peers would have felt in that classroom which overlooked their cultures and identities. As a future primary school teacher I vow to be inclusive of all students by providing a classroom that values cultural diversity and equality (Forrest, 2015). Inviting Elders to share stories with students is not wholly sufficient in isolation; personal development of a strong understanding of Indigenous cultures and values throughout my teacher education course and career is critical to supporting and building relationships with Indigenous students (Forrest,
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