"I can say that we are a fairly unique situation here at Girl Academy. We're offering opportunities for students to learn more about their first languages. We're offering more opportunities for students to be exposed to the diversity and interwoven layers of Indigenous communities ...The teachers here are really mindful of our students' cultures ... so that we can help them build upon their knowledge of their own traditional culture." – Baressa Frazer.
How can Indigenous students be best supported in their learning environments? What are the unique cultural considerations that must be taken into account whilst educating Indigenous students? What does it mean to "be shame"?
For educators all across Australia, these are important questions to think and reflect deeply upon. As these questions guide the daily teaching practices of the Cape York Girl Academy staff, we believe that their perspectives and experiences can offer a lot to other educators of Indigenous students.
On this week's episode of Time to Listen, we speak with Baressa Frazer, Madeleine Boyd and Catalina Bejarano-Sanchez – three educators with real-time experience in teaching Indigenous students. Baressa is the former principle of the Cape York Girl Academy and current principle of Aurukun State School. Madeleine and Catalina are currently teaching at the Cape York Girl Academy.
Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they have had to adapt their teaching practices to suit the needs of the Indigenous students at the Cape York Girl Academy. They also talk about their observed differences between educating Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and how cultural safety is an important factor when teaching Indigenous students.
Baressa speaks from her perspective, as an Indigenous person, about what the 'shame factor' is, and how it plays a harmful and obstructive role in Indigenous lives. Baressa, Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they have avoided putting their students in a position where they may feel shame.
We speak about trauma-informed approaches to teaching, avoiding deficit-orientated and punitive responses to dysregulation, and meeting students' wellbeing needs to ensure they feel most able to learn.
We also talk about how the Cape York Girl Academy has interwoven traditional culture and ways of learning into the fabric of its curriculum and teaching practices. Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they, as non-Indigenous teachers, are continually engaging in professional development that focusses on knowledge of Indigenous culture.
We conclude by addressing the key things that other educators around Australia could learn from the Cape York Girl Academy's experience. Madeleine, Cataline and Baressa also share some heart-warming success stories concerning the development of their students.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you listened to episode 5 of Time to Listen, wherein we introduce the Cape York Girl Academy? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/Apple-Time-to-Listen-Girl-Academy (Apple/iTunes)
https://bit.ly/Spotify-Time-to-Listen-Girl-Academy (Spotify)
Would you like to learn more about the Cape York Girl Academy? Check out their website:
Cape York Girl Academy - Cape York Partnership