Rural and Remote Education - Qld
Rural
and Remote Education - Qld
Public meeting in
Normanton, 5 October 1999 - notes
The community meeting
was attended by approximately 15 people including community health workers,
teachers, parents and members of the local Indigenous community. From
HREOC: Chris Sidoti, Human Rights Commissioner; Lady Pearl Logan, Queensland
Co-Commissioner; and two Commission staff.
School attendance
"Attendance at the
school in Normanton is poor."
"The rate of absenteeism
is much higher for Indigenous children."
"Some children don't
attend school because they don't have adequate clothing."
"Many of the Indigenous
parents did not have happy experiences at school themselves. This makes
them less likely to encourage their own children to attend school. Building
up parents' confidence in the school system takes work and effort."
Relations between
the school and the community
"Teachers do not
form links with Aboriginal community members. Most parents of Indigenous
children do not know their children's teachers."
"If there isn't a
decent relationship between the school and the community then you might
as well not send your kids to school. We only get invited to the school
when our kids are in trouble. They never tell us when the kids do something
good."
"For a while there
were regular barbeques for parents and teachers to get to know each other.
They were funded by ASSPA [Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness].
However, they have since fallen by the wayside."
"Indigenous parents
should be invited to the school to participate in school activities. Some
of the white parents participate in reading classes. If parents cannot
read, then they should be supported to become involved in other school
activities such as art or sports."
"If you could encourage
just a few parents to meet the teachers it might catch on and you would
find that parents would have a more positive attitude to the school."
"When local people
meet with the school to discuss problems and issues, it should not be
at the school. Meetings should be held on neutral ground, somewhere in
the community."
"Once kids start
seeing parents and teachers getting on better, their attendance will improve."
"The community has
had to fight hard for decent conditions at the school, yet I've only ever
thought of it as the teachers' school and not the community's school.
The teachers come and go but the community will always be there. We should
be able to feel that it is our school."
Teachers
"Experienced teachers
do not want to come to places like Normanton."
"Newly graduated
teachers who come to work here need mentors to guide and advise them.
They should each have one of the existing teachers appointed as their
mentor."
"If the teachers
were more caring there would be better relations between blacks and whites
at the school and in the community."
"Many teachers have
done Aboriginal Studies but it does not seem to be reflected in the way
they respond to Indigenous children."
"Teachers need to
focus their attention on what Indigenous children can do and not what
they cannot do."
"I'm very concerned
about class size. Some of the classes are too big."
Access to secondary
education
"In the Croydon Shire
we only have a primary school."
Indigenous culture
and language
"There is no teaching
of Aboriginal culture at Normanton or Croydon, except during NAIDOC week."
"Our children study
Indonesian and other languages at school, but they don't learn Aboriginal
languages. They should be able to study their own language."
Educational curriculum
"Schools need to
put more energy into literacy and numeracy for kids."
"Girls here are not
discouraged from doing traditionally male subjects. Some girls have attended
woodwork classes at the school."
Drugs, alcohol and
suicide
"Drugs - mainly marijuana
- are coming into the community at a huge rate. It is no surprise to walk
down the street and see someone smoking marijuana."
"There are children
as young as nine years who are taking drugs and not attending school."
"Drug taking has
contributed to under-age sex in the community."
"An Aboriginal Drug
and Alcohol Liaison Officer has been appointed in the community but the
situation has not improved."
"There are drug and
alcohol programs for young people but they don't address the needs of
Indigenous youth."
"We have a very high
rate of youth suicide here. It is mostly males in the 16-20 year age range.
Some of it is drug and alcohol related but not all of it. There are no
youth suicide prevention programs operating in the community. We need
more counselling and other support services for these young people."
"There are no debriefing
programs for children at school after suicide and other critical incidents."
"We need more preventive
services for young people and not just 'band-aid' responses after the
event."
Health issues
"Every two or three
weeks a dentist from Karumba visits Normanton. To get an appointment you
have to book very early otherwise you miss out."
"The flying doctor
visits Normanton every fortnight. His work includes immunisation of children.
The school works with the hospital to follow up families for the purpose
of immunisation. We have a 98% immunisation rate."
"Up until 12 months
ago we hadn't had an optometrist visit here for four years. This is unsatisfactory
as glaucoma is a very serious problem in the community."
"The child health
service from Mt Isa visits once a year and does full health checks on
the children."
"There is an urgent
need for a labour ward in the community. When a woman has a baby she has
to leave the community for up to four weeks or even longer. This places
a great strain on families."
Boarding school
"There is insufficient
support for remote children who move to the city on their own to further
their education. This is one of the reasons why they have a high drop-out
rate. Some kind of support system should be set up for them. It is needed
by those who go to boarding school as well as those who board with relatives."
"I worked at a boarding
school for 15 years. A lot of children who came to boarding school from
remote communities did not last there. They left school and went back
because they missed their family and friends. These kids have a strong
connection with their community so it is difficult for them when they
leave. If they had support groups to help them they might be able to cope
better at boarding school."
"I don't want my
child to have to leave Normanton after Year 10 to go to boarding school.
I would like him to be able to do the last 2 years of school here, not
through distance education but at a real school."
"Many Indigenous
children have their first experience of serious racism at boarding school,
away from the support of their family and community."
"Boarding schools
have a much wider range of subject choice than local schools in Normanton
and other communities."
"At boarding school
if children are weak in a particular subject they can usually get some
remedial teaching. It is much harder to get that kind of support at local
schools."
"Only 3 or 4 Indigenous
children from Normanton would go on to do Years 11 and 12 each year. At
boarding school, they put you into the subjects they think you should
do."
Technology
"There is very low
use of information technology and telecommunications in Normanton and
surrounding areas. Internet use is very low. Public phones are all dial
phones."
"The technology that
is available to rural and remote communities is under-used."
"The school years
are vital for helping children familiarise themselves with technology.
Distance education should include a greater component of computer education."
Distance education
"I applied for my
son to be admitted to distance education. It is now eight weeks and I
still haven't received an answer."
"We get very little
advice about how to access distance education. Many people don't know
where the various schools are located, how to apply to them and how to
find out about the programs they offer."
"There should be
support groups for remote children and their parents involved in distance
education, with people to facilitate the groups."
"Parents and others
providing tuition at home for children undertaking distance education
should be given more support. There is some support at the primary level,
though not enough. There is even less support at secondary level."
Climate
"The high temperatures
we get here make learning very difficult. The school is air-conditioned
but many of the children come from homes that are too hot."
"The school timetable
should be flexible enough to cater for community needs and circumstances.
In the summer it gets very hot, so the school would be better off commencing
classes early and finishing at around 2.00pm. Another option might be
to close the school during summer and have longer hours during winter."
"The kids should
have their long break at around 10.30am before it is too hot."
"School term dates
should also be flexible enough to cater for the wet season, when many
children are not able to travel to school because of prolonged flooding."
"Some of the classes
are too long for children's concentration span, especially when the weather
is very hot."
"When kids go to
school during the wet season they often arrive at school soaked. This
is dangerous for their health. We need a bus service to pick the kids
up and drop them home. They get exhausted in the hot season and drenched
in the wet season."
Homelands education
"There should be
more homelands programs for children from remote Indigenous communities.
If these children could receive their education from teachers sent out
to their homeland rather than at a school, they would be more motivated
and less distracted. They would be studying in their own environment close
to their family and support networks."
TAFE
"We have a TAFE College
in Normanton but it is very difficult to attract good staff. The availability
of TAFE courses is limited very much by our ability to get appropriate
staff."
"The TAFE College
should be more supportive of students in the Remote Area Teacher Education
Program (RATEP). It would be really helpful to them if they could use
some of the facilities at TAFE."
Last
updated 2 December 2001.