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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.