STUDENT INCLUSION LEADER

An example of using Aboriginal perspectives and culture in the classroom, from Kimberley Cody’s Unit 1 Sociology class:

'In U1AOS1, Year 11 students look at 'youth' as a social construct and used C. Wright Mill’s Sociological Imagination (1959) to look into the varied experiences of youth in local, national and international contexts. Last week, the students, Ms Gelsomina Timpano, and I participated in a yarning circle to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. We communicated on the Dreamtime, their pedagogies and rites of passage (i.e., walkabouts), and how British colonisation impacted their histories and cultures. We discussed the Stolen Generations, intergenerational trauma and their deleterious effects on local Aboriginal communities. We also critiqued media representations of First Peoples and considered the wide-ranging impacts of homogenous thinking. As we collaborated, we communicated with each other in a calm and collected manner. I was reminded that I am privileged to teach capable and confident students at SJC Mildura.'

Mrs Michelle Winderlich

Student Inclusion Leader