Conference Papers
Session E 3.1. Nurturing a love of learning: lessons from history
1. Lawrie Bamblett. What is Ambition?: storytelling and a love of learning at Erambie Mission
Representations of Aborigines affect the ways that students and teachers engage within mainstream classrooms. This paper was written in response to a teachers claim that being a middle-aged white man meant that he had nothing in common with the Koori students in his class. Years of observing and participating in a Wiradjuri oral history tradition are summarized to describe how storytelling fosters a love of learning in one Koori community. In doing so the paper offers a balance to the bank of stories that assume deficit within Indigenous communities. The story told in this paper is an important and timely reminder of shared human values and ambitions.
Author bio: Laurie Bamblett works in community development at Erambie Mission in central western NSW where he is chairperson of Erambie Advancement Corporation. His community work is based at Erambie’s Yalbillinga Boori Multi-purpose Aboriginal Children’s Service. He focuses on engagement between the Koori community and mainstream education, health and employment services. Laurie has been a post-doctoral Indigenous Visiting Research Fellow at AIATSIS since 2009. His research interests include the ways that representations of identity effect engagement between Indigenous communities and mainstream society.
2. Simone Alcorso: Thomas James, Influential Teacher of the Cummeragunja Mission
The influence of Thomas James on his students during the early 1900’s is substantial and to date has only been scantly recognised. A few historians have mentioned him in various accounts, however an in depth study of this man as a teacher and leader of the Cummeragunja community has been seriously overlooked. Preliminary research has indicated that he was the teacher of several significant Indigenous activists of the pre war period leading up to the demonstrations of the Day of Mourning in 1938. These activists include his son Shadrach James, his brother-in-law William Cooper, and later Jack Patten, James's nephew (Sir) Douglas Nicholls, and Eric and William Onus who were founders of the Australian Aborigines' League. My thesis indicates that recognition of good teachers who inspire their students and create a love of learning was apparent 100 years ago. So why has it taken so long for this to be recognised? It also links successful education to the rise of significant leaders who lobbied for reform of overall policies affecting their communities. Research also indicates that Thomas James was not encouraged to teach Aboriginal children beyond grade two. However, he defied the authorities of the Aboriginal Protection Board and ensured that all mission children regularly attended school and that they should progress as far as they were able. Not only did he ensure that they left his school with literacy skills he inspired them to believe they could achieve anything they wished. Today we would laud his efforts, however in that time he was reprimanded by the APB, who thwarted all his attempts to improve the conditions of the school. His legacy is significant and his history should be exposed and recognised as a substantial contribution to the rise of the activists he taught.
Author bio: I have been involved in issues of social justice and human rights for most of my career. My involvement with Indigenous issues began as an Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator in the early 1980’s. This involvement led to the establishment of an Indigenous Art Gallery promoting urban Aboriginal art and which worked as a cooperative with the artists sharing the profits. Unfortunately, the concept and the art were ahead of their time and due to lack of popularity, the gallery doors were closed prematurely. Many of the artists who hung their work in the gallery now enjoy considerable fame both in Australia and abroad. I hold a Masters Degree in Education from Stanford. My continued interest in Education for marginalised groups has led to me undertaking a PhD at NCIS. My thesis examines the historical implications of Education and how the educational circumstances of the turn of the 20th century influenced the growth of Indigenous leaders prior to World War II. As a resident of Sydney and a part-time student at ANU, I teach at the University of Sydney for the Koori Centre and the Education Faculty. My courses include Introduction to Indigenous Australia and Social Perspectives on Education.
3. Wayne Atkinson: Following Grandpa's footsteps to the Scholars Hut