The mission of Australians Together is to develop confidence and competence in teachers to effectively embed and teach Indigenous perspectives to students as part of the Australian Curriculum. Their mission is to build confidence in teachers to engage with our complicated history. To teach how history impacts our Australian culture today, so that students can make meaningful responses, have a deep understanding about worldview and act with empathy and understanding as they navigate their lives as Australian citizens. To understand how worldview shaped behaviours which evolved into policies that impact lives. Australians Together seek to see young people move from asking what can I do? To asking Who can I be? And this is a mission that aligns well with who we are as Lutheran schools and our aspirations for how our students will act as change agents, living out God’s love in their world.
In this 3 hour workshop, the group which gathered people from a range of organisations across the country investigated how examining the conceptual understanding of culture can be an incredibly powerful launchpad for developing empathy for all Australians by undertaking activities to better understand ourselves.
The powerful stories and message of the Australians Together mission meant that even in a Monday morning zoom based professional learning session, people were inspired by the impact of the discussion. Jo Maher (Peace Gatton), Karen Koehler (St Andrews), & Helena Lambert (Faith Redlands) joined Derek and I. We finished up the learning opportunity with a discussion about how we can use what we learned to grow and support the work LEQ schools do to embed and value Indigenous Perspectives. Here’s two things to look out for:
- NAIDOC week has shifted to November this year due to Covid. We will put out some suggestions early next term for what school communities could do during this week to recognise and celebrate our Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander brothers & sisters.
- Early next year we will facilitate a networking opportunity to learn about the Australians Together resources & to support one another, especially as communities consider engaging in writing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).
Stephanie Maher
Director – Identity & Formation
