Cultural Identity Stereotypes

Identity, Culture & Stereotypes

Identity is important to everyone in the world so you know who you are, where you from and your culture and history. As Hoy Linda Burney mentioned (Awaken, 2014): “Identity is not about the way you look. It’s how you feel, how you connect to the country. It’s the way we treat each other as Aboriginal people and protect our history, our strength and our pride.” I think Indigenous students need to know their identity and culture so they do not feel confused about where they from and they know their culture is broad and profound. As a future teacher, it is significant to demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students

Therefore, I will need to understand my identity first which I do not feel confuse and I can answer my students when they ask the question about identity. Also, I will need to understand the Indigenous cultures, why is the culture influences Indigenous people a lot, how many languages do they have and what languages do they use so I know what strategies should be used to teach them. Hence, if I take Yunkapota’s 8 ways of learning and use the symbols and images aspect to include a unit of work to teach students the information about Indigenous culture (Yunkaporta, 2009, p. 5-6). I can plan and implement a unit of work by asking a Local Elder to teach students to paint a traditional Aboriginal artwork. Students can discuss the story and cultural elements that showed in the artwork so both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students are improving the

A principal from NSW said that if Aboriginal children don’t perceive the teacher to be fair dinkum the teacher will lose 95 per cent of the Aboriginal kids instantly (What works, n.d.). Therefore, educators have the responsibility to build a harmonious class to support Indigenous students to feel a sense of belonging and connection to the school (Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework, 2015, p. 12). Unfortunately, I had an experience of stereotype last year, when my friend and I walked on the street at the city, a person came us immediately and she was spitting at us and pulling my hair. Consequently, I will need to take into account in my future class that my Indigenous students may face stereotypes by other non-Indigenous students because I know the feeling when others are stereotyping a child. To understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (AITSL, 2014), I would take Yunkaporta’s 8 ways of learning and use the story telling aspect to initiate a unit of work (Yunkapota, 2009, p. 4-5), in collaboration with parents to help them understand each other’s culture. When a cultural day is coming, I will invite parents to bring their traditional food into the class. I will share a story about the biggest festival in my country such as Chinese New Year. Afterward, every child needs to