The History Wars (in our schools)

The Impact of Colonisation is a challenging topic that attempt to examine the dispossession of land and the way of life experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under British colonial rule.

In respect to the Government Policies and Practices module, students are asked to examine the issues dominating Indigenous interaction with ‘authority’. Students are also required to examine and discuss past policies and practices of government and non-government institutions and the impact they have had on the lives of the first Australians.

I believe a graduate teacher, taking a core unit that covers a similar range of modules from any Australian university, could adequately cover the pre-1788 history of Australia through the invasion years post first fleet arrival, the protection, assimilation and integration policy eras, post-Whitlam years with the introduction of a multitude of indigenous service organisations, native title years; Mabo, Wik and the Ten Point Plan, reconciliation years and finally the era of uncertainty post ATSIC.

I also believe teachers would be confident in relating to the past 218 years of white history in Australia by talking about the above issues and by comparing and contrasting dates and issues identified by Professor Melleuish. These include a number of critical questions. How did a convict society change into a free society? What were the relations between Aborigines and settlers? Why did Australia become so prosperous? What were the relations between men and women? What were the plans and dreams for Australian society?

The history of this country, black and white, would become clearer to students and teachers alike if they admitted that ‘White Australia has a Black History’. Denial is what got us to the place we are in today and we all know first hand that ignorance breeds contempt.

The principal reason for the high level of racism in our society towards non-white Australians, especially Indigenous Australians, is because educators failed in their duty to depict us in a positive light and dispel the myths peddled by bigoted parents. Students leave school after 12 years, many not having met an Indigenous Australian, and continue through life with a stereotypical view based on a lack of knowledge and a propensity to believe biased views of conservative social commentators who saturate the media.

One only has to read our social indicators of life expectancy, incarceration rates, unemployment, home ownership, education, income and health statistics, to realise that governments of all persuasions have failed in their programmes to address our disproportionate level of disadvantage.

If Minister Bishop’s radical proposal was implemented, provided that the Indigenous component was signed off by our Indigenous education leaders, I believe the effectiveness of the new history teachings would have the potential to produce a new generation of politicians who hopefully will be more culturally informed and inclusive in their dealings with us.

Only then might the apt words of Dr King: sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity, become inconsequential when referring to our celebrated politicians.