Hearing silences: Aboriginal Australians using literacy to have a voice. Review of five IFTE 2003 Sessions

Abstract

With the recent push for schools and teachers to play an active and positive role towards reconciliation between Australia’s traditional land owners and the more recent arrivals, it is more necessary than ever for teachers to better understand the multiple viewpoints and the complex issues that surround such a topic. IFTE 2003 provided many sessions where literacy teachers could hear from a diverse range of Aboriginal Australians. For me, such an opportunity was a crucial part of developing a better understandings about my role as a literacy teacher in these New Times. I have titled my review of five of these sessions as ‘Hearing Silences’. This was because IFTE 2003 provided a forum for Aboriginal Australians to talk about what literacy teachers should do for Aboriginal students in particular and for non-Aboriginal students in general.