Barrie Goedecke
As a person involved in education in the NT I am greatly interested in anything which will improve educational outcomes for children and low literacy and numeracy adults.
A lot has been said about the need to get children into schools and keep them there. This is a worthwhile challenge which should not be ignored. The problem is that this alone is not the solution. Many children suffer from an educational deficiency because their education ends at the school gate. The reason is that many Indigenous parents are themselves either illiterate or have low literacy and numeracy levels.
The government has removed Remote Area Exemptions to many Indigenous communities thereby forcing Indigenous people to look for work. Often this is not complied with or enforced. As part of the Intervention the government has successfully quarantined welfare payments to restrict grog and provide food for kids.
I believe that adult education could be apart of quarantining or a pre-requisite for the receipt of welfare payments. If people with low literacy and numeracy had to do say 4hrs/wk literacy and numeracy training to receive welfare payments the long term effects would be to not only increase literacy and numeracy amongst adults but also to assist the children of illiterate parents. This would be another initiative towards "Bridging the Gap". Overall it would also have the effect of making more Indigenous adults 'work ready'.
On another front and still with education, across the NT and parts of FNQ and WA the 'wet season' frequently land locks communities at times when schools close for the Christmas/New Year break. This is an ideal time to teach and if just a few schools opened their doors during this time the impact could be significant in improving educational outcomes. Often communities are at a loss of what to do with their kids and adults are also often looking for things to occupy them. Teaching to a 'captive audience' at this time of the year would be an ideal way of improving educational levels.
Please consider?
Barrie Goedecke