{"id":11629,"date":"2015-10-20T05:37:11","date_gmt":"2015-10-19T18:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/?p=11629"},"modified":"2017-07-30T06:32:30","modified_gmt":"2017-07-30T06:32:30","slug":"aboriginal-literacy-program-flourishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/aboriginal-literacy-program-flourishes\/","title":{"rendered":"Aboriginal literacy program flourishes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Celebrating<\/a>
Celebrating achievements at graduation day in Bourke.
Photo: Edwina Pickles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A whole-of-community adult literacy campaign based on a revolutionary Cuban education method is having life-changing results in Indigenous communities in outback NSW.<\/p>\n

The first pilot of the Cuban-designed mass literacy education program conducted in Wilcannia in 2012 helped reduce crime and increase school attendance. Now it’s flourishing in Bourke and Enngonia and is about to begin in Brewarrina. <\/p>\n

Professor Jack Beetson, Executive Director of the Literacy for Life Foundation, which coordinates the program, says it\u2019s the community\u2019s involvement in the preparation and delivery of the campaign that distinguishes this project from other models and makes it well suited for Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n

Whole community approach<\/h3>\n

The first stage of the three-phase program engages the community with household surveys and discussion about literacy. \u2018Local people go door to door to do a household survey and visit everyone so everyone starts to talk about literacy. And once everyone starts to talk about it, the shame diminishes.\u2019<\/p>\n

In the second phase, local Aboriginal people who are employed and trained as tutors run 13 weeks of reading and writing lessons for learners based on a set of DVDs. The final stage is 12 weeks of activities to help people consolidate their literacy skills and take next steps \u2013 whether it\u2019s to find work, do further training, be involved in providing services to their community or be more involved with their family.<\/p>\n

\u2018A lot of parents and grandparents are happy to do it so they can help the kids and grandkids with their homework.\u2019<\/p>\n

Illiteracy rates amongst Aboriginal Australians are estimated at around 40\u201350% and even higher in some regional and remote areas. Poor literacy adds to disadvantage, making it more difficult for people to find work, manage their health, be involved with their child\u2019s schooling and participate in the management of their communities.<\/p>\n

Classes aim to bring students to a minimum of level one and a maximum of level two as measured by the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF).<\/p>\n

Literacy\u00a0as a human right<\/h3>\n

Jack says literacy is a fundamental human right. \u2018One of most basic human rights is the right to learn. To be literate is everybody\u2019s right and it\u2019s the responsibility of the literate person to attend to that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Part of that responsibility is getting behind any campaign that will help people to learn to read and write. \u2018People feel ashamed of not being able to read and write, so learning from your own is very important.<\/p>\n

\u2018Literacy is one of the most empowering things you can give to people,\u2019 Jack says. \u2018It gives Aboriginal people the ability to take control of their lives as individuals, families and communities.\u2019 It\u2019s a critical part of breaking down inequality and building a society in which everyone can participate.<\/p>\n

Learning to read opens doors<\/h3>\n

Literacy for Life began in Bourke in September 2013 and by the end of last year 81 people graduated and the campaign had an 80% completion rate.<\/p>\n

Jack says the campaign has had an impact on the crime rate. \u2018There\u2019s been a significant reduction in the number of Aboriginal people engaged with the criminal justice system. Just months before the campaign began Bourke was described in the papers as the most dangerous town on earth. Now the Local Area Police Commander wants us to stay at least another five years.\u2019<\/p>\n

Eighty per cent of Aboriginal people in court in Bourke are there for traffic offences, usually for driving without a licence. \u2018If you can\u2019t read you can\u2019t get a driver\u2019s licence. You also can\u2019t do the training to get an OH&S white card to work in building, mining or construction. Learning to read bridges the gap between unemployment and employment. With a driving licence and white card you\u2019ve got more work opportunities, better quality of life and you\u2019re less likely to end up in court.<\/p>\n

\"Jack-Beetson-at-Brewarrina-launch-resized\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Improved literacy\u00a0benefits whole community\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u2018Everybody in Bourke is raving about the campaign, from the shopkeepers to bankers to tradespeople as well as the Aboriginal community. Everyone notices the change it\u2019s made to the town.\u2019<\/p>\n

The results at Enngonia, where the campaign began in March 2014, tell a similar story, with parents as well as kids more engaged with school. \u2018The principal of the Enngonia local school says it\u2019s been life-changing for her because parents are now asking about their childrens\u2019 report cards, they\u2019re reading to their kids at home. She\u2019s seen a big improvement in the children\u2019s reading as a result. The parents are communicating much more with the school, and coming along to help and take part in school events, all of which they\u2019ve never done before.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Low literacy affects everyone in the\u00a0community. It affects the economy, the health
\nsystem, the legal system. People with low\u00a0literacy are far more likely to need and access a\u00a0whole range of other services.\u2019<\/h3>\n

The involvement of the community has been critical in the success of the project, Jack says. \u2018The community is trained so that once we step back they can run it on their own. That defines the difference between honourable and dishonourable programs. This model promotes independence, where the Aboriginal community takes ownership and runs it. The alternative model is relying on external trainers who don\u2019t live in the community who have a \u2018fly in, fly out\u2019 approach, which promotes dependency.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Our approach does wonders for the whole community and encourages other people to get involved.\u2019<\/p>\n

The local Aboriginal people employed as teachers may be in paid work for the first time in their lives and they love the work because they can see the impact of it every day.<\/p>\n

\u2018The economic consequences are enormous. The jury\u2019s been in for 50 years on the link between literacy and better health. Once people become literate, their health improves. For example, they\u2019re more likely to benefit from medications because they can read the dosage instructions.<\/p>\n

\u2018I think it\u2019s one of the most extraordinary and rewarding things I\u2019ve been involved in in my life. I play a very hands-on role in community engagement. I bring together the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in town. It\u2019s a peace building role in some ways. No one can disagree that learning to read and write is a good thing so it\u2019s a matter of finding ways of working together.\u2019<\/p>\n

You just have to attend one of the graduation ceremonies to get a sense of how important literacy is to people, Jack says. \u2018When graduates read their story out at this very public event there isn\u2019t a dry eye in the house.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Literacy for Life Foundation<\/a> was formed in 2013 and is a partnership between national health research body The Lowitja Institute,<\/a> the University of New England<\/a>, and construction company Brookfield Multiplex<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A whole-of-community adult literacy campaign based on a revolutionary Cuban education method is having life-changing results in Indigenous communities in outback NSW. The first pilot of the Cuban-designed mass literacy education program conducted in Wilcannia in 2012 helped reduce crime and increase school attendance. Now it’s flourishing in Bourke and Enngonia and is about to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":11646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAboriginal literacy program flourishes - Adult Learning Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/aboriginal-literacy-program-flourishes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Aboriginal literacy program flourishes - Adult Learning Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A whole-of-community adult literacy campaign based on a revolutionary Cuban education method is having life-changing results in Indigenous communities in outback NSW. 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