Lynette Mallard’s lecture about Aboriginal identity, culture, and stereotypes justified the negativity that I have already associated with both negative and positive stereotypes based on my personal experiences. Mallard (2016) brought to light how stereotypes directed at Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander people have the substantial ability to influence perceptions, value, and beliefs. Subsequently, it is important to work towards relinquishing long held, repressive perceptions and attitudes about Aboriginal people (Sarra, 2014). When reading ‘Beyond Victims’ by Sarra, I came across the Stronger Smarter philosophy, which assists professionals in promoting a positive sense of cultural identity within Aboriginal students.

As a future teacher, I felt it necessary to sign up to the Stronger Smarter Institute and complete the professional learning module specifically designed to enable teachers to explore and enhance educational outcomes for Indigenous students. By doing so, I was able to gain more insight into the Aboriginal culture and form an understanding of the Aboriginal way of life. More particularly, I was able to recognise that Aboriginal people hold different practices from mainstream society. This was supported by Mallard (2016), who explained that when a child does not hold eye contact for instance, it is not a sign of disrespect, rather a way to show respect. The teachers in ‘Connecting with Aboriginal Culture’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010) elaborated that by establishing relationships with Aboriginal families, we are able to avoid asserting white customs onto Aboriginal students.

I aim to utilise Yunkaportas’ ‘connectedness to the community’ method of learning by forging strong relationships with Aboriginal families. It allows for collaboration with the Aboriginal community who can contribute to fostering an environment where Indigenous students and families feel that they are respected and valued. Through the encouragement of self-worth and cultural values, I can ensure that students are treated with fairness and respect (Sarra, 2014). In turn, this increases acceptance of one’s self and others, ultimately establishing high expectation relationships built on understanding.

Strategies for building high expectation relationships are incorporable into my classroom through frequent team building experiences. As a class, for instance, we can approach ‘learning through narrative’ by playing the game Zoom; requiring students to receive a unique picture to instigate a story that incorporates the assigned photo, the next student carries on the story whilst incorporating their own photo (Teach Thought, 2013). Activities such as this bring students together in a relaxed setting, which will allow them to be themselves without strict classroom formalities. 

Culturally responsive teachers are able to meet the needs of Aboriginal students. These teachers are valuable educators, who have high expectations of students with regard to their standard of learning and their behaviour (O'Neill, 2007). Hence, rather than just lower my expectations, I will endeavour to personalise the learning experience for all students, monitor their progress, and constantly reflect on how well my method of teaching is as well as search for more effective approaches of teaching students who are not responding. Above all, my priority is to provide activities that assist students in building their self-worth, sense of belonging and respect for diversity; encouragement of empathetic and caring relationships dictates the core of my teaching philosophy.