Wauba Debar
Grade 4 learning sequence
Why learn this?
Our mission is to foster the development of open-minded students through incorporating the learning of Civics and Citizenship education (CCE) through Humanities and Social Sciences. Learning CCE fosters the development of active citizenship whilst developing a sense of identity and global responsibility (Tudball & Gordon, 2014). It also allows for your child to make greater sense of new information that may be overwhelming as it is delivered in a format that promotes a rich understanding of world issues (Gordon, 2014).
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| Figure 1. Wauba Debar's headstone (personal photograph). |
What they are learning?
Learning about Australia's treatment of Aboriginal peoples is controversial. However, it enables your child to develop an understanding of Tasmania's history as well foster respect and reconciliation between racial groups (ACARA, 2016).
‘Until we get it right with the teaching of Aboriginal history, then I don't think that we can pretend to be Australians together’
(Dr Jackie Huggins, Indigenous educator, author and activist, Creative Spirits, n.d)..
Lesson 1
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| Figure 2. Grade 4 content descriptor (ACARA, 2016). |
Your child will will be provided with a newspaper article from The Mercury, dated September
28th, 1893. It details the story an Indigenous woman named Wauba Debar. She was taken as a slave by white sealers and lived an interesting life. Her memorial tombstone is in Bicheno, less
than a five minute walk from school.
Students read paragraphs from the article and the class makes sense of the information.
The article states that Indigenous Australians were once described as the lowest type of man in creation. How would this make them feel? How does the language used by the author make you react? For example, ‘…it were an abominable disgrace to us and our history’. Do you think that this article is credible? Why/why not?
The article can be found here: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13304124
Lesson 2
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| Figure 3. Wauba Debar headstone (personal photograph). |
Students apply what they have learnt to modern day contexts by investigating slavery in the 21st century. Students select one of the nations represented below and explore its use of slavery. They create a PowerPoint presentation of their findings to be assessed.
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| Figure 4. Slavery chart (Mic, 2014). |
Your child will be provided with the opportunity to engage in critical discussion about this controversial civics topic. This, in turn, connects to citizenship education through the making of meaningful connections between past and present (Reynolds, 2012).
How can I help?
You can support your child's learning through encouraging appreciation of cultural differences as well as exploring Wauba Debar's history. You are welcome to accompany us on our excursion.
Reference List
Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). Foundation
to
Strait
Islander histories and cultures. Retrieved from
Australian Curriculum
Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016, December
Creative Spirits.
(n.d). Australian Aboriginal history. Retrieved from
Gordon, K. (2014).
Integrating the curriculum. In R. Gilbert & B. Hoepper
(Eds.), Teaching humanities and social
sciences: history, geography, economics and citizenship (p.
322, 343). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage.
Mic.
(2014). This is what slavery looks like in the 21sy century. Retrieved
from
Reynolds, R. (2012). Teaching history, geography & sose in the primary
school (2nd ed.).
Tudball, L., & Gordon, K. (2014).
Teaching for active and informed citizenship. In
R.
Gilbert & B. Hoepper (Eds.), Teaching humanities and social
sciences:
history,
geography and economics & citizenship (p. 297-320). South
Melbourne, VIC: Cengage.
A good starting point, and I think the learning opportunities and out-of-the-classroom nature of what you describe has merit, but where it is a bit weak is in the lack of explicit incorporation of CCE into the blog. Given that this blog is under the topic of “Civics and Citizenship Education” and “controversial topics encouraging active citizenship”, it is a little too much a straight History learning experience. I’m not really convinced about the depth of interaction with controversial and/or active citizenship. It’s not really enough to just conclude the blog with your statement, “Students will be provided with the opportunity to engage in critical discussion about potentially controversial civics and history topics.” This is what I would like to see you sign-post. How could this Wauba Debar learning then go on to tie in with current controversial topics and encourage active citizenship?
ReplyDeleteIan
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ReplyDeleteI think you've made a great start on this blog post, Rebecca. It is a terrific exploration into a very relevant, local topic. In terms of CCE education, one of the things that really resonated with me is the need for CCE experiences to have a local dimension, which you uncovered, but also strong links to how our history affects the present day. I wonder if you can strengthen the CCE link to explore different points of view, or an explicit focus on present-day slavery (or another related controversial topic that is connected to our world today?) I think this has the bones for a really effective learning experience, and Wauba Debar's story offers many opportunties for deep CCE learning.
ReplyDeleteI think the key is identifying the specific CCE topic that you want to explore - what do you think is so controversial about Wauba Debar's story? And how does this connect to our world today so students can develop the knowledge, skills and values for active citizenship in the future?
I couldn't clearly see what year level this was planned for, but assume it is the higher primary years? If year 5 or 6, this could be an ideal opportunity to explore different points of view and the concept of justice and fairness. If younger, I wonder if its the concept of freedom or rights that might be explored further?
The 'Global Perspectives' framework has some really thought-provoking points about CCE and offers some insights into learning opportunities if you want to explore it a bit further.
To me, active citizenship is about taking on an active role in the community and civics is
the concept of rights and duties of citizens and governments. What role do you think both civics and citizenship have in Wauba Debar's story?
I can't wait to see where you head with this experience - it sounds like a very important and meaningful topic.
Hello Bec,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog post designed for grade 4 student to teach them Civics and Citizenship, it is clear that you have provided a specific experience for students at a particular school. In doing so, this ensures that students can have a closer interest as they can connect to places discussed. While the experience is a great Historical lesson, there is the opportunity to further this into a civics and citizenship lesson. To do so, you would have to consider how you would get students to be active citizens? How are you going to link this to the present day? You have touched on this during the investigation in lesson one when students are asked ‘how does this make you feel?’; however, this can be taken further and perhaps ask the students if they think slavery is present today? How does that make them feel? Is there a resource that children can explore about 21st century slavery? Then to help them become active citizens, you could get them to brainstorm strategies that can be employed to stop slavery. Can they make a poster, do a debate, write a letter to the prime minister? This will assist with achieving your intended outcome that is set of lesson one which outlines that students will understand Aboriginal pasts and be able to recognise the effects on the environment and people. There are some really great bones for a C&C lesson and the research to provide it, all it needs is a little tweaking. Great Job!